Emigration New York State
© Mark Lennihan/APThe high cost of living in New York City is one reason people are leaving the state.
New York over the past year continued to lose more residents to other states than it gained - even as the overall population grew slightly thanks to a continued influx of immigrants, Census data shows.

During the 12-month period ending July 1, the state lost a net 190,508 residents to other states, according to the data. That pushed the net outmigration to over 1 million people since 2010 - the largest of any state, according to a review by the Empire Center, a fiscal watchdog group.

The net loss since 2010 is actually less than the net migration outflow of nearly 1.6 million during the comparable period of 2000-07, the Empire Center's E.J. McMahon said in the review.

"The stories continue to be a lack of economic opportunity upstate ... and downstate it's just cost," McMahon said. "The city and downstate can't hold people because there's not enough affordable living."

"The stories continue to be a lack of economic opportunity upstate ... and downstate it's just cost," McMahon said. "The city and downstate can't hold people because there's not enough affordable living."

The Cuomo administration bristled at that.

"It's under this administration that property taxes were capped, middle income taxes were cut to record lows, upstate unemployment was slashed in half, private sector jobs reached an all-time high, the minimum wage was raised to $15, and the state has undertaken a $20 billion affordable-housing plan," said Gov. Cuomo's budget spokesman, Morris Peters.

In a shot at McMahon, Peters added that "This is why we remain the place that people from around the world come to live the American Dream, and quoting a conservative political pundit clearly is an attempt to politicize the issue, which is unproductive."

Overall New York's population grew in 2016-17 to 19.85 million, up just 13,113 from 2015-16.
Gov. Cuomo New York
© Bryan Thomas / GettyA spokesman for Gov. Cuomo fired back at the study, saying New York remains the place where people from around the world come to live the American Dream.
The increase was due to 130,411 immigrants who moved to New York and the fact there were 73,090 more births than deaths in the state.

New York in 2016-17 ranked third, behind California and Florida, in attracting immigrants the past year, the data shows.

With nearly 400,000 new residents, Texas had the largest population gain. Florida gained 327,811 people.

If the trend continues, New York is in jeopardy of losing at least one more congressional seat. The state once boasted 45 congressional members and currently has 27.

The Census outmigration data does not show to which states New Yorkers moved. But traditionally, McMahon said, Florida and New Jersey were the main destinations.

Some fear the numbers could get worse with the passage of the federal tax bill - and that could adversely affect the state's economic strides.

Cuomo and others said they fear the provision in the bill that severely restricts the federal deductibility of state and local taxes could result in many of the New York's millionaires leaving New York for lower-tax states like Florida.