Governor Kathy Hochul (D-Hamburg) recently addressed perhaps New York State’s most pressing issue: nation-leading out-migration from the Empire State that has promulgated an eroding tax base amidst more-ambitious-than-ever spending packages.
Hochul drew immense ire in the home stretch of the 2022 gubernatorial campaign, when she told the Republican nominee, then-Congressman Lee Zeldin (R-Shirley), to “jump on a bus and head down to Florida where you belong.” The motion was directed at other Republicans as well. “Get out of town because you don’t represent our values. You’re not New Yorkers.”
Now, Hochul has done a complete turnaround on that instruction, urging new Floridians to “see who you can bring back home, because our tax base has been eroded.” This comes at a time when the Governor’s $254 billion proposed Executive Budget is the highest in history and the proposed One-House Budgets carry an even steeper price tag. Moreover, New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani (D-Astoria) is hoping to deliver on a textbook Democratic Socialist bill that requires high net worth New Yorkers to foot.
“The fact is, I need people who are high net worth to support the generous social programs that we want to have in our state,” said Hochul.
The Statistics
Since 2022, over 500,000 people have fled New York State, according to studies by USA Today and The New York Post. New York City alone lost over 350,000 residents as well.
Florida has since been the largest beneficiary of that exodus. Between 2018 and 2022, CNBC reports that Florida was the top destination for fed-up New Yorkers, with more than 150,000 moving to the Sunshine State. New Jersey, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Texas, Tennessee, Georgia, and the Carolinas also rank high on the list.
CNBC reports that in 2025, Philadelphia was ranked as a top destination, Miami for finance and tech relocations, Bridgeport-Stamford for its proximity to the Big Apple, and Atlanta and Charlotte as emerging popular destinations.
Hochul is also imploring these high-income residents to “cut me the checks” for the “generous social programs.”
New York also constitutes one of the highest tax burdens in the country, usually ranking either first or second nationally in terms of total State and local taxes per capita. The burden is approximately 15% on median households. High sales taxes (8.54%) and high property taxes also contribute to the fiscal angst that many New Yorkers feel. The top individual income tax rate, 10.9%, applies to individuals making over $25 million.
Since Florida is one of the top destinations for ex-New Yorkers, our research found that Florida’s FY2026 budget is $114.8 billion, a large budget but a near-$2 billion decrease from FY2025. Whereas, the adopted New York City FY2026 budget clocks in at $115.9 billion – the largest in the city’s history.
What They’re Saying
Senator Mario Mattera (R-St. James) said in a statement, “the only way to get them to come back is to change OUR government and OUR policies.”
“After 2.5 million of our residents listened and left due to the damage her policies are causing – the governor is begging them to return to fix the problems Albany Democrats have created,” said Mattera. “What would entice them to return? The promise of higher taxes to pay for policies they disagree with? Our residents left for Florida, Tennessee, North Carolina and other states because they saw a better, less taxed state that they aligned with.”
Assemblyman Keith Brown (R-Northport) called Hochul’s words “beyond presumptuous,” but “ludicrous.”
“They’re not coming back. There aren’t enough reasons for them to stay anymore,” Brown told The Messenger.
Brown added that the about-face “proves how disingenuous these policies are.”
“We all know that at the end of the day, we need businesses and people who generate wealth to pay the taxes in order to fund these programs,” said Brown. He compared it to a quasi-game of musical chairs, except “when you take away the chairs, there’s no place for people to sit.”
“There’s no one left here except for people who are standing around,” said Brown. “Rather than looking for ways to cut taxes or rein in the State’s incredibly bad spending habits, Albany Democrats are doubling down and looking under every possible stone, leaving none unturned, of ways to tax us into oblivion.”
Brown added that when Andrew Cuomo (D-Sutton Place) was governor, the Democratic Socialists in Albany were kept “at bay.” However, he says that Hochul is “having difficulty containing them.”
Assemblywoman Rebecca Kassay (D-Port Jefferson) said that while she can “only speak for herself and her district,” she will “always ensure that we are working to make every New Yorker feel welcome as a resident of our great state.”
