Reports

New York City remains one of the nation’s most expensive places to start or operate a business, but several major business expenses have grown at a slower rate than in competing metropolitan areas over the past decade.

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

New York City’s hotel industry is one of the nation’s strongest, with high demand for rooms led by a surge in domestic visitors, but it remains vulnerable to changes in tourism and the continued loss of international travelers due to geopolitical instability.

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 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.

This analysis offers a snapshot of New York City’s existing child care and Early Childhood Education services, the program characteristics unique to each, and an estimate of their total overall cost to the City.

New York City’s budget gaps may reach as high as $10 billion in FY 2027 and grow to $13.6 billion by FY 2029, based on risks including slowing economic growth, rising costs and the restructuring of the funding relationship between the federal government, states and their localities. Mindful of the current economic trajectory and what is transpiring in Washington, the City must make balanced and sustainable fiscal choices this year to manage its substantial operational needs and encourage employment and business growth.

The New York City metropolitan area is the second largest market for venture capital (VC) funding in the United States, with $28.5 billion in investments, or 13.3% of the national total in 2024. The amount invested in the region has more than doubled since 2015. Though overall VC activity remains stronger than before the pandemic, the second quarter of 2025 experienced a slowdown from the prior quarter that is reflective of federal economic policy that remains uncertain.

Despite having the fourth-largest construction sector in the nation, New York State is one of five states that have not recovered from pandemic job losses and a full recovery may take some time as construction businesses in New York City continue to face a variety of challenges, including softer demand for office space. This report provides an update to the Office of the New York State Comptroller’s report that found the COVID-19 pandemic had an outsized impact on the construction sector in New York City. 

Young workers in New York City between the ages of 16-24 continued to face a high 13.2% unemployment rate in 2024, which was 3.6 points higher than in 2019 and higher than all other age groups. Potential federal funding cuts to education and workforce development grants, as well as a looming economic recession, may weaken job prospects for young people.

Food prices in the New York City metropolitan area have risen 25.2% since 2019 and low-income households are paying substantially more toward food than before the pandemic. While food costs are affected by many factors, recent increases have been fueled by supply chain disruptions created by disruptive public health, severe weather and geopolitical events, which may continue in the near term.

New York City’s efforts to address its housing shortage have led to a growth in supply that outpaced that of the State, but a drop in permits suggests slower growth may be on the horizon. The City gained 307,000 housing units from 2010 through 2023, an increase of 9%, bringing the total to over 3.7 million. Brooklyn gained the most over that time, with 11.4% growth to reach 1.1 million units or 30% of housing citywide.

The New York portion of the New York City Metropolitan Area accounted for more than $103 billion, or 69% of the value of goods imported to New York State in 2023, and Europe provided the largest share of goods to the area. This report aims to help New Yorkers understand the potential effects of federal trade policy choices on their businesses and households.

One in four New York City households had no cable, FTTP or DSL internet subscription as of 2023, with The Bronx having the highest share of households without access. More than availability, the challenge for residents to access the internet in the City appears to be driven by a lack of affordable options for some.

Transportation costs for households in the New York City metropolitan area grew by about 56% between 2012-13 and 2022-23, less than in the Los Angeles, Miami and San Francisco metropolitan areas. Transportation made up the second largest cost for New Yorkers, behind housing. It remains critical to maintain MTA service at affordable levels, so that transportation costs remain relatively affordable and offset housing costs, especially for lower- and middle-income households.

Brooklyn’s Coney Island and Brighton Beach have earned global reputations as destinations, but the dramatic rise in jobs over the past decade is less well known. Despite the pandemic, there were 35,203 jobs in Coney Island and Brighton Beach in 2023, a 101% increase from a decade earlier. The area is home to one of the largest populations of individuals 65 and over among neighborhoods citywide, and recent economic growth has been tied to serving this population.

Office buildings in New York City remain a critical contributor to its economy and tax base, as market values reached nearly $205 billion in fiscal year 2025, surpassing pre-pandemic levels. Higher market values on office buildings are being fueled by growth outside of traditional Midtown office districts, including Hudson Yards, Chelsea, Union Square, Soho, Downtown Brooklyn and Long Island City.

Small businesses with fewer than five employees grew over 10% in New York City during the COVID-19 pandemic. Very small businesses were a key source of new economic activity during the first half of the pandemic in the city, as they accounted for more than 71% of all businesses citywide. This report details the growth in New York City’s small businesses, the industries that were most affected, and the areas, Brooklyn and the Bronx, that saw the highest increases.

The North Shore, for many the gateway to Staten Island, has led the borough in population growth since 2010. The North Shore is located just north of the Staten Island Expressway and serves as an important freight and commuting hub. The area accounts for more than one third of the Staten Island population and its residents tend to be younger and more racially diverse than in other parts of the borough.

New York City’s tourism sector is approaching a complete recovery as visitor spending and related tax revenue have surpassed pre-pandemic levels. The City now estimates it will exceed pre-pandemic levels and welcome a record 68 million visitors by 2025. The number of visitors had reached a previous record of 66.6 million in 2019 before the COVID-19 pandemic devastated this thriving industry, resulting in a 66.5% decline in visitors to 22.3 million in 2020.