In 2022, New York City welcomed some changes to everyday life as restric- tions associated with the pandemic eased and economic activity began picking up again. The city’s “return to normal,” however, was not without its difficulties, especially for low-income New Yorkers. The year also saw the sunsetting of pandemic-era policy reforms and income supports. These policy shifts, coupled with soaring rent prices and historically high levels of inflation, made affording the rising prices of basic necessities a challenge for all and impossible for many. Rents in New York City were among the highest in the country in 2022 1 and New Yorkers were hit hard by steep increases in the costs of energy, transportation, recreation, and food. 2 Prices rose at the same time as many of the unprecedented policy reforms enacted in response to the pandemic – including stimulus payments, the historic expansion to the Child Tax Credit (CTC), and the eviction moratoria, among others – expired, contributing to rising poverty rates 3 and economic hardships 4 nationwide. For many New Yorkers, the economic precarity brought on by income losses and rising prices was exacerbated, but not new. About 1 in 5 New Yorkers lived below the poverty line before the pandemic, and while rates of poverty and hardship fell in response to pandemic-era policies, these measures of disadvantage returned to their pre-pandemic levels in 2022. In this report, the sixth volume of the State of Poverty and Disadvantage in New York City, we use the latest data from the Poverty Tracker to examine how New Yorkers fared in 2022 as they faced the compounding effects of these economic shocks and policy changes. We examine income poverty, material hardship (i.e., chronic or acute inability to make ends meet), and health problems, measuring the prevalence of these forms of economic disadvantage, how they varied across subgroups, and the overlap between them. Our results show a return to pre-pandemic levels of poverty and hardship in 2022, alongside other continuing challenges: the city’s poverty rate remained well above the national average, and substantial disparities – particularly along racial and ethnic lines – persisted. The report also features a spotlight analysis on the affordability challenges faced by many New Yorkers, including those who are not in poverty. The results demonstrate that economic difficulties persist well above the poverty line, yet also highlight the continued need to support New Yorkers with the most limited resources. The results presented here, and those we have published over the last year, reemphasize that many New Yorkers are consistently facing economic burdens, which are exacerbated by the absence of income supports provided by federal, state, and local policy.
1 Lander et al., “New York by the Numbers Monthly Economic and Fiscal Outlook No. 70 – October 11th, 2022.” 2 Office of Budget and Policy Analysis and Office of the State Deputy Comptroller for the City of New York, “Inflation in the New York City Metropolitan Area.” 3 Shrider and Creamer, “Poverty in the United States: 2022.” 4 Rabbitt et al., “Household Food Security in the United States in 2022.”
THE STATE OF POVERTY AND DISADVANTAGE IN NEW YORK CITY 3
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