In the past year, New York lost more residents than any other U.S. state, the Census Bureau reported on Tuesday.
This decline could cause the reliably liberal state to lose one seat in the House and one Electoral College vote, reducing the state’s delegation to 26.
New York saw a spike in permanent departures as lockdowns and socialist policies cripple the state’s economy and small businesses in particular, Fox News reported.
From July 2019 to July 2020, 126,355 New Yorkers left the state. That’s a population decline of 0.65 percent in state of about 8.4 million.
Two wealthy, pro-lockdown and Democrat-dominated states—Illinois and Hawaii—followed New York in population loss, with 0.63 and 0.61 percent declines, respectively.
One of the poorest states in the nation, West Virginia, came in fourth with a 0.58 percent population drop.
The past year marked the lowest population growth in the United States since at least 1900, as Americans have fewer children than ever before.
California lost nearly 70,000 residents between 2019 and 2020, falling from 39,437,610 to 39,368,078.
As residents move away from liberal New York and California, businesses look to relocate in friendlier economic climates in Florida and Texas.
“New York’s loss is Florida’s gain,” Redfin economist Taylor Marr said. “When the pandemic hit the U.S. in March, remote workers started leaving New York City and its ultra-expensive housing in search of wide-open spaces, sunshine and affordable homes—all of which you can find in Florida, with the bonus of no state income tax.”
Marr conducted a survey for Redfin that found that emigration from California and New York could continue into 2021.
Based on respondents’ answers, Marr learned that 47,000 more people plan to leave New York than enter it.
More than 22,000 people said they planned to move to Florida than leave the state.
