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Half a Million New Yorkers Fled the State In Search of Lower Cost of Living — Here’s Where They Went

December 5, 2023

3 min Read

Written by Adam Palasciano

Edited by Nicholas Morine

New York City skyline at sunset with Brooklyn Bridge and Lower Manhattan.

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As Americans contend with elevated costs, high inflation, and the reality of continued remote work options, many in today’s economy are searching for a lower cost of living — and that includes New Yorkers.

New York State, and New York City in particular, is one of the most expensive areas in the nation. The pain of high costs in today’s economy has led to thousands of New Yorkers moving to other states with a lower overall cost of living. One of the most expensive parts of living in New York is housing costs. Zumper highlighted that the average monthly rent for a 1-bedroom apartment in Manhattan is $4,225. This represents an 8% increase compared to 2022. With data points like this, it’s no surprise that so many New Yorkers are looking to go elsewhere.

New Yorkers Are Moving To Other States

USA Today reported that roughly 545,500 residents left New York for other states in 2022. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, this New York trend reflects a larger trend in the U.S. that has been happening for the past several years. One a national scale, it was reported that the number of people who moved from one state to another rose from close to 7.9 million people in 2021 to almost 8.2 million people in 2022.

Which States Did New Yorkers Move To and Which Did They Avoid?

The top four states that New Yorkers moved to were Florida, New Jersey, Connecticut and Pennsylvania. The least popular destinations were Wyoming, Montana, Iowa and Mississippi.

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Florida saw the largest influx of New Yorkers in 2022 at 91,201. But many moved to neighboring states, too. New Jersey saw the second-largest influx of New Yorkers last year at 75,103, followed by Connecticut at 50,670 and then Pennsylvania at 44,807. Meanwhile, Wyoming, Montana, Iowa and Mississippi each had fewer than 500 New Yorkers move there. Despite more people moving to New York in 2022 than any year over the last decade, the state still suffered a net population loss of 244,000 people in 2022.

The top five reasons New Yorkers moved to other states last year? Data from USA Today showed that people moved away from New York for a better quality of life, a lower cost of living, upsizing, work flexibility — and to live closer to family.