The 28 most populous U.S. cities are all settling to one degree or other, according to a study in Nature Cities. The phenomenon isn’t limited to coastal urban areas but includes population centers in the country’s interior as well. Rates differ from city to city — even area to area within some municipalities — but the general phenomenon is consistent.
Authors suspect that draining the groundwater upon which the cities sit is a major contributor. If that practice continues — not just in the U.S. but around the world — it could put lives at risk.
“As cities continue to grow, we will see more cities expand into subsiding regions,” Leonard Ohenhen, a research fellow at the Columbia Climate School and an author of the paper, said in a press release. “Over time, this subsidence can produce stresses on infrastructure that will go past their safety limit.”
Cities at Risk of Sinking
A new study using recent satellite data finds that all cities in the United States with populations of more than 600,000 are sinking to one degree or another. (Image Credit: Adapted from Ohenhen et al., Nature Cities, 2025)
Earlier work has painted a similar, but more general picture. Those studies tended to focus on rapidly subsiding coastal metropolises such as Jakarta, Venice, and New Orleans. Some work has already drawn major attention, and multiple recent studies have paid particular attention to places along the U.S. East Coast. However, many of those research projects relied on limited data spread over a wide area.
The new study examines subsistence at all U.S. cities with populations above 600,000. It draws on recent satellite data to measure vertical land movements down to the millimeter within 90-square-foot grids.
Texas has seen the biggest drops, with 40 percent of Houston subsiding about a fifth an inch per year, and another 12 percent sinking at twice that rate. Dallas and Fort Worth have slightly slower rates. Smaller areas within New York’s LaGuardia Airport, and parts of Las Vegas, Washington, D.C., and San Francisco are also seeing faster subsistence rates than the surrounding area as a whole.
Read More: Is New York City Sinking from the Weight of its Buildings?
Groundwater Withdrawal a Major Factor
The researchers tied the surface elevation changes to groundwater withdrawals for the affected areas. They found that groundwater removal for human use accounted for about 80 percent of overall sinkage. Groundwater isn’t stored in some massive, cavernous underwater reservoir, but in the spaces between fine-grained sediments. When water is removed and not replenished, the spaces between the tiny pieces of soil collapse.
Other human processes are worsening the situation. In Texas, pumping of oil and gas exacerbates the issue. New York’s million or so buildings sheer collective weight may be contributing. And constructing new buildings in Miami is disrupting the nearby subsurface.
The researchers say that if the population keeps growing and water use keeps increasing, the sinking may quicken. Droughts caused by climate change could worsen the situation.
Although the study contains alarming information, the researchers say it’s not too late to address the problem. Land could be raised, drainage systems could be improved, and artificial wetlands could be added. Building codes and laws specific to each city could also protect both the sinking buildings and the people who live and work in them.
“As opposed to just saying it’s a problem, we can respond, address, mitigate, adapt,” Ohenhen said in the release. “We have to move to solutions.”
Read More: The Decades-Long Struggle to Protect Venice From Being Swallowed by the Sea
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Before joining Discover Magazine, Paul Smaglik spent over 20 years as a science journalist, specializing in U.S. life science policy and global scientific career issues. He began his career in newspapers, but switched to scientific magazines. His work has appeared in publications including Science News, Science, Nature, and Scientific American.
