Indicators of financial stability are a critical benchmark of a community’s well–being. In all cases, comparisons to state statistics reflect the state excluding New York City.

Regionally, median household income has declined similar to losses at the state and national levels.
After adjusting for inflation, median household income remained essentially unchanged from 2000 to 2017-21. At $80,700 in 2017-21, median incomes were above the levels for the state ($77,800) and nation ($69,000). Median incomes were higher than the region in Putnam ($111,600), Dutchess ($87,100) and Orange counties ($85,600), while Ulster ($71,000), Sullivan ($63,400) and Greene ($62,800) were lower.

Asian and white residents in the region had the highest median incomes, at $95,300 and $82,700, respectively. African American and Hispanic residents had the lowest median incomes at $63,700 and $76,100, respectively, though both exceeded rates for their respective groups in the state and nation.

Poverty rates in the region are below the nation.
In 2017-21, about 11% of the region’s residents were living in poverty, on par with the state and lower than the nation (13%). Sullivan County had the highest poverty rate in the region at 14%, followed by Ulster with 13%. Putnam County had the lowest at 6%, followed by Dutchess at 9%.

Poverty rates were highest for African American and Hispanic residents in the region (17% and 14% respectively), as was true for the state and nation. In 2017-21,  Asians and whites had the lowest (12% and 9% respectively).  About 8% of seniors and 4% of veterans were living in poverty in 2017-21. While poverty is relatively low at 11% for the region, another 13% of residents had incomes between 100% and 199% of the poverty level, and 13% were between 200% and 299% of poverty.

Living wage models suggest that this broader group of regional residents may have trouble making ends meet. The living wage measures the level of income that households require to pay for necessities, including housing and food, without assistance. The estimated hourly living wage for two working parents with two children was $27.15 in the region, or $112,900 a year, more than four times the poverty level (about $27,479) for a family of this type. A single earner with two children to support needs an even higher wage, $48.18/hour or $100,200 a year, to make a living wage.

More students were economically disadvantaged in 2022 compared to 2013 in the region. 
In 2022, 43% of students in the region were economically disadvantaged, slightly above the state rate of 42%. Sullivan County, at 58%, had the highest rate in the region, followed by Columbia at 49%, Ulster at 48% and Greene at 47%. The lowest rates were in Putnam, at 28%, and Dutchess, at 38%.

A low percentage of children are receiving subsidized child care. 
In 2021, 0.7% of the region’s children participated in subsidized child care, below the rate of 1.4% for the state. 

A lower percentage of the region’s population received the  Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) than nation.
About 12% of tax filers in the region received the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) in 2020, similar to the state and below the nation (16%). The rates for each county, the state (excluding NYC) and nation have remained relatively unchanged since 2011.