Throughout it’s long history, New York State has seen a high level of population turnover. That is, large pools of in-migrants (primarily foreign immigrants) have fueled the State’s growth but they’ve also been offset by high levels of out-migration as people moved westward. New York is a point of entry but that doesn’t mean people always stay in the state.

A new report co-authored by myself and E.J. McMahon of the Empire Center for New York State Policy traces the migration patterns for New York State over the last 50 years. The 1970’s saw a dramatic loss of population as heavy industry collapsed. It was the first decade where New York actually saw a decline in population. The State has been growing each decade since but at a slow to moderate rate – certainly not keeping pace with states in the South and West.

This is the first report in a series that will explore in more depth the characteristics of migrants, where they’re coming from and where they’re moving to. See the full report here.