Sinking Cities: 10 Alarming Facts About the U.S. Urban Subsidence Crisis

New York City is going down by a few millimeters annually.

A groundbreaking Virginia Tech study revealed that every single one of the 28 U.S. cities examined, home to 34 million people. is subsiding.

That’s 12% of the national population living on slowly sinking ground.

What ‘Sinking’ Actually Means

This isn’t Hollywood-style collapse. We’re talking millimeters per year.

But over time, even small shifts can jeopardize buildings, roads, and rail networks, especially in flood-prone coastal areas.

New York’s Not Immune

New York City is going down by a few millimeters annually.

While not the worst hit, some areas of the five boroughs are sinking faster than others, putting key infrastructure at risk.

Houston Is Sinking Fastest

In Houston, the situation is more dramatic.

Twelve percent of the city is sinking more than 10mm a year, and 42% is subsiding at half that rate or more.

That’s a structural nightmare waiting to unfold.

Skyscrapers Aren’t Helping

Heavy, high-density urban development is contributing to the problem.

As cities grow vertically, the weight burden on the Earth’s surface grows, especially in areas with softer, sedimentary soil.

The Real Culprit: Groundwater Extraction

Up to 80% of urban subsidence is linked to excessive groundwater removal.

As underground aquifers are drained faster than they can refill, the land above begins to compress and cave inward.

29,000 Buildings in High-Risk Zones

The study warns that nearly 30,000 structures in the affected cities are located in zones considered high or very high risk for damage caused by subsidence.

Cracks in walls could be just the beginning.

U.S. Infrastructure on Shaky Ground

Researchers stress that infrastructure degradation could go unnoticed for years, until it’s too late.

Railways, bridges, and pipelines could fail suddenly under long-term stress.

A Global Problem, Not Just American

Jakarta is sinking so fast that Indonesia is building a new capital city. Coastal cities worldwide, from Bangkok to Venice, face similar threats.

But few are acting as urgently as needed.

Could Sinking Be Worse Than Rising Seas?

Experts warn that subsidence may outpace sea level rise.

That means flooding could hit sooner and harder, not just because water levels are rising, but because the land is falling.