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).
Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News and the host of Breitbart News Sunday on Sirius XM Patriot on Sunday evenings from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET (4 p.m. to 7 p.m. PT). He is the author of the new biography, Rhoda: ‘Comrade Kadalie, You Are Out of Order’. He is also the author of the recent e-book, Neither Free nor Fair: The 2020 U.S. Presidential Election. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.
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