True Cost of Living Report
46% of working-age NYC households do not earn enough to cover the city’s basic costs of living such as food, housing, healthcare, and childcare.
The cost of meeting basic needs in New York City has increased substantially, forcing many of our neighbors to make impossible choices, such as paying rent or buying groceries. In order to afford the true cost of living in NYC, a family with two adults, one preschool-aged child, and one school-aged child now needs to make more than $125,000 in all five boroughs—far more than what most families actually earn. Meanwhile, the federal poverty guideline for a family of four is $33,000.
The full True Cost of Living Report: Overlooked and Undercounted in New York City 2026, will be released this spring by the Fund for the City of New York. An early preview of the report paints a stark picture of the realities that many of our neighbors are facing every day as they make tough choices to stretch their already-tight budgets.
Many working families in our city are struggling to meet their most basic needs, but because they earn “too much” income, they do not qualify for most work supports and are routinely overlooked and undercounted. At a moment when visits to food pantries and soup kitchens across the five boroughs remain persistently high, and 1 in 6 New Yorkers are unsure where their next meal will come from, we are seeing many of our neighbors turning to partners like City Harvest for support.
The findings are sobering, making it a powerful tool for understanding the complexities of the challenges New Yorkers face. It offers a launchpad for a more accurate and strategic approach to addressing systemic challenges through public policy, business practices, values in the private sector, and holistic charity.
The 2026 True Cost of Living Report was developed by the Center for Women’s Welfare at the University of Washington School of Social Work. The report was prepared for The Fund for the City of New York.
