Lee Zeldin: Kathy Hochul Cannot Explain Why New York Leads in Population Loss

New York Republican gubernatorial candidate Lee Zeldin said during Tuesday’s debate that Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) cannot explain why New York leads the country in population loss, while Zeldin blames costs, crime, and quality of education.

“My opponent still cannot finish this sentence; you can’t expect her to ever fix it, but New York leads the entire nation in population loss because–” Zeldin said during the debate with Hochul, explaining that he has been hoping that Hochul could answer this question.

Zeldin said, “Why does New York lead the entire nation in population loss? Because their wallets, their safety, their freedom, and the quality of their kids’ education are under attack.”

New York has led the nation in population loss. The U.S. Census Bureau found that New York lost 319,000 citizens between July 2020 and July 2021, the highest figure in the country. It is also the state’s highest population loss ever.

An Empire Center for Public Policy study found that the coronavirus pandemic boosted New York’s already high population loss:

New York’s population decrease as of mid-2021 was due mainly to its net domestic migration loss of 352,185 residents—meaning 352,185 more people moved out of the state than moved in during the previous 12 months. This shattered all out-migration records, exceeding New York’s record annual migration losses during the late 1970s.

With international travel tightly restricted by pandemic rules, net foreign immigration to New York decreased during the period to just 18,860, the smallest number in at least 60 years. As a result, combining domestic outflows and foreign inflows, the state experienced a total net migration decrease of 333,878. Offsetting an elevated death count, which reflected the state’s exceptionally high COVID-19 casualty toll, a decrease in births during the year gave New York a small “natural increase” of 18,503 residents.

In contrast, Texas, Florida, and Arizona saw the highest population growth between 2020 and 2021.