Though millions of tourists flood the New York City streets each year, many residents from around the city and state have had enough.
According to a recent study conducted by members of the Empire Center for New York State Policy, 8 percent of New York’s population left the state between 2000 and 2010 — the highest percentage of residents of any state in the country. Of those 1.6 million people, more than 70 percent, or about 1.1 million, left from New York City.
The report also revealed that the number of foreign immigrants who moved to the state during this time hit its lowest since the 1960s. Almost 900,000 immigrants settled in New York state in the past decade, resulting in the lowest net migration to New York since the 1970s.
According to NYU sociology professor Gerald Marwell, it’s not just the high cost of housing that is driving people out of the city.
“Of all the major cities in the U.S., New York is the one with booming suburbs in another state — New Jersey,” he said. “Suburbs in NY are settled and expensive, and new ones are not being built.”
But, while emigration numbers are high, some believe this trend is not worth the hype.
“New York always has a high population turn over,” said Philip Kasinitz, a sociology professor at the CUNY Graduate Center. “A lot of people come and a lot of people leave. Much of this has to do with life stage and careers.”
Co-author of the report E.J. McMahon said the best way to encourage New Yorkers to stay in the city is to promote sustained and sustainable economic growth.
“That requires lower taxes, less regulation and doing a better job of maintaining and expanding infrastructure that builds economic capacity,” he said.
McMahon’s co-author Robert Scardamalia said understanding New York’s unique business environment is key for encouraging long-term population stabilization.
“I think the biggest thing is to continue improving the business climate, getting public sector budgets under control and recognizing that New York is in a very different competitive environment for business,” Scardamalia said. “The migration component of change is volatile and unpredictable; foreign immigration is part of New York’s history and is a major component of the state’s population growth and characteristic changes.”