New York State’s population has experienced a record decline since the start of the pandemic

Reading time: 2 min — Spotted Union times

319,020 people: This is the number of residents lost by New York State between July 2020 and July 2021, according to statistics provided by the New York Times Union website. The population of this state decreased by 1.6%, simultaneously falling below the 20 million mark. According to the latest census, there would be 19,835,913 inhabitants in what is the fourth most populous state in the country (behind California, Texas and Florida).

This rather impressive population decline is an American record: no other state has lost so many people in the same period, whether you consider the number of individuals or the percentage. Even California, twice as populous, lost just 0.7 percent of its population, or 261,902 people. It currently has more than 39 million inhabitants.

Furthermore, all states are far from having suffered a decline in population. Texas, Florida and even Arizona gained between 1% and 1.4% in population between July 2020 and July 2021. The United States has not suddenly emptied itself of its citizens: some states have simply been abandoned, to the advantage of others. In the year in question, the American population even increased by 0.1%. Which is certainly the lowest rate of increase since the creation of the country.

Saturation

Covid-19 is no stranger to this influx of departures from New York State, but indirectly: “We are not leaving because of the pandemic, explains a resident of Staten Island (one of the five boroughs of New York City). But it gave us the opportunity to leave.” For Florida, in this case.

New York City is the hardest hit by these departures, alone losing more than 350,000 residents. As a result, the rest of the state has also seen its population increase slightly. Main reason for this massive exile: the desire to join more modest, less dense and less extensive cities, to gain quality of life and peace.

Between 2010 and 2020, the state’s population increased by 4 million people. This represents a 25% increase over ten years. Many New York State residents have recently backtracked, though their departure does not prevent the number of trips recorded in the United States in 2021 from being the lowest in seventy years.