MONITORING NEED IN NYC
Launched in 2012 and conducted in partnership with Columbia University, Poverty Tracker is a groundbreaking study of disadvantage in New York City. Unlike typical surveys of poverty that take an annual snapshot, Poverty Tracker checks in with the same 4,000 households quarter after quarter for several years. This approach provides a dynamic view of poverty over time.
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Spotlight On: Paid Sick Leave in New York City
Poverty Tracker explores the paid sick policies available to New Yorkers before and amidst the COVID-19 pandemic and finds many vulnerable New Yorkers are left out, putting their health and financial security at risk.
The State of Poverty and Disadvantage in New York City
Our second annual Poverty Tracker report focuses on life in New York City in 2018 and explores trends in poverty and disadvantage between 2012 and 2018. In this report, we also analyze events that are associated with pushing families into poverty and material hardship, as well as the factors that can mitigate the impacts of these events.
Poverty Tracker Spotlight: Mapping Hunger in New York City
Our second annual Poverty Tracker report focuses on life in New York City in 2018 and explores trends in poverty and disadvantage between 2012 and 2018. In this report, we also analyze events that are associated with pushing families into poverty and material hardship, as well as the factors that can mitigate the impacts of these events.
Early Childhood Poverty Tracker
Building off the work of the Poverty Tracker, the Early Childhood Poverty Tracker (ECPT) is a multi-year study of poverty and disadvantage that checks in quarter after quarter with the same 1,500 New York City households with young children ages zero to three.
By providing in-depth information about experiences and circumstances during the critical early years of life, the Early Childhood Poverty Tracker will help us better understand how poverty and economic insecurity affect learning, health and development over time.
Poverty Tracker Spotlight: Emergency Expenses
This Poverty Tracker brief looks at New Yorkers’ ability to pay for a modest emergency expense of $400 with cash or its equivalent. We find that almost half (45 percent) of New Yorkers wouldn’t be able to cover an expense of $400 with cash, making these households significantly more vulnerable to economic shocks like an unexpected medical expense or the loss of a job.
Poverty Tracker Spotlight: Forced Moves and Eviction in New York City
Building on similar work led by scholar Matthew Desmond, this Poverty Tracker brief employs new and unique data to take a first look at the experiences and trajectories of families who moved due to forced displacement or high rental costs, and the efficacy of housing policies in curbing rates of forced moves.
Poverty Tracker Spotlight: Hope and Opportunity
This brief from the Poverty Tracker explores data on how New Yorkers view their own and their children’s opportunities. What we found is that New Yorkers by and large perceive the economy as unfair and opportunity to be limited, including children’s chances of outperforming their parents. New Yorkers who have recently entered poverty or hardship are the most likely to feel that in this country we do not give everyone an equal chance to succeed.
The State of Poverty and Disadvantage in New York City
This annual report from the Poverty Tracker explores rates of income poverty, material hardship, and health problems in New York City between 2012 and 2017. The report also provides new insights into the dynamic nature of poverty and hardship, with a focus on who is able to successfully exit poverty and what it takes to remain stably out of poverty over time.
Poverty Tracker Policy Brief: How a new policy could affect poverty in New York City
This new data from our Poverty Tracker reveals that proposed changes to the federal “public charge” rule could push between 60,000 and 115,000 New Yorkers, including up to 45,000 children into poverty. This Poverty Tracker Policy Brief report further estimates “chilling effects” from the public charge rule changes that could negatively affect the income of 400,000 to 700,000 people in New York City.
Poverty Tracker Spotlight: Food Hardship
Nearly 2.6 million New Yorkers run out of food every year. This brief from the Poverty Tracker explores rates of food hardship over time and highlights some of the disparities by race/ethnicity and geography.
Poverty Tracker Spotlight: A Portrait of Service Use Among New York City Families with Children
More than a third of New Yorkers (37 percent) with a child in the family reported needing help with their child-related problem. Although many families seek help for their child-related problems, over 60 percent of families do not receive all of the help they need. The latest Spotlight from the Poverty Tracker describes the challenges facing households with children and the extent to which services and resources do or do not meet those challenges.
Poverty Tracker Spotlight: Results from the New York City Earned Sick Time Act
More than one in three workers in New York City are now getting paid to take sick leave when they are ill or need to care for a sick family member. The latest Spotlight from the Robin Hood Poverty Tracker examines the impact of the New York City Paid Sick Leave Law.
Vulnerabilities and Service Needs of Single-Parent Households in New York City
One third of children in New York City live in a single-parent household. These households have much higher rates of poverty and material hardships. This report uses Poverty Tracker data to better understand the challenges facing single-parent households and identify programs that have been particularly effective in helping these families.
