NYC reaches a record-high population of over 8.5 million

More and more people are deciding to call New York City home and are flocking to the outer boroughs to get a bite of the Big Apple.

The U.S. Census Bureau announced Thursday that the city has reached a record high of 8,550,405 residents — with Queens, Brooklyn and the Bronx accounting for 84 percent of the growth.

The three boroughs led the city and New York State in numerical population growth over the last year causing the city’s population to grow by 55,000. The Bronx saw the highest rate of growth in the state with close to one percent.

“The sustained population growth of our city is proof that New Yorkers not only want to remain at home, but that people are moving from all over to work and raise a family in the greatest city in the world,” Mayor Bill de Blasio said. “The long-term prosperity of New York City hinges on our ability to keep pace with the housing and infrastructure demands of an ever-growing population throughout the five boroughs.

In the last five years, Brooklyn led in population growth, followed by the Bronx, Queens, Manhattan and Staten Island. During the same period, the city’s population went up by 375,000 residents or about 4.6 percent, based on estimates as of July 2015.

According to officials, the city has not seen such a large rate of growth since the 1920s.

The increase is driven by a constant addition of births over deaths, people moving to the city and a decrease in the number of people leaving the city.

Last year, the borough of Queens grew by 16,700 residents; Brooklyn by 16,015 and the Bronx saw 13,687 more residents. Manhattan and Staten Island saw increases of 7,552 and 1,257 residents respectively.

The U.S. Census Bureau also added that during the period following 2010 each borough saw gains in population. Brooklyn saw the largest increase with 5.3 percent or 132,000 people, and the Bronx saw 70,300 more residents. Queens saw a growth of 108,400, Manhattan went up by 58,600 people and Staten Island welcome 5,800 people to the borough.

For the Bronx, its increase in population brings it close to the historical high, reach in 1970, when the borough saw a population of 1.472 million.

The boroughs of Queens and Manhattan also showed the largest increases of population through migration — with more people deciding to move into the area than leave it.

Since 2010, New York City has been behind 90 percent of New York State’s growth in population.

Based on the U.S. Census Bureau’s analysis, demographers project that the city’s population will go over the 9 million mark by 2040.

“This is in many respects, the best of times. The City is at an all-time high in population and it’s at an all-time high in jobs. It’s one of the drivers that makes the housing program so important,” said Carl Weisbrod, chair of the city’s Planning Commission. “We’ve always been an extraordinarily welcoming city of people from all over the world and from all over the United States, but we also recognize the need to house our next generation and our growing senior population.”