New Yorkers Struggle To Meet Cost Of Living, Report Finds

NEW YORK, NY— 62 percent of New Yorkers, roughly 5 million people, cannot cover the cost of living, with Black and Hispanic communities hit hardest, according to the City’s first True Cost of Living Measure.

The report, released alongside the Preliminary Citywide Racial Equity Plan, shows families face gaps of tens of thousands of dollars to meet housing, food, healthcare, childcare and transportation needs, laying bare how racial inequities shape affordability across the city.

Hispanic and Black New Yorkers face the highest burdens, at 77.6 percent and 65.6 percent, respectively, compared with 43.7 percent of white residents.

Families in the Bronx experience the starkest inequities, where 87 percent of children live in households below the TCOL.

“Black and Latino New Yorkers — who have been pushed out of this city for decades — are bearing the brunt,” Mayor Zohran Mamdani said. “We cannot tackle systemic racial inequity without confronting the affordability crisis head-on.”

The Preliminary Citywide Racial Equity Plan requires 45 city agencies to examine policies and programs through a racial equity lens.

The plan includes more than 200 agency-level goals, over 800 strategies, and 600 indicators for tracking progress.

It spans seven domains: children, youth, older adults and families; economy; housing; infrastructure and environment; health; community safety, rights and accountability; and good governance.

Key findings reveal that families need a median of $159,197 annually to achieve economic security, while median resources amount to $124,007 — leaving a $35,000 shortfall.

New Yorkers with self-reported disabilities face a $76,178 average gap, with 92 percent unable to meet the true cost of living. Roughly 3.58 million residents earn above the federal poverty line but still cannot cover essentials.

City officials say government programs like stabilized housing, Universal Pre-K/3-K, SNAP, and tax credits reduce the overall TCOL rate by about five percentage points.

Housing remains the largest driver of costs, and the city plans to apply a racial equity framework to new housing proposals to ensure fair geographic investment.

The Mamdani administration will collect public feedback over the next 30 days before releasing a final version of the Racial Equity Plan. Residents can share input here.