New York is losing more people to other states than it’s gaining

Edward F. Cox, the chairman of the New York State Republican Committee, took exception when Gov. Andrew Cuomo said “the exodus has stopped” in New York state.

“He said there is no exodus, we’ve stopped the exodus. Wrong – completely wrong,” Cox said to reporters in Albany. “The exodus of citizens from New York state has been growing, it’s never been larger. That’s an absolute fraudulent statement the governor made, that the net exodus of citizens from New York state has been stopped under his regime. Absolutely wrong. That’s a lie and he knew it was.”

Is Cox right? Are more people moving out of New York state than moving in?

Cuomo’s comment

The problem with Cox’s statement, according to a Cuomo spokesman, is that Cox misinterpreted what the governor said during his regional State of the State address in Buffalo.

Cuomo said: “So we got the spending down. It allowed us to get the taxes down, and that’s why you see a new attitude where businesses believe they’re welcome in New York, families believe they’re welcome in New York. The exodus has stopped, the job growth has started.”

Cuomo’s statement left room for interpretation, but PolitiFact New York evaluated that claim in July 2016 and rated it True. 

Source: New York State Department of Labor

Census data

Cox interpreted Cuomo’s statement as about people. The U.S. Census Bureau tracks how many people move in and move from states each year.

Between April 2010 and July 2016, the latest data available, 846,669 more people moved out of New York state than moved in. That’s the largest outflow in the country. 

Source: U.S. Census Bureau

The state’s population increased by 367,719 people in the same time period thanks to births and international migration.

Cuomo took office in January 2011. Leaving out data between July 2010 and July 2011 still leaves the state with a net domestic migration loss of about 723,000 between 2011 and 2016.

The exodus from New York state is not new. The trend goes back decades.

Our ruling

Cuomo and Cox are like ships passing in the night. Cuomo’s statement was previously rated True. And Cox’s version of the statement – ‘”the exodus of citizens from New York state has been growing” – is verified by census data.

We also rate Cox’s claim as True.

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