It is no secret that liberal stronghold states like California and New York have been hemorrhaging population for years, but numbers tracking the movement of people during the COVID pandemic has highlighted the exodus even more. Prior to 2020, states like New York were already becoming despised by longtime residents for hyper-leftist positions on crime, homelessness, mass immigration, and social policies. It appears that in addition to the pandemic exacerbating these issues, it also freed up many residents to a work-from-home schedule or gave them the opportunity to change jobs altogether. New remote flexibility gave New York residents the freedom to relocate and relocate they did. A study by the Los Angeles Times reported that during the pandemic, New York state lost nearly 530,000 residents, more than California even. The woes from pandemic losses were so great that Governor Kathy Hochul (D) only narrowly won her gubernatorial election to Lee Zeldin (R) in a race that many thoughts was originally going to be solid blue.
BREITBART: New York Lost More Population than California over 2 Years of Pandemic
By Joel B. Pollak; February 15, 2023
California lost more than 500,000 people over the period from April 2020 to July 2022, coinciding with the depths of the coronavirus pandemic, but New York lost even more, according to new data from the U.S. Census.
The Los Angeles Times reported:
California has been seeing a decline in population for years, with the COVID-19 pandemic pushing even more people to move to other parts of the country, experts say. The primary reason for the exodus is the state’s high housing costs, but other reasons include the long commutes and the crowds, crime and pollution in the larger urban centers. The increased ability to work remotely — and not having to live near a big city — has also been a factor.
California lost 508,903 people from its total population, while New York lost 524,079, about 15,000 more. Net outward migration from California to other states was still higher than New York’s measurement.
However, the Times notes, “California gained about 157,000 more people from natural change — the difference in number between births and deaths — than New York did, making New York’s total population loss greater.”
New York was widely criticized for a high number of coronavirus deaths in nursing homes, as then-Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s government issued an order to require coronavirus patients be admitted to elderly care facilities.
As Breitbart News recently noted, more people — some 300,000 — moved out of California than from any other state in the period from July 2021 to July 2022.
New York’s woes — and its outward migration — were a major issue in the 2022 gubernatorial campaign, in which incumbent Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) narrowly defeated a strong challenge by then-Rep. Lee Zeldin (R).
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