Long plagued by an exodus of its residents, New York in the past year lost nearly a quarter-million people to other states. But while an influx of foreign immigrants and a ”natural” gain from births over the past six years has offset the state’s population loss, a new Empire Center Research Bulletin based on the latest Census data shows New York has been growing at less than one-third the national rate this decade.

Authored by Empire Center for Public Policy Dirtector E.J. McMahon and Research Associate Kathryn McCall, the Research Bulletin highlights these findings:

— Roughly 12 out of every 1,000 New York residents moved elsewhere in the country between mid-2005 and mid-2006 — nearly double the overall rate of out-migration for the slow-going Northeast region.

— New York’s loss of 225,766 people to other states between 2005 and 2006 was exceeded only by out-migration totals for California and hurricane-ravaged Louisiana.

— More than 1.2 million New York residents have moved to other states since 2000 — the biggest such loss experienced by any state.

The full bulletin can be found here: https://www.empirecenter.org/pb/2007/01/migrating_new_y.php

About the Author

Tim Hoefer

Tim Hoefer is president & CEO of the Empire Center for Public Policy.

Read more by Tim Hoefer

You may also like

132 NYSLRS Retirees Receive Pensions Over $200K in FY2026

A total of 132 retirees from the New York State and Local Retirement System (NYSLRS) were eligible to collect $200,000 or more in pensions during the 2026 fiscal year, according to , the Empire Center’s government transparency website. Among the 132 Read More

Opinion Poll – Education

Executive Summary New Yorkers want better educational outcomes, more flexibility for families, and meaningful academic standards, according to new Empire Center poll results. Voters overwhelmingly believe New York should improve s Read More

Empire Center Poll: Just 4 Percent Approve of New York’s Education System

ALBANY, N.Y. — New Yorkers gave the state’s education system a sweeping vote of no confidence: 47 percent said the state should improve student performance, 41 percent said it should improve performance while spending less, and only 4 Read More

New York’s electricity prices climb to third highest in the U.S.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE ALBANY, N.Y. — Empire Center’s shows New York households paid the third-highest residential electricity prices in the country in May 2026, trailing only Hawaii and California. The latest U.S. Energy Information Administra Read More

Energy Data Bulletin July 2026

July 2026 Summary and Insights Electricity. In April 2026, New York’s average residential electricity price was 29.45 cents per kilowatt-hour (kWh). New York ranked 4th highest among the states (tied with Massachu Read More

Energy Data Bulletin August 2026

August 2026 Summary and Insights Electricity. In May 2026, New York had the nation's third-highest residential electricity price at 29.93 cents per kilowatt-hour (kWh), 62.3 percent above the U.S. average. Prices inc Read More

Port Authority Payroll Passes $1.2B as 20 Employees Collect $400k+

Twenty Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (PANYNJ) employees collected more than $400,000 each in total pay last year, while average pay agencywide rose three percent, according to , the Empire Center’s government transparency website. The Por Read More

NYC Employee Pension Payments Rise To $6.2 billion

The pension plan covering most New York city government agencies, including the City’s subway system, had 62 members with pension payments of at least $200,000 last year, according to , the Empire Center’s transparency website. According to the d Read More