This is a trend that’s been building for quite a few years and it shows no signs of slowing down any time soon. A new study reveals that the two states losing the most residents in 2017 and 2018 were once again New York and New Jersey. And who were the big winners in population gains? You might think it would be Texas and Florida, but you’d be wrong. Both of them did see impressive increases, but the biggest winners in the population wars were Arizona, Idaho and Utah. (CBS New York)

A new study finds that New York and New Jersey are losing more residents than any other states. The career website Zippia looked at the population data from the Census’ American Community Survey to determine the states with the largest population decrease from 2017 to 2018, which is the most recent data available. New York topped the list, losing 307,190 residents, and New Jersey came in second with 97,124 residents moving out. Connecticut also made it into the top 10, losing 15,519 residents.

The original study is available here.

It is absolutely not a coincidence that those three states (adding in Connecticut to the top ten list) all have quite a bit in common beyond being neighbors in the northeast. They are some of the most heavily taxed states in the nation. They also have each passed some of the most oppressive gun control laws in the country. All three have adopted some level of “sanctuary” policies designed to shield illegal aliens from detection and deportation. And they’ve all begun adopting “justice reform” measures intended to go easy on criminals and lock fewer people up, resulting in (don’t faint from shock) more crime.

Losing population puts states at risk of diluting their congressional representation. According to the latest report from the Census Bureau, New Jersey and Connecticut will avoid that fate for one more ten-year cycle, but New York is among the ten states projected to lose a seat in Congress. The others are Alabama, California, Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and West Virginia. The only real outliers there are West Virginia and Alabama. Maybe Ohio could be counted as well. The rest of them are all tax-happy, liberal paradises to one degree or another.

West Virginia lost population for different reasons, largely to do with the collapse of the coal industry over the past decade. They’ve only barely started to recover from that in the past couple of years. Alabama is a different story entirely. A 2019 report from Alabama.com shows that most of the state’s population decline can be attributed to two factors. One is the trend of people fleeing rural areas that increasingly have insufficient services such as hospitals and grocery stores. The second, perhaps more alarming factor is that nearly fifty of Alabama’s 67 counties recorded birth rates significantly below the number of people dying each year.

So who are the winners in terms of congressional representation? Texas is projected to gain three seats and Florida should pick up two. Arizona, Colorado, Montana, North Carolina and Oregon should all pick up one seat.

The next realignment will leave New York with 27 seats. But this is far from the first time they’ve has lost seats in Congress. They lost two after the 2010 census. Keep in mind that in the 1940s, the Empire State had 45 congressional districts. They’ve been declining ever since. You have to wonder if the voters will ever take the hint and stop electing tax and spend nanny state advocates year after year.