ALBANY, N.Y. (NEXSTAR) — The Albany-Schenectady-Troy metropolitan area saw the largest net gain of adults aged 18 to 35 in New York since the start of COVID, according to a recent analysis by the Center for Economic Growth. Still, migration out of state continues as we lose population over the cost of living.
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According to new data from the U.S. Census Bureau, New York’s population grew in 2023 and 2024, helping the state regain about a third of the people it lost during the pandemic. The Albany-Schenectady-Troy metropolitan statistical area gained 5,419 adults aged 18 to 35 between April 1, 2020, and July 1, 2024.
That 2.4% increase earned the Capital Region the top spot out of 13 metro areas, a positive trend contrasting with the gloomier overall picture:
A metropolitan statistical area is a region that consists of at least one city with a population of 50,000 or more, plus any surrounding counties that are socially or economically tied to the urban center. The Census Bureau invented the term to measure population and economic data from large population centers.
Statewide population loss has had real-world consequences for New York. We lost a representation in Congress after the 2020 Census. But a January Fiscal Policy Institute report noted that net out-migration—meaning more people moving out than in—dropped to its lowest level since 2013 in 2024.
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The Fiscal Policy Institute has reported that New York’s population fell by 533,200, or 2.7%, from 2020 to 2023, the sharpest decline of any state. FPI identified affordability as the major factor, particularly among middle-class and working families…