Which States and Counties Are Sending the Most People to the Capital Region?

Tech and Navy hubs are major contributors to region’s population

A county containing a large U.S. Navy base in South Carolina and two more counties with major tech hubs in Arizona and Massachusetts are sending more population “flows,” or movers, to the Capital Region than any other outside of New York, according to a Center for Economic Growth (CEG) analysis of new U.S. Census Bureau five-year average geographic mobility data. In 2017, these inbound flows helped the eight-county region become New York’s second-fastest growing region, on a year-over-year basis.

States

Between 2013 and 2017, there was an estimated annual average 18,617 movers to the Capital Region from states other than New York as well as from Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia. Of that amount, 12.6 percent, or 2,338, came from Massachusetts and 10.8 percent, or 2,015, came from Florida. Other major inbound flow-boosting states, not including New York, included South Carolina (1,670), New Jersey (1,243), California (1,188), Virginia (1,100), Connecticut (1,059), Texas (747), Pennsylvania (691) and Vermont (685).

Non-NY Counties

Outside New York, the county that sent the most movers to the region in 2017 was Berkeley County, South Carolina (651) and Maricopa County, Arizona (548). Berkley County includes Goose Creek, which contains most of Naval Weapons Station Charleston. That base includes the Naval Nuclear Power Training Command school. With Berkeley County’s Capital Region inbound flow leading exclusively to Saratoga County, that migration was likely associated with the Naval Nuclear Propulsion Program at the Kenneth A. Kesselring Site in West Milton. As with Berkeley County, New London County in Connecticut and Charleston County in South Carolina also have major naval facilities counties and sent significant numbers of people to the Capital Region.

The Capital Region’s second biggest inbound flow booster was Maricopa County, Arizona, which includes Phoenix. The county has a sizeable semiconductor industry that includes Intel Corporation, ON Semiconductor, NXP Semiconductors and Microchip Technology. The Capital Region’s semiconductor industry, which includes GLOBALFOUNDRIES’ Fab 8 in Malta and SUNY Polytechnic Institute in Albany, likely played a role in attracting people from this county.

Other major inbound flow-boosting counties included (county seat, inflow): Middlesex, Massachusetts (Cambridge-Lowell, 510); Berkshire, Massachusetts (Pittsfield, 400); Worcester, Massachusetts (Worcester, 355); Suffolk, Massachusetts (Boston, 353); New London, Connecticut (334); Fairfield, Connecticut (312); Essex, Massachusetts (Salem-Lawrence, 280); and Charleston, South Carolina (Charleston, 278).

NY Counties/Regions

In New York, Kings and Bronx counties sent the most movers to the Capital Region in 2017, totaling 1,631 and 1,340, respectively. Other major inbound flow-boosting counties included New York (1,155), Queens (1,097), Dutchess (1,052), Westchester (971), Suffolk (935), Nassau (900), Ulster (790), and Onondaga (604).

Out of the state’s nine other economic development regions, the New York City region sent the most movers to the Capital Region, totaling 5,605. Following it were the Mid-Hudson region (4,245), Mohawk Valley (2,457), Long Island (1,835), North Country (1,513), Central New York (1,161), Finger Lakes (1,155), Western New York (732), and Southern Tier (732).

CEG Activities

To attract more people to the area, CEG is involved in the following activities:

Regional Branding Initiative: CEG is partnering with business and community leaders, to launch a regional branding initiative to raise the Capital Region’s profile as a 1-million-strong metro region with distinct competitive advantages, including strategic location, educational assets, cultural vibrancy, innovation, recreational opportunities, affordability and livability.

Industry Attraction: CEG regularly represents the Capital Region’s key technology sectors at industry conferences worldwide. In 2018, CEG attended 25 trade shows and conferences and identified and pursued 93 new project leads

Talent Attraction: To assist local employers recruit talent to the region, CEG’s Talent Connect program assists new hires and their families acclimate to their new home here. Talent Connect also represents local employers at job fairs throughout the Northeast, attending 19 in 2018.

Veteran Connect Center (VCC): CEG launched the VCC to help local employers recruit transitioning service members and veterans worldwide. Through the VCC, employers can access JobPath software, the nation’s leading veteran employment platform for transitioning service members. JobPath helps employers identify workers with military skillsets that meet their needs, and vice-versa.

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