New York’s young adults — some members of Generation Z (born 1997-2012) and Millennials (born 1981-1996) — are facing a complex economic landscape, including higher unemployment rates, increasing costs, and larger debt burdens, that threatens their financial well-being. Rising household expenses, particularly for food, housing, and transportation, have outpaced growth in income. These conditions raise concerns about the State’s ability to retain its young workforce, critical for sustaining long-term growth.

Local government sales tax collections totaled $18.2 billion from January to September 2025, an increase of 4.3% ($747 million) compared to the same period last year. Growth so far this year is higher than the 3.8% average growth rate seen from January to September for the 2010 to 2019 period of recovery and expansion following the Great Recession. | Regional Table [.xlsx]

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.

This reports analyzes the federal tax provisions enacted under Public Law No: 119-21 and how they may impact New Yorkers. While the bill made permanent many tax changes included in the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, it includes new tax breaks for seniors and the working class that are largely temporary. These minimal tax benefits, along with the significant cuts in safety net spending included in the legislation, will put a larger burden on New Yorkers trying to make ends meet.

The City of Kingston is a destination for culture, arts and history located along the Hudson River in eastern Ulster County in the Mid-Hudson Region. Kingston is doing well by many fiscal measures. However, housing affordability has been a pressure point for city leaders, who have used multiple strategies including zoning reform, rent stabilization and property tax exemptions to address this challenge. Recently, the city has experienced budgetary pressures, as it has ramped up its debt issuance to make long-term investments in infrastructure and institutions.

New York State’s Financial Plan shows a growing structural budget deficit with a cumulative three-year budget gap of $34.3 billion, as forecasted by the Division of the Budget. The gap is up $7 billion since the January release of the Fiscal Year 2026 Executive Budget Financial Plan, and is attributable to downward revisions to the economic forecast and projected revenues, as well as increases in projected spending.

This report examines healthcare professional shortages in 16 rural counties throughout New York, looking at a range of professionals, including those practicing primary care, dental health and mental health. Shortages exist in all counties examined, and some counties have no pediatricians or Ob/Gyn doctors at all. The ability to access health care is an essential quality of life issue. Without access, rural New Yorkers may have worse health outcomes, and if unaddressed, shortages will get worse.

Sales tax collections for local governments and other local taxing entities in New York State totaled $11.9 billion in the first half of 2025, up 3.7 percent ($423 million) over the same period last year. Over the past few years, since the end of the dramatic pandemic-related swings in collections from 2020 to 2022, first-half sales taxes are showing similar patterns of growth as in the years following the recession-related dip in 2009. All of the state’s 10 regions saw year-over-year growth in first-half collections.

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. 

Proposed federal changes to the Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program (SNAP), the nation’s largest program helping households obtain food, would increase costs to state governments, limit eligibility and reduce the value of future benefits. As an essential safety net program, SNAP benefits have traditionally been funded by the federal government; the proposed changes could weaken the program and lead to increased food insecurity in New York and nationally.