Reports

The stability of the MTA's finances is increasingly reliant on its ability to find significant savings, grow ridership, and efficiently execute capital improvements. By prioritizing and delivering capital investments and continuing efforts to find ways to provide more cost-efficient service that remains safe, frequent and reliable, the MTA will ultimately improve the ridership experience. This will further strengthen farebox operating revenues and better prepare the MTA for uncertainty in the coming years.

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.

The neighborhoods of Long Island City (L.I.C.), Sunnyside and Woodside in northwest Queens are contributing to the borough’s business growth, share of the population employed, median household income and new housing. Even with its expansion, L.I.C./Sunnyside/Woodside faces some challenges such as air pollution, a level of crime higher than pre-pandemic rates despite recent declines, and income and housing pressures in parts of the area. Continued success depends on further monitoring of these factors, as well as supporting and managing housing, employment and infrastructure development.

New York City’s revenues from water and sewer charges, fines and forfeitures, licenses and permits, interest income, rental income and other “miscellaneous revenues” reached an estimated $6.7 billion in fiscal year (FY) 2025, just 11% higher than in FY 2019. The weaker growth was due, in part, to the COVID-19 pandemic. The City should assess the many fines, fees, and charges for services it collects and whether these revenue sources are permanently affected by the changes that occurred during the pandemic and what that means for anticipated revenues.

Subway on-time performance (OTP) last year and in the first half of 2025 remained better than in 2019, but the causes of delays have changed as riders have returned. A train is considered late, or delayed, only if it arrives at its destination more than five minutes after its scheduled arrival time, skips scheduled stops or is cancelled altogether. Of the 2.7 million scheduled trains in 2024, 486,614 trains did not reach their destination as scheduled, for an OTP of 82.2 percent.

New York City’s adopted $119.7 billion fiscal year 2026 budget is currently balanced (including pre-payments) but there are significant concerns over funding from Washington and slowing economic growth that could jeopardize its financial position and discretionary programs if greater preparation is not taken. The City must make balanced and prudent fiscal choices in the coming year while managing its substantial operational needs and encouraging employment and business growth to enhance its economic and tax revenue base.

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. 

The MTA has made substantial progress funding its capital programs and has tried to limit the strain on its operating budget from debt service costs, but potential federal actions threaten its financial future and debt profile.

Stronger than anticipated revenues and lower costs for asylum seekers will help New York City balance its $118 billion fiscal year 2026 budget. However, potential fiscal challenges are emerging, including continued uncertainty regarding federal policy and economic conditions, and fiscal risks from anticipated federal budget cuts. These challenges could limit the City’s potential revenue upside and make it harder to continue to fund recent spending additions for discretionary programs and maintain services.

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.

Budget resolutions under consideration by the 119th Congress could lead to a dramatic restructuring of the federal⁠⁠-⁠⁠state⁠ ⁠relationship. This online resource details the vast array of services that federal funding supports amid the continued uncertainty in Washington over potential cuts for states, including funds for Medicaid and other health programs, education, social welfare, transportation, public protection and other vital programs.  

Non-emergency 311 calls in New York City climbed to over 3.4 million in 2024, up 7% from 2023. To increase transparency and help the city respond to growing quality of life complaints, the Office of the New York State Comptroller released a report highlighting trends in service requests over the past five years, and an interactive NYC311 Monitoring Tool to let people see requests in their neighborhood and help identify where resources may be needed.

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 proposed Fiscal Year (FY) 2026 operating budget relies on $7.4 billion in federal government funding, accounting for 6.4% of total spending. Recent federal government actions to cut grant programs could jeopardize at least $535 million of federal aid in FY 2025 and FY 2026, but nearly all federal operating aid that flows to the City could be subject to cuts or elimination.

The average bonus paid to employees in New York City’s securities industry for 2024 reached $244,700, up 31.5% from last year. The bonus pool for the city’s securities employees reached a record $47.5 billion, its first major increase since the COVID-19 pandemic highs. Wall Street’s profits rose 90% in 2024.

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.

New York City increased its expectations for its surplus in fiscal year (FY) 2025 to $2.34 billion, largely as a result of stronger tax revenue projections and a reduction in the cost of providing services to asylum seekers, which will help balance its $116.9 billion FY 2026 budget. With escalating uncertainty in the federal funding environment — which could lead the State to make choices to balance its budget that pressure local government finances — preparation and transparency remain paramount to navigate the future.

New York City’s 65 and older population grew by nearly half a million seniors in the last two decades, an increase of 53%. Much of the growth was led by Asian, Hispanic and Black seniors calling the City home, along with more seniors born outside the U.S. The City needs to continue to monitor the trends of the aging population to ensure services remain commensurate with need and outreach is robust.

New York City’s finances have stabilized amid declining costs for asylum seekers and strong revenue, largely from growth in business and property tax collections. The City must balance fiscal management with its operational needs to ensure it can continue to encourage employment and business growth, enhancing its economic and tax revenue base.