New York State Child Poverty Facts
- Over 2.5 million New Yorkers, including 747,000 children, lived in poverty in 2021.
- New York children are more likely to live in poverty than in 32 other states, with 18% (nearly one in five) experiencing poverty in 2021.
- In calendar year 2022, a family of two adults and two children fell below the poverty threshold if their annual income fell below $29,678 or an equivalent of $2,473 per month.
- The poverty rate approaches one in three among children of color and in some communities.
- Due to structural and systemic racism, child poverty among New York State children of color approaches 30% and Black or African American children are more than twice as likely to live in poverty than their Non-Hispanic White peers.
- The National Academy of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine reports that nationally, the burden of child poverty is not equally distributed. Child poverty rates are much higher for Black children (18 percent) and Hispanic children (22%) than for non-Hispanic White children (8%). Rates are also much higher for children in immigrant families (21%) than for those in non-immigrant families (10%).
- The COVID-19 pandemic led to high unemployment statewide, which significantly increased the number of children living in poverty. The United Hospital Fund estimates an additional 325,000 NY children plunged into or near poverty between March and July 2020.
- Research shows that this unacceptable level of child poverty costs New York over $60 billion a year.
- Beyond the pandemic’s role in increasing child poverty, it has long-term repercussions for all NY children. According to the United Hospital Fund, these consequences will result in an estimated $1.7 billion in additional costs to NYS over the next 50 years, plus an additional loss of $8.5 billion in annual income due to learning deficits associated with virtual/hybrid education disruptions.
- New York State’s Constitution says “The aid, care and support of the needy are public concerns and shall be provided by the state.”
Additional Resources
- The Center on Poverty and Social Policy at Columbia University undertakes research and data analysis and examines policies that can make a difference in addressing poverty.
- National Academy of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) 2019 Report: A Roadmap to Reducing Child Poverty
- The National Center on Children in Poverty, housed at Bank Street Graduate School for Education, engages in state level and national data tracking focusing on childhood well-being.
- The Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP) created a comprehensive listing of State Poverty Task Force Recommendations in March 2011. These are not specifically about child poverty, but cover many recommendations that would affect child poverty.
- The American Academy of Pediatrics created a spreadsheet of State Child Poverty Commissions, Councils, and Task Forces, their active dates, and any reports or plans they produced.
- City and state efforts to eliminate child poverty from End Child Poverty US.
- Center on Budget and Policy Priorities 2015 Research: EITC and Child Tax Credit Promote Work, Reduce Poverty, and Support Children’s Development
- The American Academy of Pediatrics has released a policy statement on child poverty and has other resources on its website.
Last Updated June 2023