Mayor de Blasio: 65,000 New Yorkers Lifted out of Poverty, Workers' Wages Rise

September 16, 2016

New U.S. Census Bureau Data: NYC household incomes up 5.1 percent between 2014 and 2015 – the fastest income growth and highest incomes since recession

Wage earners see income growth in every borough  

Poverty falls to 20 percent, lowest levels since 2009

NEW YORK—Data just released by the U.S. Census Bureau shows 65,000 New Yorkers have been lifted out of poverty since the de Blasio Administration took office in 2014. According to the Bureau’s American Community Survey, from 2014 to 2015, median household incomes in New York City rose 5.1 percent to $55,752 – the highest median income since 2008 and the fastest income growth since the recovery from the 2008 recession.

"Every day, we fight against income inequality. Every family raised out of poverty and every parent taking home higher wages makes our city stronger,” said Mayor Bill de Blasio. “The gains are encouraging, but we still have a lot of work to do to become a more equitable city. That’s why we are continuing to push the envelope and use new progressive policies to help working families get ahead.”

Between 2014 and 2015, the number of New Yorkers in poverty fell from 1,746,354 in 2014 to 1,680,857. At 20 percent, New York City’s poverty levels are the lowest since 2009. The number of New Yorkers living in poverty has decreased by 3.8 percent overall since 2014.

Since taking office, Mayor de Blasio has focused on combatting income inequality across New York City through progressive policies to lift up struggling families, including expanding paid sick leave to 3.4 million workers, raising the minimum wage to $15 an hour for City employees, expanding Living Wage provisions and opening free pre-K education to every child in the city. Yesterday, the City announced plans to enact Fair Workweek scheduling for fast food workers. The policies have coincided with record job growth, with the city adding 293,400 private sector jobs since December 2013, an 8.4 percent increase.

Individual wage earners over 16 years of age within NYC households also saw their incomes rise in all five boroughs.

• Brooklyn: Wages rose 5.3 percent to $34,144
• The Bronx: Incomes rose 1.8 percent to $25,847
• Manhattan: Wages rose 3.9 percent to $55,011
• Queens: Wages rose 4.0 percent to $33,346