Two Central New York Cities Land On Disturbing Trend’s Top 20 List

Despite financial incentives to keep students in New York State past graduation and other state government-funded initiatives to provide assistance to ailing downtown areas, people are still fleeing the Empire State, in large numbers, for greener pastures. And Central New York communities are among the hardest hit.

Since the most recent census numbers were released in 2010, 42 of 50 Upstate New York counties have experienced significant out-migration. Albany (pictured above) was one of the few bright spots, but whatever measures leaders in Albany are taking to retain our citizens is not working--especially in Buffalo and Rochester, which suffered the most relocations.

Broome County's city of Binghamton, in the Southern Tier was also among the worst, while Utica was eighth and Rome was 11th among New York municipalities for lost population figures between 2010-2017.

The Excelsior Program, a Governor Andrew Cuomo plan to provide free tuition at SUNY schools for students who decide to stay in New York, has yet to help turn the numbers around. There are still a lot more people moving out than moving in, which follows the story of exodus we covered back in January.

Business analysts are blaming the state's weak job scene, as it compares to bountiful opportunities in other markets.

In a recent study by WalletHub, New York ranked a not-very-impressive 32nd among the best states to start a business. That low overall score was not mitigated by a high #3 rank in Access to Resources, and was dragged down by a next-to-last ranking in Business Costs.

The downward trend shows no immediate signs of reversal, according to experts. So, what's the solution?

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