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New York has had more residents move out than any other state in the nation, according to a new report on migration trends since the turn of the century.

The Empire Center for New York State Policy report used information from the U.S. Census Bureau and the Internal Revenue Service. It found that New York state has had a net loss of 1.54 million residents, or 8 percent, since 2000.

“What accounts for New York’s chronic inability to attract and retain more Americans than it loses every year? Any attempt to answer that question must begin with New York’s state and local tax burden,” the report says.

“In Upstate New York, housing is relatively inexpensive but even more heavily taxed, and new economic opportunities have been scarce,” the report says. “Weather, on the other hand, seems less compelling as an explanation. Cold winters haven’t stopped New Hampshire, Wisconsin and Minnesota from adding population while upstate New York has been shrinking.”

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