They’re not in a New York state of mind.
A new Empire Center for Public Policy survey of 600 New York state residents found that 33% are mulling packing their bags, and another 30% know someone who might.
Most respondents, 30%, cited taxes as the biggest issue pushing them out of state, with the cost of living, cited by 25%, coming in second.
Politics and governance (15%) and safety (6%) were the next biggest issues, and housing affordability (6%) followed.
New York state has lost nearly a million residents since Gov. Kathy Hochul took over in 2021, with many critics blaming her tax and spend policies for driving residents out.
Gotham lost 114,000 residents in 2025 with Gen Zers fleeing the city faster than any other metro area, a Redfin analysis found.
A James Dolan-bankrolled Super PAC supporting GOP nominee and Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman has poked fun at the Empire State Exodus with a series of new billboards displayed across the state.
“You are Now Leaving NY (Like Everyone Else) Vote Bruce Blakeman,” read the Strong and Safe New York Inc-funded ads, alongside headshots of Hochul and Blakeman.
Billionaires Ken Griffin and Marc Rowan have threatened to move thousands of jobs out of state over Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s aggressively anti-rich policies.
“We will add far more jobs in Miami over the next decade,” Griffin said after Mamdani posted a video lambasting his $238 million Midtown penthouse in an attempt to garner support for his pied-à-terre tax.
New York has the highest state and local taxes in the nation, and collects a staggering $13,000 per capita, according to a study by the Citizens Budget Commission.
Deeply liberal California, where Democrats have held a supermajority since 2018, collects some $9,000 per capita in state and local taxes, per the study.
Some of those polled griped about Mayor Zohran Mamdani and illegal immigration.
“Mamdani is bad for NY . . . he will drive out all capital and we will have a pre-Giuliani NY again. Poverty and crime — sad,” one respondent, a Republican man between 40 and 54 years old, said.
“Because Albany cares more about illegal immigrants than they do disabled veterans when we’re the ones that fought to give people the rights they have today,” said another respondent in the same demographic.
A woman who is a registered Democrat between the ages of 18 and 39 said New York City “is getting too expensive and it feels like no matter how much taxes you pay you are still getting screwed in high car insurance fees, congestion prices, and not to mention the lack of parking anywhere.”
The post Escape from NY: Two-thirds of state’s residents think about leaving — or know someone who is: poll appeared first on New York Post.
