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According to the Census Bureau, Buffalo-Niagara grew by almost two thousand people between 2016 and 2017. Erie County grew by over two thousand people, the biggest gain the county has seen since at least the early 90's. So encouraging to see a flatline from the population decline. It certainly isn't much growth, but this area will take anything it can get. It will be interesting to see what specific towns grew.
quote=cjoseph;51403960]According to the Census Bureau, Buffalo-Niagara grew by almost two thousand people between 2016 and 2017. Erie County grew by over two thousand people, the biggest gain the county has seen since at least the early 90's. So encouraging to see a flatline from the population decline. It certainly isn't much growth, but this area will take anything it can get. It will be interesting to see what specific towns grew.[/quote]
Erie County lost 30,000+ long term tax paying residents since 2010 and they were replaced by refugees from other Countries and their is no way to track the correct number of refugees which offset the population loss's. The City of Buffalo has been sending out the welcome wagon for refugees and took in as many refeguees as it could get from Hati that were displaced by the Hurricane.
[QUOTE
Erie County lost 30,000+ long term tax paying residents since 2010 and they were replaced by refugees from other Countries and their is no way to track the correct number of refugees which offset the population loss's. The City of Buffalo has been sending out the welcome wagon for refugees and took in as many refeguees as it could get from Hati that were displaced by the Hurricane.[/quote]
I'm sorry, but what makes the life of a refugee worth less than a "long term tax payer?"
BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) - From 2010 through last year, the Census Bureau says more than 12,000 people moved into Erie County from other countries. That easily outpaced the total number of people who moved out.
For the first time in decades, the population trend is on an upward swing, thanks mostly to refugees.
Zaw Win was a political prisoner for four years in his home country of Burma, before eventually making his way to the U.S. as a refugee and settling in Buffalo.
"Here [it's] totally different. That's why it totally changed my life," Win said.
After working side jobs for years, the Burmese national was eventually able to open his own a laundromat on the West Side. He's one of thousands of refugees from Burma, Bhutan, Iraq, and more, who are behind an increase in Erie County's population.
"Refugee population [is a] better opportunity for Buffalo, too. Because they [are] creating new jobs, hardworking people," Win added.
The International Institute helps hundreds of refugees per year get on their feet here in Western New York, actually competing with other cities to bring immigrants to this area. They view all new people as a net gain for the community.
"This is new blood that brings new energy and new dollars to Buffalo," Brian Brown-Cashdowllar of the Institute said.
And if you're looking to give credit for Buffalo's turnaround, the Buffalo Billion plays a big role, but according to the Institute, so does the refugee community.
"I think beyond the investment from Albany, the investment from these families will really going to do wonders for Buffalo for decades to come," Brown-Cashdowllar added.
The reason that Erie County saw such a jump in refugees is the low cost of living here and the amount of available low-wage jobs. But will that trend continue? Citing Buffalo's immigrant past with German and the Irish populations, the International Institute believes it will.
WASHINGTON – Erie County’s population has started to grow slightly again after decades of decline, and it’s almost entirely because so many people are moving to town from overseas.
The county’s population as of last April was 922,835, an increase of 0.4 percent from the 2010 census, according to a new set of county population estimates released Thursday by the U.S. Census Bureau.
While that’s a modest population increase, it is also the first time since the 1960s that an upward population trend has developed in Erie County. What’s more, Erie County was the only county in Western New York to witness a population increase in the first four years of the decade.
And it never would have happened without a huge influx of refugees and other immigrants. According to the Census Bureau, 12,196 people from other countries moved to Erie County between 2010 and 2014 – more than making up for the fact that the county suffered a net loss of 8,394 longtime residents who decided to move away.
Add it all up, and the new Census numbers show a positive trend, said County Executive Mark C. Poloncarz.
“It shows once again the continuing success we’ve had in creating and growing the county,” Poloncarz said. “The population growth is not huge, but compared to the loss of population in recent decades, it’s a good thing.”
It’s also an about-face in more ways than one.
The 2000 census showed metro Buffalo ranking last among the nation’s 48 largest metropolitan areas in gaining immigrants. That trend began to reverse itself in the 2000s, as local agencies bolstered their refugee resettlement efforts.
And now, refugee resettlement appears to be the major reason for the region’s population gain.
According to the New York State Bureau of Refugee and Immigrant Assistance, 6,294 refugees settled in Erie County between 2010 and 2014. Meantime, the International Institute of Buffalo estimates that about 500 other refugees move to the city every year after first being resettled in other communities – adding another 2,500 or so refugees to the county since 2010.
Combine those two figures and it’s obvious that a strong majority of the new international migrants are refugees, many of them from Burma, Bhutan and Somalia.
Refugees frequently get social services help, such as food stamps and Medicaid, when they come to town, thereby prompting some resentment from some longtime taxpayers.
But Poloncarz – pointing to Buffalo’s Grant Street, a onetime wasteland now teeming with immigrant-run businesses – stressed that the wave of refugees is an overall positive for the county.
“This is really great news for the community,” he said. “I’m very pleased that this is happening. The people are bringing a whole new level of investment and opportunity into an area that hadn’t had any for a long time.”
Most working-age refugees quickly find work, said Denise Beehag, director of refugee resettlement at the International Institute, one of four agencies that resettles refugees locally. In fact, Beehag said the International Institute is currently trying to fill 108 job openings in the region and doesn’t have enough refugees to fill them.
Many are entry-level positions, but Beehag said that the availability of such jobs, along with the area’s reputation for affordable housing, has made Buffalo a draw for refugees who originally resettled in other communities.
“People know they can come here and buy a home,” she said. “It’s the American dream.”
Of course, refugees are not the only immigrants moving to Buffalo. No doubt some people are moving to town for jobs at the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus or for work or study at the University at Buffalo, although there’s no data showing how many such people there might be, said Peter A. Rogerson, a professor of geography at UB.
In any case, the influx of immigrants now makes up for the long-term trend of young people – especially younger males – continuing to leave the Buffalo area.
While that continuing exodus might be disappointing, Rogerson said he saw some other highlights in the new Census estimates. Most notably, reversing another long-term trend, births now outnumber deaths in the county.
While a positive sign, Rogerson said that might just be a blip tied to the fact that the 2010 census showed an unexpectedly high number of people in their early- to mid-20s. Those people now would be moving into the prime years for starting a family, which would account for the uptick in births, Rogerson said.
Overall, “it’s definitely nice to see the numbers looking a little more positive,” Rogerson said. “It’s sort of a slow, steady turnaround.”
That turnaround has not been extended to Western New York’s other counties. Rural counties such as Chautauqua, Cattaraugus, Allegany and Wyoming all shrank by more than 2 percent in the first four years of the decade. Meanwhile, Niagara County shrank by an estimated 2,952 people, or 1.3 percent – which was enough to drag down the entire Buffalo metro area.
The population of the metro area – Erie and Niagara counties – was estimated at 1,136,360 as of 2014, which is up by a mere 207 people since the 2010 census. That meager growth meant that the Buffalo metro area, the nation’s 48th largest in 2010, ranked 51st in 2014.
Asked about Niagara County’s population struggles, Niagara Falls Mayor Paul A. Dyster said it was a continuing byproduct of the decline of industry in the city and the decline of farming in other parts of the county.
To counter those trends, Dyster said he’s looking to the south, to Buffalo and Erie County.
“The thing that has been missing here is the trend toward repopulation in downtown,” Dyster said. “That’s been happening in Buffalo, but we’ve been a little behind the curve on that.”
Dyster said he also would like to see more immigrants settle in his city, just as they have in Buffalo.
“Our doors are open,” he said. “This is not just what’s happening in Buffalo now; it’s how our country was built. It’s a good all-American way of building communities that has worked for the long term.”
So does this mean the people coming have little to no skills, and will be looking for the government to care for them?
Or are refugees highly educated folks, who will work in local industry?
Your thoughts..
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