The numbers here are kind of funky: NYC's population is larger than it was in 1950, but population has also sprawled significantly since then. Manhattan lost 30

The numbers here are kind of funky: NYC's population is larger than it was in 1950, but population has also sprawled significantly since then. Manhattan lost 300,000 people since 1950 (and is down nearly a million since its peak in the 1910s)[1], but the other boroughs have all stayed roughly flat (Brooklyn, the Bronx) or grown substantially (Queens, Staten Island). (This doesn't contradict your statement; only that the city's overall growth patterns can be misleading under a single number!) [1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manhattan#Demographics https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manhattan#Demographics