New York’s outmigration problem — and why — is becoming a reoccurring theme in Albany.

According to the latest U.S. Census Bureau estimates released in December, New York’s population decreased by 101,984 residents between July 2022 and July 2023, the largest decrease of any state.

State Republicans blame the state’s residential outflux on taxes and a poor business climate, others point to undesirable weather.

But in her 2024 State of the State address on Tuesday, Gov. Kathy Hochul pointed to the lack of housing as a reason people are leaving, using it for justification for lawmakers to address affordable properties.

“People aren’t moving for warmer weather or lower taxes. They’re moving next door,” Hochul said. "Three of the top five states New Yorkers are moving to share our borders and have similar taxes. People are earning in New York but living in New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Connecticut.”

The governor said the high costs of rents and mortgages are caused by a housing shortage in the state and outlined other cities in the U.S. whose ambitions to build more housing “dwarfed ours.”

“From 2011 to 2020, Washington, D.C. developed 72 new housing units per 1,000 residents. Boston developed 47. New York City? Only 27. Yet, people want to live here," she said.

Hochul is proposing to create up to 15,000 new housing units on state-owned properties like state university campuses and shuttered correctional facilities and require state agencies to review all public locations that could be transformed into housing. She also wants to create a new tax incentive to convert commercial buildings or offices into affordable housing.

Notably not included was a provision that would’ve allowed state officials to override local zoning laws for some projects that meet key criteria. Included in last year’s State of the State address, that provision drew bipartisan opposition from the Legislature, specifically suburban and upstate lawmakers. 

A lot of the population bleeding comes from the upstate region, which may be another reason for Hochul to pitch housing as a solution.

Republican state Senate Minority Leader Robert Ortt mentioned outmigration in his response to Hochul's entire address.

“As more residents continue to flee the state for places that offer affordability, security, and opportunity, we need real solutions and the political will to address the challenges we face, not band-aids to bad policies that have decreased the quality of life for all New Yorkers,” he said in a statement.

A few weeks ago, Republican state Sen. Jim Tedisco and Democratic state Assemblyman Angelo Santabarbara said they would introduce legislation that would establish a bipartisan state commission to examine why people are leaving New York.