Slowest-Growing US State: Map Reveals Where Population Growth Is Dwindling

New York is the fastest shrinking state in the U.S., according to the latest Census data. However, population declines have not been even across the state.
Between 2020 and 2023, 80 percent of the Empire State’s towns and cities decreased in numbers. In 2023, New York was one of only eight states with shrinking populations, alongside California, Hawaii, Illinois, Louisiana, Oregon, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia.
New York City saw some of the most significant declines in population, especially during the first years after the pandemic. Analysis by Cornell University found that the city’s population plunged by nearly 4 percent—more than 336,000 people—in the first year of the pandemic alone as people migrated to less dense counties and even neighboring states.
The map below shows which other counties have seen significant population declines since 2020.
Between 2020 and 2023, Bronx County had the fastest shrinking population, with a growth rate of -7 percent. King’s and Queens came in joint second place, at -6 percent, and New York County close behind at -5 percent. Chemung, Orleans and Seneca Counties all came in at -3 percent.
Meanwhile, Tompkins County saw the highest growth rate of 4 percent, with Otsego coming in second at 3 percent, and Orange and Sullivan Counties coming in at third with a 2 percent increase.
The pace of population change in most New York counties slowed during 2023.
“Most of the growth or decline in all the states is due to domestic migration, people moving from/to other states. Some states grew, others declined, for many of the same reasons,” Dudley Poston, an emeritus professor of sociology at Texas A&M University, previously told Newsweek. “Here are the main reasons people move: people move from one state to another for jobs, lower cost of housing, lower state taxes, better levels of living. Here Texas and Florida have all the benefits, and California and New York don’t.”
While New York’s population has continued to decline, the pace is not as fast as it was immediately following the pandemic.
Of course, migration is not the only factor driving population growth (or decline,) and natural changes in population must also be considered. In other words, birth rates compared to deaths.
In the year ending July 1, 2023, New York State reported 41,536 more births than deaths. However, while all five New York City boroughs and six of the seven downstate counties reported more births than deaths, only six of the 50 upstate counties saw this change.
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