Staff Report / August 17, 2026
ALBANY, N.Y. – A newly released report from Cornell University reveals that persistent inflation has severely eroded wage gains across New York State, leaving everyday household budgets struggling to keep pace with the rising cost of living.
The report, titled “A Portrait of Work in New York State from 2003 to 2024,” was produced by the Center for Applied Research on Work at Cornell’s School of Industrial and Labor Relations. Researchers tracked employment indicators and surveyed 2,686 New Yorkers through their Empire State Poll. The data indicates that despite a 68% rise in nominal average household income between 2007 and 2023, inflation negated the vast majority of those gains—yielding a modest 14.3% total increase in actual purchasing power over sixteen years.
Key findings from the Cornell report highlight widespread economic stress and shifting labor dynamics:
- Cost of Living Crisis: Over 68% of New Yorkers identified the cost of living as their primary concern, with more than 40% reporting that their household financial situation had worsened year-over-year.
- Housing Costs: Excluding utility expenses, one-third of New Yorkers spend between $1,001 and $2,000 per month on housing, with downstate residents shouldering the highest overall rents and mortgage payments.
- Widening Gender Income Gap: After briefly approaching parity in 2020, the gender pay gap in New York re-widened, averaging a difference of $27,300 in 2026 dollars.
- Shifting Work Hours & Gig Work: Average weekly work hours dropped across all demographic groups from a pre-pandemic baseline of 38–45 hours down to 28–38 hours per week. Additionally, 13.4% of employed respondents relied on app-based gig work.
- Racial Income Disparities: While white and Asian households reported comparable income levels throughout the study period, only white households showed a consistent upward trajectory. Black households persistently reported lower average incomes relative to other groups.
