Scientists Warn That These Popular American Cities Are Sinking Under Residents' Feet

Newsweek

14-05-2025

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If you live in a major American city, the ground might be sinking beneath you.
Ground beneath major U.S. cities—including New York, Dallas and Seattle—is slowly but steadily sinking, with more than 20% of urban land in all 28 of the country's largest cities affected, according to new research published in Nature Cities.
The study, led by researchers at Virginia Tech, found that land in these areas is dropping by two to 10 millimeters a year, mostly due to the overuse of groundwater.
That slow drop may seem minor, but researchers say it can cause significant damage to buildings, roads, bridges and other infrastructure over time—especially in places with uneven land movement.
Stock image: Houston, Texas.
Stock image: Houston, Texas.
Photo by Nantiya Rattanatum / Getty Images
"One of the most impactful findings was just how widespread and significant subsidence already is," study author Leonard Ohenhen told Newsweek.
"We found that at least 20% of the urban area in every city we studied is subsiding, affecting more than 34 million people, which is 1 in every 10 Americans, just from the analyses of 28 cities."
Why It Matters
Sinking land, also known as subsidence, is typically hidden from view.
However, it poses real dangers to public safety and infrastructure. Even slight downward shifts can cause cracks in foundations and roadways or destabilize large structures.
As demand for water grows in expanding cities, pulling too much from underground aquifers causes the soil to compact, leading the land above to sink.
Climate change, which increases the stress on water supplies, is expected to make this problem worse.
"In drought-prone regions, reduced surface water availability may increase dependence on groundwater, accelerating aquifer depletion and land compaction," Ohenhen told Newsweek.
"Additionally, in coastal cities, the combination of subsidence and rising seas leads to increased relative sea-level rise—meaning the land is sinking while the water is rising, compounding the hazard.
"This shortens the timeline for when cities reach critical thresholds for chronic flooding."
What To Know
The Virginia Tech team used satellite radar data to create high-resolution maps of land movement from 2015 to 2021.
All 28 cities studied—including places like Los Angeles, Chicago, San Antonio, Phoenix and Las Vegas—had areas of significant sinking. In 25 cities, at least 65% of the urban area was affected.
Houston showed the highest levels, with some neighborhoods sinking more than 20 millimeters (about 0.8 inches) per year. Even New York, which averages slower sinking, has notable hotspots such as around LaGuardia Airport.
Uneven land movement was also seen in cities like Las Vegas, New York and Washington, D.C., where differences in how much the ground sinks can put extra stress on infrastructure.
What Other Cities Are Sinking
The study found that New York, Dallas, Chicago, Seattle, Denver and others are sinking at rates around 2 millimeters a year.
Texas cities were particularly at risk—parts of Houston, Fort Worth and others are dropping by 5 millimeters, or more.
According to Ohenhen, Texas cities are struggling "primarily due to a long history of intensive resource extraction."
"When fluid is removed from the ground, particularly those composed of clay-rich or compressible sediments, the pore spaces collapse, leading to land compaction and surface subsidence," he told Newsweek.
"Houston, in particular, has experienced decades of aquifer drawdown."
What's Next
The researchers urge local governments to integrate land subsidence monitoring into their planning and building policies.
They recommend tighter groundwater management, improved infrastructure design and long-term monitoring systems to detect issues before they become critical.
"Subsidence is a silent but powerful force reshaping our cities," Ohenhen told Newsweek. "It's a slow, often invisible process that undermines infrastructure, increases flood risk, and quietly erodes urban resilience.
"What makes it especially dangerous is that it frequently goes unmonitored and unregulated, even in places where it is actively worsening.
"The good news is that we can respond through adaptive planning practices."