Today we’re going to look at a state that’s actually losing more people than California year-over-year – the Empire State New York.
New York’s population continues to decline faster than any other state in the Union and that’s according to new data released this month by the US Census Bureau. A lot of people always assume it’s California that’s losing the most. They aren’t even in the top 10 per capita. It may seem like it because various news outlets like to focus on it, but it’s just simply not true.
In New York, there are almost two separate places; you have New York City with all its boroughs and then you have upstate – pretty much the rest of the state with cities like Albany, Buffalo, Syracuse, Rochester.
Only one decade since 1900 has New York lost population and that was the 1970s. New York City was in such bad shape that it gave the rest of the state a really bad reputation and helped give rise to movies like “The Warriors” and “Escape from New York” – both in 1979 in 1981.
These days, people are leaving for a multitude of reasons and that’s what we’re looking at today: the most popular reasons people are leaving New York.
- Politics
This one’s starting to be more and more things every single year. There’s always been a divide between red states of Republicans and blue states of Democrats, but in the last decade or so it’s become more of a no middle ground type thing. Politics have divided the US to the point where some people won’t live in a state that leans what they consider to be the wrong direction.
People in New York are so bothered by the way their politics are being played out, they’re actually willing to move to another state.
- The whether
It’s safe to assume that not everyone digs cold-weather. New York has all four seasons but they have brutal winters. Obviously, more so in the northern sections state but pretty much the whole state. Still, New York is ranked seventh in the most snowfall in the United States. They get 55 inches a year on average; the only weather complaint you’ll ever hear from New Yorkers is about the cold.
New York has three of the top ten snowiest cities in the country. There’s a lot of people that feel dreary gray winter skies in New York are just too long and too hard to handle and they eventually leave.
- Not for families
New York is not a great place for families. When you factor in things like schools, health care, crime, and a few other things you get an idea whether a city is good for families or not: New York isn’t the worst but they definitely don’t get a shiny gold star award for this one; they’re ranked 40th out of 50. Again, the city’s make the rest of New York look pretty bad on this one but the fact remains the eighth most listed reason people are giving when asked why they’re leaving New York it’s not a great place for families.
- Millennials
Millennials are leaving and it’s catching on. Millennials generally think logically. In past generations, we did things because that’s what commercials told us to buy something so we bought it. The TV told us where a good place is and we went there. On the other hand, Millennials don’t buy just because they are told, they don’t buy expensive clothes, they don’t need the latest car. Now, this is where someone pipes up with “I’m a millennial and I buy only those things I need.”
One of the largest groups of people that’s leaving New York is Millennials and they’re all saying the same thing – it’s not worth the price. They have started a trend and other groups are starting to follow their logic.
- Unaffordable housing
Like California, New York has priced most residents right out of the state. In most areas, the median home price in New York is $300,000. Now considering there’s a whole bunch of small towns nobody wants to drive through, much less living in dirt-cheap homes, tells you that the most desirable locations are pretty price.
The sixth most popular reason people are leaving New York is home prices: it makes sense – why stay in a place where you don’t really have much of a shot at the American dream which is to buy a home?
- The cost of living
The cost of living is the amount of money needed to sustain a certain standard of living by fording the basic expenses such as food; transportation; utilities; insurance; and health care. The cost of living is often used to compare how expensive it is to live in one city or state versus another and in New York the cost of living is not a very pleasant one.
The average monthly energy bill in New York State is about $210 a month, compared to New Jersey which where it is about $182 a month. The gallon of milk in New York $3.26 and in New Jersey $2.30.
- Too much of a melting pot
New York has always been a cultural melting pot even before Ellis Island was built. Immigrants from other countries have landed in New York looking to start a new life in America. They all moved to whatever neighborhood housed the most of whatever race they happen to be. Over the years, those neighborhoods are harder to define. More and more of those immigrants aren’t liking what they see in New York and moving out as soon as they can. Fact is some cultures just have far too much history to ever get along.
- Other professional hotspots
New York was once the only place you could find a real job in a lot of different fields. If you worked in stocks, you had to live in New York; advertising finance, street performer whatever these days other cities have become hotspots for – a lot of careers.
Nowadays, Seattle is one of the best places for advertising finance, Charlotte and Phoenix for street performers, etc.
- Crime
Crime is a problem in New York state and it’s not just New York City anymore. Niagara Falls is dangerous and I don’t mean in a barrel going over the falls. I mean walking to the corner store to buy more mountain dew Buffalo is a nightmare all-year-round not just when the bills are playing.
New York City’s gotten better over the years but it’s still really a bad place. If you’re a criminal and decide to move to New York City because you think that’s a target-rich environment, you better have a good lawyer. The police bust every one
- Taxes
If you ever feel you’re in need of a profanity-laced tirade, dial a New York phone number and ask whoever picks up how they feel about the taxes in the state of New York. The New York state income tax is eighty percent higher than the national average. This is the biggest complaint and reason people are escaping New York. Their income tax is incredibly high.
The property taxes in New York vary greatly between New York City and the rest of the state. In New York City, property tax rates are actually quite low. The average effective property tax rate in the Big Apple is just 0.80%. The state-wide average is 1.65%. Those aren’t crazy but when you add it on to the income tax and everything else like that, it’s nuts and that’s the main reason people are leaving New York and New York City.
