Census: Trend continues, as more people leave NY than move in

New York State continues a long-standing trend of seeing more residents move to other states than move in, and gains in international migration have not overcome the loss, according to census data released this week.

The state had an influx of more than 318,000 people from other countries between April 1, 2010, and July 1, 2013, but saw more than 328,000 people leave for other parts of the nation during that time, for a net migration loss of about 10,400, according to the new estimates.

The U.S. Census Bureau data on births, deaths, international migration and domestic migration shed light on population estimates for the nation and states that the agency released last month.

Still, New York had more births than deaths and experienced an overall population gain of 1.4 percent between April 2010 and July 2013 for an estimated population of 19,651,127.

The latest data also show that between July 1, 2012, and July 1, 2013, New York lost just over 104,000 residents to other states — what it calls domestic migration — while gaining nearly 102,000 people from international migration.

It has been "a long trend that more people are leaving the state than arriving . . . from other states," said Jan Vink, a researcher with Cornell University's Program on Applied Demographics.

Historical census data of year-to-year changes in domestic migration show, however, that New York lost far more people to other states before the recession hit. For example, New York had a record-high domestic migration loss of more than 246,000 people in 2005.

"In some ways, New York has lost less people because the recession slowed out-migration from the state," said Kenneth Johnson, senior demographer at the University of New Hampshire's Carsey Institute.

Johnson, noting census estimates that show Florida is poised to soon overtake New York as the nation's third most populous state, said the number of people from New York moving to Florida "is quite a bit less than it was during the economic boom." He added, "The effect of the recession was freezing people in place."

The data show "Americans are moving less," said Ben Bolender, a Census Bureau demographer.

Lee Koppelman, executive director of Stony Brook University's Center for Regional Policy Studies, cited economic reasons for New York's domestic migration losses.

"One of the reasons, of course, is the high cost of living in New York," he said, pointing to retirees leaving for places such as Arizona, the Carolinas and "certainly, Florida."