According to analysts, high taxes, increased living costs and wage reductions in the Big Apple have resulted in approximately 100 residents departing the city each day.
"The rich in New York City are getting richer; the poor are actually getting richer, but not rich enough to be middle class," Peter C. Earle, an economist at the American Institute for Economic Research, recently told the New York Morning Post.
The American Institute for Economic Research did not immediately respond to Sputnik's request for comment.
According to US Census data, New York City's middle class (48 percent of city residents) have median annual incomes between $30,000 and $60,000. In the early 1970s, around 61 percent of New Yorkers were part of the middle class.
In April 2018, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo signed the Middle Class Economic Recovery Act to alleviate middle class frustration.
The act consists of three parts addressing jobs and infrastructure, access to education and lower taxes for the middle class.
"At a time when middle-class New Yorkers are facing growing challenges and rising costs, New York is reducing their tax burden and investing in jobs, education and opportunity for all," Cuomo said at the time.
"The Middle Class Recovery act continues to create a path forward for those striving to get ahead in Western New York and across the state, building a stronger, brighter New York."
