Almost One-Third of New Yorkers Want to Leave the State

According to a new poll, nearly one-third of New Yorkers want to move out of the state.

The Siena College Poll conducted March 6 through the 9th found that nearly a third of New Yorkers are upset with “inept political leadership.”

“A stunning 30% of respondents — who also cited inept political leadership and soaring taxes as reasons for wanting to flee — said they already longed to live somewhere else, according to a Siena College Research Institute quality of life poll,” the New York Post reports. “Nearly a third — about 31% — plan to leave the Empire State when they retire while even more said they believe it’s not safe for kids.”

The number of residents planning to leave has skyrocketed since the same poll was conducted in 2017, when 82 percent of residents said they were satisfied where they lived, and 67 percent felt safe in their neighborhoods.

“These are high numbers. These are take your breath away numbers,” Don Levy, SCRI’s polling director said of the results.

Nearly half, 49 percent, said they do not feel safe from crime in the state. Women feared for their safety in a larger number, with 57 percent saying that they did not feel safe.

A whopping 40 percent of respondents said that the state is not a good place to raise children, which skyrocketed to 61 percent among black respondents.

The Post report also noted that “57% said the political system doesn’t work for them, compared to 38% who said it did. Democrats rule New York politics.”

“New York’s affordability challenge is, to a great extent, a self-inflicted problem stemming from tax and regulatory policies. Everything from healthcare to energy to homeownership is more expensive than it needs to be,” Tim Hoefer, CEO of the Empire Center for Public Policy, told the paper.

“One of the top things people consider when they’re deciding where to live is the quality of the schools. New York spends over $25,000 per student but we don’t get the sort of results that kind of money should buy us. That’s because many state officials are focused more on what the teachers union want than on what children and families need,” Hoefer continued.