The average household income for New Yorkers has risen by nearly 68% over the past 20 years, but after adjusting for inflation, purchasing power has gone up by only 14.3%.
Studying two decades of data collected through the Empire State Poll (ESP), researchers have found that the cost of living dominates respondents' key concerns, eclipsing other priorities, such as the environment. Meanwhile, respondents' outlooks on their personal finances and on the state's economy have grown increasingly pessimistic, and trust in institutions has declined.
Those are among the key findings in "The Empire State Poll: A Portrait of Work in New York State from 2003-2024," one of 17 reports in the ILR School's "New York at Work 2025-26 Report," published Aug. 25.
"The annual New York at Work report embodies the school's land-grant mission by continuing our commitment to enhancing labor policy and practice in New York state," said Alexander Colvin, Ph.D. '99, the Kenneth F. Kahn '69 Dean and Martin F. Scheinman '76, M.S. '76, Professor of Conflict Resolution. "We are proud to continue improving labor relations and enhancing the lives of New York's working people through our research, teaching and outreach."
Now in its sixth year, the New York at Work report draws on ILR expertise, research-based data and policy analysis to explore a broad range of key issues affecting the state's workers, unions, communities and employers. It is intended to serve as an informative, accessible and relevant resource for policymakers and the public.
Much of the research, all of which has been published in the past year, relates directly to the ESP, which ILR's Center for Applied Research on Work (CAROW) conducts annually to survey New York state residents about how work impacts their lives.
"For over 20 years, Cornell University's Empire State Poll has taken the pulse of New York state residents' public opinion," said Anne DeCecco, senior research and policy development associate at CAROW. "The result is over two decades of rich data on the issues that are most important to New York residents. Our longitudinal study shows the trends that have reshaped residents' priorities over the years, and how their attitudes toward personal and statewide finances have changed."
Research and policy briefs in the most recent New York at Work report were contributed by ILR's Buffalo Co-Lab, CAROW, Climate Jobs Institute, Criminal Justice and Employment Initiative, Ithaca Co-Lab, Labor and Employment Law Program, Worker Institute and Yang-Tan Institute on Employment and Disability.
Key findings among the various briefs include:
- Black women in Erie County are two to three times more likely to be impoverished than white women and white men, respectively.
- Federal grant and assistance spending in New York state declined by nearly $7 billion from fiscal year 2024 to 2025.
- Twenty-six percent of people with disabilities experience some type of justice-system interaction, a rate that far exceeds that of people without disabilities.
- As of June 2026, New York has met 44% of its 2030 renewable energy generation target and has reduced statewide emissions by 24%.
- Tens of thousands of workers in Tompkins County, just under half of the county's wage earners, are making less than a living wage. The figure is highest among Black workers (67%) and Latinx workers (58%), compared with 48% among white workers.
- Nearly 24% of ESP respondents reported experiencing racial discrimination in the workplace, while more than 22% reported experiencing workplace sexual harassment.
- Almost 30% of working-age New Yorkers with disabilities lived in poverty in 2024.
You can also view previous New York at Work reports.
Julie Greco is the director of communications for the ILR School.
