The population of New York state is on the decline – including here in Western New York. According to a new report by the U.S. Census Bureau, New York had a net migration loss of nearly 73,000 people between 2015 and 2016.
Some of the biggest population losses were in Chautauqua County in western New York, Jefferson County in the north, and Broome County in the Southern Tier. The report reverses a recent growth trend here in Erie County, where numbers are dropping for the first time in a decade. Long Island’s Suffolk County also saw a loss of more than 5,000 residents.
Downstate New York, however, continues to experience a moderate population growth.
