Reports

The share of New York workers who reported working primarily from home fell for the third consecutive year in 2024 but remained more than twice as high as pre-pandemic levels, according to data from the U.S. Census Bureau. In 2024, 11.4 percent of employed New Yorkers worked from home, below the national rate of 13.1 percent.

Through a successful state-federal partnership, New York became the ninth state to institute a universal free school meal program, with more than 1.9 million New York students participating in the school lunch program as of May of 2026. However, recent federal changes may threaten federal support for the state’s universal school meals program, decreasing the number of students eligible for support and increasing state costs.

The Annual Comprehensive Financial Report for the New York State and Local Retirement System (the System or NYSLRS) for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2026.

With the historic, multi-year pandemic aid from the federal government mostly in the past, New York returned to a negative balance of payments with Washington for the first time since Federal Fiscal Year (FFY) 2019. In FFY 2024, the state generated $353.5 billion in federal taxes and received $341.1 billion in federal spending, amounting to a negative $12.4 billion balance of payments to New York.

Excel file with supporting data

Workplace injuries and illnesses among private sector businesses in New York declined nearly 18% between 2014 and 2024, falling to 122,400 incidents. Fewer than two workers per 100 were injured or fell ill on the job in 2024; however, rates in several industry subsectors were significantly higher.

Mobile sports betting has quickly become New York state’s second largest source of gaming revenue, trailing only the lottery. In State Fiscal Year 2026, mobile sports betting generated $1.3 billion in state revenues from taxes on gross gaming revenues. The report also notes that the increased wagering activity led to a 8.5% increase in calls to the state’s problem gambling hotline in 2025 since 2020.

As required by Section 196 of the Navigation Law, the Comptroller prepares an annual report to the State Legislature and the Governor. The report includes: a description of the costs and damages paid by and recovered for the Fund; the monies spent pursuant to Section 186 (including amounts spent for oil spill prevention, training activities and equipment purchased), and the economic and environmental impacts on the State.

The New York State Legislature amended the State Finance Law in 2015 by adding a new Section 8-c providing for the establishment of a statewide electronic system to help detect and prevent fraud, waste and abuse in government spending and to help avoid improper payment of public funds.

State taxpayers supported worthy causes by contributing to programs through personal income tax checkoffs, but too much money is sitting idle instead of helping nonprofit organizations or research and other efforts. This analysis found that while some of New York’s tax checkoff funds reported increased spending in State Fiscal Year 2026, over half had no spending at all.

In State Fiscal Year 2025-26, the Office of Unclaimed Funds returned a record $651 million to rightful owners.

New York State’s overall homeless population declined in the past year, even as many communities outside New York City saw troubling increases.

The estimated $277 billion Enacted Budget for State Fiscal Year (SFY) 2027 is an increase of 7% from SFY 2026, with the state Division of the Budget projecting that disbursements will exceed receipts in each year of the Financial Plan, raising questions about long-term fiscal sustainability.

Comptroller DiNapoli has launched a new taxpayer migration dashboard that allows users to track the number of personal income tax filers moving in and out of New York. Using data from the Department of Taxation and Finance, the dashboard provides the latest information on part-year resident tax filers and will be updated annually to allow the public the ability to analyze trends on taxpayers moving into and out of the state each year.

The Procurement Stewardship Act Report is prepared annually by the Office of the New York State Comptroller as required by New York State Finance Law, Section 163.14. The Report provides information on state agency contracts, agency purchases from centralized contracts, bid protests and use of consultants during the past fiscal year. 

For State Fiscal Year (SFY) 2025-26, agencies paid vendors $4,239,678 in interest for reasons including: delays in encumbrance processing, and agency backlog or agency processing delays.

The New York State Minority- and Women-Owned Business Enterprise (MWBE) Asset Management and Financial Institution Strategy was enacted to codify and replicate best practices for providing MWBEs that are asset managers, investment banks and financial and professional service providers with the opportunity to offer services to fiduciary-controlled entities established by New York State law. 

Of the total contracts reported by State agencies in 2025, 76 percent were processed after their start or renewal dates, a decrease from 78 percent in 2024.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey 5-year Estimates, median household income in every county in New York increased from 2019 to 2024. However, adjusting for inflation reveals that for many New York counties, incomes are not keeping pace with expenses, compounding affordability challenges.

This report examines the usage and significance of New York State’s park system, managed by the Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation. Sites saw 86 million visits in 2025. This marks a 10-year increase of 16.7 million visits, (24 percent), or 45,701 more per day, since 2016.

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.