Rates of health problems and serious psychological distress among adults in New York City (2016–2022) Figure 1.6
Health problems or serious psychological distress
Health problems
40%
33%
31%
29%
30%
27%
26%
25%
25%
24%
20%
22%
22%
22%
21%
21%
20%
10%
0%
2020
2021
2022
2018
2019
2016
2017
Source: Annual Poverty Tracker survey data, second through fifth Poverty Tracker cohorts. Note: In 2020, the Poverty Tracker sampling design changed to include an oversample of New Yorkers of Chinese de- scent, including those who speak Mandarin. Thus, pre-2020 results are not directly comparable to results from 2020 to the present, which we signify with a break in the trend lines. See Appendix B for additional details.
When examining citywide rates of poverty, hardship, and health problems across the years, 2022 stands out. Despite promising developments in 2021, rates of poverty, hardship, and health problems increased back to pre-pandemic levels in 2022. Rates of material hardship returned to levels seen before 2020, and increases in poverty were especially pronounced for children and their families. The share of New Yorkers experiencing health problems were also similar to pre-pandemic levels (though somewhat elevated), and, as we will show in the next section, substantial disparities in exposure to economic disadvantage along racial and ethnic lines and between other population subgroups persist. Taken together, the results point to the need for more robust and long-lasting – rather than temporary – policy tools as well as the need for additional action to bolster the economic security and health of New Yorkers.
18 THE STATE OF POVERTY AND DISADVANTAGE IN NEW YORK CITY VOL. 6
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