The U.S. Census Bureau has released its annual estimates on population trends in New York state. They show a slight rebound from the first two years of the COVID pandemic.
That's true both statewide and in Monroe County, which added 1,301 people between July 2023 and July 2024.
Statewide, New York's population grew by 129,881 during that time.
Changes in federal immigration policy will factor into population size going forward, said Leslie Reynolds, a demographer at Cornell University's Brooks School of Public Policy.
"That really has the opportunity to tip the scales one way or another, if there's a complete slowdown of international migration, especially in that that's been kind of a boost to our population in the last year or so."
Net migration — the difference between the number of people who moved into a geographic area and the number who left — is one component used to track population trends. The other is what demographers refer to as natural increases, which measures births versus deaths.
From 2023 to 2024, there were 358 more deaths than births in the Finger Lakes, and a 4,500-person increase in international migration to the region. Domestic migration was down by 1,490.
The Southern Tier and North Country were the only two regions of the state that did not gain population in the latest estimates. The Finger Lakes region was up by 2,639 or 0.22%. New York City had the biggest gain, 1.04%
Reynolds said the Census Bureau estimates are subject to change because they rely on preliminary data.
More information can be found in this report from the Cornell Population Center.
