Oneida and Herkimer County Residents Left with Next to Nothing After Taxes & Expenses

New Study Shows Oneida, Herkimer County Residents Left with Next to Nothing After Taxes & Expenses
Affordability Crisis Report Finds Middle-Class Families in Utica, Rome, Little Falls Spend 90 Percent of Income & Up Just to Live There

(Utica, NY) – Families in Oneida and Herkimer counties have seen economic struggles and an exodus of residents. Shedding new light on the causes of these trends, Reclaim New York (Reclaim) today released a breakthrough study that takes a personal look at the financial challenges residents are facing. The results include the shocking finding that a median income-earning family in Utica must spend all of their $37,436 annual earnings on taxes and basic expenses.

Reclaim’s new Affordability Crisis Report shows how taxes and basic expenses leave residents across nearly all income levels struggling to make ends meet, let alone save. The report’s methodology goes down to the school district level to provide the most local, personal look at how taxes, and regulations affect the bottom lines of New York families.

“Families from Utica to Rome to Ilion need more economic opportunity. Our report shows that instead, they’re getting a long list of taxes and regulations,” said Reclaim New York Executive Director Brandon Muir. This is government driving the cost of living up, not down, causing an affordability crisis.”

For the first time, Reclaim calculates the real “Wake-Up Cost” for Oneida County, and Herkimer County residents by combining income, property, sales, and excise taxes with basic living expenses. Reclaim’s model analyzes multiple income levels along with a comprehensive set of primary data sources to show citizens exactly where their money is going, and why the region is still struggling.

“It’s awful to see people work so hard and yet keep so little after paying taxes and expenses they must pay just because they live here,” said Reclaim’s Central New York Regional Director John Byrne. “Our report provides a stark picture of the personal impact of Albany’s bad policies that are making life more difficult for working and middle-class families. Instead of offering meaningful relief, Albany pushes economic policies that reward political insiders and pit regions against each other.”

New Yorkers pay nearly 200 different taxes, levied by more than 3,000 government entities. These factors drive some of the highest property taxes in the nation, the worst tax burden in the country, and second-highest cost of living.

“State lawmakers, and the Governor, may like to talk about an improving upstate economy, but the facts tell a different story,” said Muir. “The affordability crisis is bad already, and will get worse if citizens and public officials don’t work to relieve the pressure from the costly policies driving it.”

Key Findings of the Report Include:

• In Utica, a family of four, making the area’s median income of $37,436 is left with nothing, they’re breaking even after “Wake Up Costs”. They are going into the red and need to turn to debt, government assistance, and cutting back on basics to survive.
  • Even a family making twice the median income for Utica, $74,872, can’t save and build a future. Taxes consume a startling 32 percent of their income. After their expenses, they’re left with only 3 percent ($2,140) to handle other costs. They can’t reliably save for a college fund or retirement.
  • Recent graduates face a tough road. At the national average starting salary of $48,707 for grads working in their focus area, and with no dependents, they have lighter expenses. Still, they see taxes and basic expenses chew up 86 percent of their income.
  • A family in Yorkville, earning the local median income of $29,221 annually, is left in the red by 11 percent after taxes and expenses. They are in devastating circumstances, completely incapable of making it on their own.

• For a family of four in Rome, the median income is $51,519 per year. After their “Wake Up Costs” – total tax burden and basic expenses – they have only $374 left. They are going to be forced into tough personal decisions and may have to move out.
• In Herkimer County, a middle-class family in Little Falls, making the median income of $43,600 per year is left with just $1,875 for the year, after paying for New York’s heavy tax burden that drives up cost of living.
  • Even at $87,200 per year, double the median income, a family of four in Little Falls struggles to save. They’re left with just 5 percent after taxes and basics. They struggle to save for retirement or a college fund.
  • In the Village of Ilion, a family of four making the median household income of $44,061 will go into the red by $1,840. Taxes eat up 25 percent of their earnings and drive up expenses that force them to take on cut basics, get help, or turn to credit cards.
    • At double the median income, a similar family in Ilion still struggles. They have just 3 percent of their $88,122 annual income left to face any emergency expenses, let alone trying to save after taxes consume a staggering 34 percent of their earnings.
  • A family in the Town of Herkimer earning the local median income of $39,350 annually, gets hammered by “Wake Up Costs”, leaving them with only 3 percent of that left over. They are financially unstable.
    • If that family earns double the median, $78,700, they are still in rough shape, left with only 4 percent after taxes and basics.

Reclaim will host training in the region to help residents better understand the causes of the affordability crisis and potential solutions. This is Reclaim’s sixth regional report on New York’s affordability crisis.

Find more in-depth information, and Reclaim New York’s full Affordability Crisis Report atReclaimNewYork.org/Central-NewYork-Affordability.