Although two-thirds of all Mid-Hudson Valley residents have lived in the region for more than a decade, a considerable proportion of residents have moved to the area in the past five years. One in five residents is new to the Mid-Hudson Valley having moved into their community within the last five years.
Most of the counties in the Mid-Hudson region have seen a similar influx of new residents in the past five years. Orange, Putnam, and Sullivan Counties have seen a slightly higher than average increase in new residents. Nearly one in four residents in each of these counties is new to their community.
Although Columbia and Ulster Counties have also seen an influx of new residents, proportionately it has been less than the other Mid-Hudson Valley counties. 16% of residents in both Columbia and Ulster Counties moved to their community in the past five years. About one out of every five residents in Dutchess and Greene Counties has moved to their community within five years.
Not unlike other Mid-Hudson Valley residents, people who are new to their community describe the region as unaffordable. 61% of newcomers believe the Mid-Hudson region is not an affordable place to live compared with 64% of all Mid-Hudson Valley residents who share this view.
New residents in the region are generally young. While adults under the age of thirty-five comprise only 26% of the overall Mid-Hudson Valley population, 45% of those who have moved to their community over the past five years are in this age group.
Although a majority of recent arrivals are white, a
disproportionate share of newcomers is Latino or African American.10% of the entire Mid-Hudson Valley
population is Latino compared with 16% of new residents.Similarly, African Americans make up 7% of
all Mid-Hudson Valley residents compared with 11% of people who have recently
moved to their community.
While the vast majority of new residents were born in the United States, 16% were born outside this country. This compares with just 8% of Mid-Hudson Valley residents as a whole.
More than half of all newcomers to the region have not completed college. As a group, however, recent arrivals are more educated than the Mid-Hudson Valley population as a whole. 44% have college diplomas compared with just 35% of residents overall.
Many recent arrivals to the area are parents. In fact, just over half of all residents who have moved to their community in the past five years have children.
Like the Mid-Hudson Valley as a whole, a majority of people who have moved to their community in the past five years live in households with an income of more than $50,000. Nearly one-quarter of recent arrivals make six-figure salaries.
Although a majority of residents who have moved to the area in the past five years are homeowners, they are less likely than Mid-Hudson Valley residents as a whole to own a home. 56% of newcomers own their home compared with 71% of all Mid-Hudson Valley residents.
Recent arrivals to the area who rent are just as interested as renters as a whole in buying a home in the Mid-Hudson region. 55% of newcomers who rent would like to buy a home in the area compared with 49% of all people who rent. Nearly half of new residents who rent think they will probably be able to afford to buy a home in the region. However, like renters in general, if they find they are priced out of the housing market in the Mid-Hudson region, 61% intend to move away.
Not unlike Mid-Hudson Valley residents as a whole, most newcomers to the region are employed, and a majority live in households where at least two adults work either full or part time. Most travel to work alone by car usually within a half hour of their homes.
Employed new residents, however, are more likely than Mid-Hudson Valley workers in general to travel more than half an hour to work each day. Like employed Mid-Hudson Valley residents, most newcomers who work think it would be hard to find a new job within the same distance of their home as their current position.
Nearly seven in ten newcomers to the Mid-Hudson Valley are registered to vote. 42% are registered Democrats compared with about one-quarter who are registered as Republicans. New residents who consider themselves politically moderate outnumber both conservatives and liberals by a double-digit margin.
New residents are not as likely to be active in their community as people who have lived in the area for a longer time. Only 45% say they regularly volunteer or are active in a civic organization, a church, or a club compared with a majority of all Mid-Hudson Valley residents.
Two-thirds of Mid-Hudson Valley residents have lived in their community for more than a decade. Most residents feel positively about their community as a place to live. In fact, 88% rate their community as at least a good place to live including nearly one in four Mid-Hudson Valley residents who describe their community as excellent.
Despite this sense of community among many residents of the Mid-Hudson region, 29% of residents intend to relocate when asked whether they will still be living in the area five years from now.
There are differences at the county level. More than one in three Sullivan County residents intends to leave their community within the next five years as do about three out of ten residents in both Dutchess and Orange Counties. About one in four residents of Putnam, Columbia, Greene, and Ulster Counties expect to leave the area in the near future.
Age is an important factor. Adults under thirty years old are nearly as likely to say they are going to leave as say they are going to stay. 49% of residents between eighteen and thirty years of age plan to leave the area, and 51% intend to still be living in the region in five years.
24% of people who are thirty-one and forty-four years of age and 28% of residents who are between forty-five and sixty years old plan to relocate. Residents over the age of sixty are least likely to consider leaving the area. Only 18% of people over sixty years old think they will move away in the next five years.
Why do residents intend to leave the Mid-Hudson Valley? As a group, people who intend to leave the region are more likely to describe the area as unaffordable. 71% of residents planning to relocate do not think it is an affordable place to live compared with 60% of Mid-Hudson Valley residents who plan to stay.
When asked directly why they intend to relocate, half of those residents who plan to leave mention an economic reason. For instance, 17% of residents planning to leave the area cite the cost of living, 17% point to taxes, and 12% mention jobs.
The other half of residents thinking about relocating mentions non-economic reasons. For example, 8% mention the climate of the region, 7% think it’s time for a change, and 6% cite overcrowding, and the same proportion mentions the quality of life.
Overall, people planning to leave the Mid-Hudson region for economic reasons represent 14% of the area’s residents.
Putnam County residents who plan to leave are most likely to mention economic concerns. 61% of these residents say they plan to leave their community in the next five years because of cost. Taxes are the major reason prompting Putnam County residents to move. 26% of residents who plan to relocate volunteer the tax burden as the main reason for leaving. 20% cite the cost of living, and 11% specifically mention housing costs.
A majority of residents in Dutchess and Ulster Counties who plan to relocate are also more likely to cite an economic reason for leaving than a non-economic one. Residents in both these counties mention the cost of living, taxes, and jobs as motivating factors.
Residents in Columbia County who plan to leave the area are more likely to cite non-economic reasons for their move. 60% of Columbia County residents planning to move are motivated by non-economic concerns. However, the top three reasons for moving include taxes, it’s time for a change, and the high cost of living.
A majority of residents in Greene, Orange, and Sullivan Counties who plan to leave also give a non-economic reason for their intention to relocate. But again, two of the top three reasons are economic. For instance, 23% of Greene County residents who plan to leave the area cite a lack of jobs, 18% mention the climate, and 11% mention the cost of living.
When considering the reasons people are leaving the Mid-Hudson region, age is an important factor. Residents age thirty-one to sixty who intend to leave are more likely to do so for economic reasons. 57% of residents planning to relocate who are over thirty yet under forty-five, and 58% who are between forty-five and sixty years old, cite an economic reason for explaining their intention to leave the area. In contrast, the majority of adults who intend to leave who are thirty years old or younger or over sixty years of age plan to do so because of non-economic reasons.
