New York has led the nation in population loss. The U.S. Census Bureau found that New York lost 319,000 citizens between July 2020 and July 2021, the highest figure in the country. It is also the state’s highest population loss ever.
An Empire Center for Public Policy study found that the coronavirus pandemic boosted New York’s already high population loss:
New York’s population decrease as of mid-2021 was due mainly to its net domestic migration loss of 352,185 residents—meaning 352,185 more people moved out of the state than moved in during the previous 12 months. This shattered all out-migration records, exceeding New York’s record annual migration losses during the late 1970s.
With international travel tightly restricted by pandemic rules, net foreign immigration to New York decreased during the period to just 18,860, the smallest number in at least 60 years. As a result, combining domestic outflows and foreign inflows, the state experienced a total net migration decrease of 333,878. Offsetting an elevated death count, which reflected the state’s exceptionally high COVID-19 casualty toll, a decrease in births during the year gave New York a small “natural increase” of 18,503 residents.
In contrast, Texas, Florida, and Arizona saw the highest population growth between 2020 and 2021.
Sean Moran is a congressional reporter for Breitbart News. Follow him on Twitter @SeanMoran3.