Median Income
For Many New Yorkers, Incomes Not Keeping Pace with Inflation
According to the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey 5-year Estimates,1 median household income in every county in New York increased from 2019 to 2024. This period, however, has also been marked by high inflation of 23.1 percent, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Adjusting for inflation reveals that for many New York counties, incomes are not keeping pace with expenses, compounding affordability challenges.2
Statewide, the inflation adjusted (“real”) median household income3 increased by $1,688, or 2 percent, from 2019 to 2024. However, in 23 of the state’s 62 counties, real median household income decreased. Tioga county had the largest decrease both by dollar amount (-$4,794), and percentage (-6.2 percent). Rockland County had the second-largest decrease by dollar amount (-$4,526), while Chemung County had the second-largest decrease by percent (-5.8 percent).
Greene and Ulster Counties, likely spurred by pandemic-era migration,4 had the largest gains in real median household income with Greene County increasing the most both by dollar amount ($11,978) and by percent (18.2 percent). Ulster County had a $7,132 increase (9 percent).
Among the five counties that comprise New York City, results were mixed. The real median household income increased in Brooklyn by $6,136 (8.3 percent) and in Queens by $1,628 (1.9 percent). It decreased in Staten Island by $3,549 (-3.5 percent), in Manhattan by $2,590 (-2.4 percent), and in the Bronx by $661 (-1.3 percent) between 2019 and 2024.
When real incomes decline, New Yorkers struggle. Those just starting out have a more difficult time establishing themselves, and others struggle to maintain the same quality of life. As policymakers negotiate the state budget, they should be cognizant of these household affordability challenges—seeking to improve the state’s economic climate, and directing spending toward investments that can facilitate the growth of well-paying jobs and industries.
- Data Table
County 2019 CPI Adjusted Median Household Income 2024 Median Household Income Change Change % Increase/Decrease Greene $65,967 $77,945 $11,978 18.2% High Increase
Ulster $79,139 $86,271 $7,132 9.0% High Increase
Kings $74,127 $80,263 $6,136 8.3% High Increase
Fulton $62,129 $66,533 $4,404 7.1% High Increase
Montgomery $60,873 $64,943 $4,070 6.7% High Increase
Allegany $59,581 $62,869 $3,288 5.5% High Increase
Suffolk $124,340 $130,686 $6,346 5.1% High Increase
Schuyler $64,399 $67,663 $3,264 5.1% High Increase
Franklin $62,036 $65,151 $3,115 5.0% High Increase
Albany $81,537 $85,333 $3,796 4.7% Increase
Warren $75,103 $78,442 $3,339 4.4% Increase
Washington $70,468 $73,495 $3,027 4.3% Increase
Delaware $60,974 $63,337 $2,363 3.9% Increase
Otsego $66,493 $68,885 $2,392 3.6% Increase
Rensselaer $84,908 $87,915 $3,007 3.5% Increase
Monroe $73,935 $76,382 $2,447 3.3% Increase
Ontario $79,927 $82,324 $2,397 3.0% Increase
Clinton $69,369 $71,224 $1,855 2.7% Increase
Essex $69,859 $71,661 $1,802 2.6% Increase
Sullivan $70,675 $72,382 $1,707 2.4% Increase
Nassau $142,885 $146,202 $3,317 2.3% Increase
Jefferson $64,840 $66,301 $1,461 2.3% Increase
Cortland $68,948 $70,418 $1,470 2.1% Increase
Queens $84,508 $86,136 $1,628 1.9% Increase
Niagara $68,331 $69,633 $1,302 1.9% Increase
Onondaga $75,515 $76,945 $1,430 1.9% Increase
Herkimer $67,253 $68,515 $1,262 1.9% Increase
Orleans $64,760 $65,969 $1,209 1.9% Increase
Wayne $73,164 $74,506 $1,342 1.8% Increase
Erie $71,530 $72,839 $1,309 1.8% Increase
Oneida $68,953 $70,154 $1,201 1.7% Increase
Lewis $67,103 $68,182 $1,079 1.6% Increase
Seneca $67,129 $68,089 $960 1.4% Increase
Chautauqua $57,622 $58,351 $729 1.3% Increase
Livingston $73,239 $74,001 $762 1.0% Increase
Oswego $68,879 $69,183 $304 0.4% Increase
St. Lawrence $62,692 $62,850 $158 0.3% Increase
Yates $69,613 $69,701 $88 0.1% Increase
Westchester $118,899 $118,976 $77 0.1% Increase
Tompkins $74,138 $74,024 -$114 -0.2% Decrease
Steuben $66,043 $65,887 -$156 -0.2% Decrease
Madison $75,852 $75,499 -$353 -0.5% Decrease
Dutchess $99,957 $99,478 -$479 -0.5% Decrease
Cattaraugus $59,939 $59,540 -$399 -0.7% Decrease
Columbia $82,195 $81,528 -$667 -0.8% Decrease
Schenectady $80,610 $79,623 -$987 -1.2% Decrease
Orange $98,388 $97,178 -$1,210 -1.2% Decrease
Schoharie $71,029 $70,133 -$896 -1.3% Decrease
Bronx $49,337 $48,676 -$661 -1.3% Decrease
Genesee $74,487 $73,314 -$1,173 -1.6% Decrease
Chenango $63,999 $62,948 -$1,051 -1.6% Decrease
Putnam $128,592 $126,257 -$2,335 -1.8% Decrease
New York $106,521 $103,931 -$2,590 -2.4% Decrease
Broome $64,275 $62,616 -$1,659 -2.6% Decrease
Saratoga $103,738 $100,787 -$2,951 -2.8% Decrease
Wyoming $71,445 $69,110 -$2,335 -3.3% Decrease
Richmond $101,882 $98,333 -$3,549 -3.5% Decrease
Rockland $114,485 $109,959 -$4,526 -4.0% Decrease
Hamilton $72,212 $68,835 -$3,377 -4.7% Decrease
Cayuga $71,845 $67,904 -$3,941 -5.5% High Decrease
Chemung $67,615 $63,716 -$3,899 -5.8% High Decrease
Tioga $77,533 $72,739 -$4,794 -6.2% High Decrease
New York State $84,286 $85,974 $1,688 2.0% Increase
Endnotes
1 Income includes wages, earnings, investment income and other sources of income. See U.S. Census About Income for more information. A household includes all the people who occupy a housing unit (such as a house or apartment) as their usual place of residence. See U.S. Census ACS 5-year Estimates, 2019 & 2024, Table S1901.
2 2019 median incomes adjusted to 2024 dollars using annual average inflation, as reported in the Consumer Price Index Research Retroactive Series (R-CPI-U-RS).
3 The “real” median household income for 2019 is the 2019 median household income (Valued in 2019 dollars) adjusted for inflation to the value of 2024 dollars.
4 Pattern for Progress, Moving in, Moving Out: The effects of domestic migration on populations and regional incomes in the Hudson Valley, July 2024, at https://www.pattern-for-progress.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/72024-Migration-In-Migration-Out.pdf.