Migration from NYC into the Capital Region

Updated: Jul. 29, 2022, 4:20 p.m. | Published: Jul. 29, 2022, 4:20 p.m.

The new migration data released by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) indicates that thousands of people moved into the capital region during the start of the Covid-19 pandemic. The latest data utilizes information from tax returns to track domestic and international migration in the U.S. by analyzing the address changes between tax returns in 2019 and 2020 which are based on forms 1040 filed and processed in calendar years 2019 and 2020. In addition, hard copy filings received for taxes normally due in 2020 were included up until mid-July 2021 given the pandemic-related filing deadline adjustment in 2020.
From 2019 to 2020, the top counties from which the most people moved into the Capital Region are NYC with a total of 3,281 people, followed by Warren County, NY with 1,128 people, and Washington County, NY with 933 people. The top counties outside of the state which lost their population to the Capital Region are Middlesex County, MA with 165 people, Berkshire County, MA with 150 people, and Los Angeles County, CA with 120 people.
From 2019 to 2020, the top counties to which the most people moved from the Capital Region are NYC with a total of 1,198 people, followed by Warren County, NY with 1,168 people, and Washington County, NY with 826 people. The top counties outside of the state to which the Capital Region lost its population are Middlesex County, MA with 246 people, Maricopa County, AZ with 229 people, and Pinellas County, FL with 188 people.
The net gain in 2019-2020 was the largest gain over the five years with 2,083 people. Albany County has the highest share of the net gain in the region at 39%, followed by Schenectady, Saratoga, and Rensselaer Counties. According to a Center for Economic Growth (CEG) analysis of new IRS data, the amount of aggregated gross income (AGI) NYC movers brought with them almost doubled during the first year of the pandemic in 2020.