Child poverty is a big problem in New York State. A recent report from the Comptroller shows almost 20% of children there were living in poverty in 2022. That’s the latest data available. The situation was especially bad in some upstate cities, with rates of more than 45%.
“We’re flagging how high it is in some of the cities because those are some of the highest rates we’ve seen, but clearly if you look at the map there are rural counties with very high rates, and urban counties like the Bronx with very high rates,” said Maria Doulis, head of budget and policy analysis in the Comptroller’s office. “It’s a problem across our state.”
The child poverty rate in New York fell by 50% between 2019 and 2021, but then more than doubled in 2022 as the Child Tax Credit expired.
Doulis said there are few states where the situation is worse. New York ranks 41st.
“It is a rate that is so high it is one of the worst in the nation,” she said, “and so while there has been a long-term decline in the last decade or so in child poverty rates, what we see is an increase in child poverty in our state that is concerning.”
The child poverty rate in New York State is higher than the neighboring states of New Jersey, Connecticut, Massachusetts and Pennsylvania.
Doulis said things are a little better in the biggest city.
“New York City does not have a rate that’s as high as some of these other upstate cities, and actually when you’re looking at the largest cities in the nation New York’s rate is slightly below that of its cohorts, so about 23%,” she said, “still greater than the state as a whole but not that much greater.”
In New York City the situation was worst in the Bronx, with a rate of 35%. Child poverty in New Jersey is about 13% compared to almost 20% in New York.