New York lost the most population of any state in the country between 2018 and 2019, a census estimate released on Monday found, continuing an ongoing trend of sluggish population change in the last 10 years.
The state’s overall population fell by 0.4 percent or 76,790 people. Illinois, which lost a similar percentage of residents, saw its population drop by 51,520.
New York was also among the 27 states, as well as Washington, D.C., to lose population through net domestic migration between 2018 and 2019, losing 180,649 people. New York was second only to California, which saw a net domestic migration drop of 203,414 people.
Population loss has been a through line of the 2010s for New York. The Empire Center think tank noted the state has lost 1.4 million residents since 2010, keeping New York’s overall 19.4 million population total largely flat during this decade.
Politically this will matter for New York’s representation in Congress when new House district boundaries are drawn after the 2020 Census. New York lost two seats in the House of Representatives following the 2012 reapportionment.