Today the Empire Center for New York State Policy reported New York state residents are leaving the state in large numbers.
Between 2000 and 2008 there was a net loss of 1.5 million NY residents (8.1% of the 2000 population) moving out of NY State, the largest migration of any state. California came in second with a net loss of 1.3 million residents in the same time period.
About 33% of the residents moved to Florida. An estimated 30% of the residents moved to NJ, PA and CT. According to the IRS the majority of the migration originated from the New York City area.
The mass migration peaked in 2005 with 250,000 residents leaving. The lowest point was 2008 with 126,000 net migration. In 2006 and 2007 the heavy migration reduced the state’s tax revenue by $4.3 billion.
The new residents moving to NY State are making about 13% less in income than the residents leaving the state. The Empire Center points to the high cost of living and high taxes as the major reason for the mas migration.
The current migration is a continuation of a longer-term migration trend as the 1990’s resulted in a loss of 1.7 million NY residents. In 1950 NY State accounted for 19% of the American population. By 2000 NY accounted for 7% of the nation’s population.