Reports

New York lost 500 farms and 100,000 acres of farmland between 2024 and 2025, according to data released by the U.S. Department of Agriculture in February 2026. While the U.S. also experienced losses in this time period, the 1.6 percent loss of farms in New York was double the national rate of 0.8 percent, and the 1.5 percent decline in farmland was five times the national rate.

Weekend ridership recovery across Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) services has risen faster than weekdays since the pandemic ended, with average ridership near 2019 levels and even exceeding it at times. The recovery gap between weekends and weekdays has accelerated in recent years, suggesting the MTA continue to adjust service in response.

New York State agency overtime costs increased 22.7% in 2025 for a total of $1.6 billion, while the number of overtime hours increased by 5.9%, or 1.4 million hours higher than the previous year. The size of the state workforce, not including SUNY and CUNY, grew for a third straight year in 2025 increasing by 2.7%, or 4,139 positions, from 2024, to an average annual total of 155,448.

The December unemployment rate in New York City remained higher than pre-pandemic levels for several demographic groups, particularly for youths and Blacks. This report also finds that non-college-educated unemployment is closer to pre-pandemic levels than college-educated unemployment, a major shift from earlier in the decade.

New York had one of the steepest drops of any state in international tourism in 2025, with overseas travelers falling 3% — a loss of over 176,000 visitors — second only to California. The decline is hurting the state’s economy, as fewer visitors means less spending and a smaller number of jobs in hotels and restaurants.

Over the course of 2025, tariff levels were in flux; 43 executive orders were issued modifying tariffs on specific types of products or on specific countries. In addition, trade agreements were either made or amended which also modified tariff levels. These varying tariff policies injected uncertainty into the economy. As a result of the new policies, U.S. exports declined to over one-third of the nation’s trading partners and to almost one-half of New York’s trading partners in 2025

Wall Street’s securities industry bonus pool reached a record $49.2 billion in 2025, up 9% from the previous year, while the average bonus rose 6% to $246,900.The increases reflect a rise of more than 30% in Wall Street’s profits, which totaled $65.1 billion in 2025.

New York City’s $127 billion fiscal year 2027 preliminary budget (February Plan) provides more transparency for spending, addressing years of chronic underbudgeting and exposing an emerging structural budget gap that may require choices that threaten the city’s fiscal stability, competitiveness and affordability.

Seven villages were designated in fiscal stress under the Fiscal Stress Monitoring System (FSMS) for their fiscal year ending in 2025. One village was designated in “significant fiscal stress,” four in “moderate fiscal stress,” and two as “susceptible to fiscal stress.”

This report details how vital small businesses are to New York’s economy, generating nearly $1 trillion in sales and revenues with more than 3.7 million employees at over 422,000 establishments in 2023. New York ranked fourth among states in the number of small businesses and third behind California and Florida for its share of small businesses, but trailed the rest of the country in some key metrics, including small business creation and employment.

This report uses federal-state employment and wage data, as well as occupational data and industry outlooks, to discuss the distribution of jobs by industry sector in New York State and the impact that some of the largest sectors have had on 21st-century jobs in the state’s nine economic development regions outside of New York City.

New York City’s Department for the Aging is facing rising demand for home care and case management services that help older residents remain independent, resulting in a growing waitlist for assistance. This report highlights challenges such as funding uncertainty that may affect the agency’s ability to meet increasing needs.

This report examines New York City’s expanded efforts to address the rise in its unsheltered (street homeless) population. The analysis recommends the City make better use of data collected through outreach, placement, and service programs to more clearly show where it has been most effective at helping people move into permanent housing. It also highlights the need to improve the efficiency of shelter placements as funding for street homeless programs is projected to remain largely flat after Fiscal Year 2026.

The long-term decline in the number of individuals in State prisons has led to a demographic shift towards an older incarcerated population and necessitates increased attention to policies and costs associated with this population. This report reviews demographic changes in New York’s prison population, changes in prison admission trends and recent policy changes that impact the level of incarceration in the State. Careful evaluation of crime trends, rehabilitation and the heightened healthcare costs for this older population is necessary to determine an approach that protects taxpayers and ensures public safety, while also promoting humane care and reducing incarceration wherever possible.

This analysis of the proposed Executive Budget warns that the trajectory of projected State spending is estimated to increase at a rate faster than expected revenues, creating cumulative outyear budget gaps estimated by the Division of Budget to total $27.5 billion through SFY 2030 while reserves remain stagnant. Actions taken in Washington, including federal reductions in aid, create increased fiscal strains that are likely to affect the State’s economy, finances and safety net, necessitating increased caution when developing a spending plan. The proposed Budget also limits government accountability by eroding current contract oversight requirements.

New York’s Tuition Assistance Program (TAP) has not kept pace with inflation or rising tuition costs since the 2008-09 academic year. Undergraduate TAP recipients dropped by 77,000 (21%), with steep declines among two-year programs (45%), private-sector schools (40%), and the lowest income households (38%). Recent State actions to expand eligibility for TAP helped lead to an increase in TAP beneficiaries in AY 2024-25; however, continued attention to the program is critical as students face mounting debt levels and federal support is reduced.

Sales tax collections for local governments and other local taxing entities in New York State totaled $24.4 billion in 2025, up 4.5 percent ($1 billion) over the prior year. This growth was close to three times the year-over-year increase for 2024 (1.6 percent) and higher than the 3.8 percent average pre-pandemic rate. All of the state’s 10 regions saw year-over-year increases in collections in 2025. New York City’s sales taxes grew by 5 percent ($521 million), while collections in the counties and cities in the rest of the state experienced 3.9 percent ($451 million) aggregate growth. | Regional Table

This report explores publicly available School Safety and Educational Climate (SSEC) data from the New York State Education Department for School Years (SY) 2017-18 through 2023-24. Included is a trend analysis of several “violent and disruptive” incidents (e.g., assault, sexual offenses, weapons possession, bullying, cyberbullying and drug and alcohol incidents), the impact of the SY 2021-22 SSEC incident definition changes for several serious categories, and schools that reported no violent and disruptive incidents. | Download School-Level Data

New York City’s Open Streets program, initiated in 2020 to transform streets into public spaces, partly to support local businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic, helped support the recovery of more than 67,000 retail and restaurant jobs between the first and most recent year of operation, though the gains were concentrated in areas of Manhattan and Brooklyn. This report analyzes labor force trends between 2020 and 2024 to understand the extent of how employment growth in Open Street corridors fared against non-Open Street corridors.

New York farmers are under increasing economic and financial pressure because of federal policy changes, including higher tariffs, cuts to certain agricultural programs, and stricter immigration enforcement policies. These challenges could diminish farm production, squeeze profits, and lead to higher prices for consumers.