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A fresh look at who's gaining, losing ground in New York City's economy
By
Herb Pinder
Published Aug 9, 2026
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By
Herb Pinder
Published Aug 9, 2026
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While Mayor Zohran Mamdani and the democratic socialists spark outsize handwringing for those engaged in the politics-economics echo chamber, the apex leaders of New York City business are scarcely missing a beat, based on data in the new Business Costs in New York City report from the state comptroller’s office.
The average private-sector salary in the city was $129,030 in 2025, an inflation-adjusted increase of 6.5% over 2015’s average of $89,160, according to the report, whose 10-year look back offers a revealing glimpse of how workers and businesses have fared. But the new average, as with most aggregations, obscures the yawning divide from top to bottom.
The average top salary in the city, paid to those in the securities industry, topped $561,770 in 2025, up an inflation-adjusted 6.6% over the 2015 average of $387,960. Next were those in finance and insurance with an average salary of $426,350, up an inflation-adjusted 9.6% over 2015’s average $286,480. Workers in information followed at an average of $230,900, up an inflation-adjusted 26.7% from the 2015 average, $134,170.
At the other end of the spectrum, the average for those in retail was $59,370, up an inflation-adjusted 10.4% from 2015’s average of $39,600. Those in accommodation and food services followed at $48,620, up an inflated-adjusted 11.8% from 2015’s average of $32,080; and behind them were those in “social assistance,” at an average of $40,240, reflecting flat growth over 2015’s average of $29,620, after accounting for inflation.
The report concludes that New York City remains “one of the most challenging places” to do business, pointing to costs for workplace expenses including taxes, labor and utilities that have historically been the highest in the nation. But it says business owners caught some breaks, including slower wage growth here (up an inflation-adjusted 6.5% over the 10 years) than experienced in high-growth regions elsewhere.
Nationally, wages rose an inflation-adjusted 10.1% over the span.
“New York City remains one of the world’s premier places to do business because of its unmatched talent, innovation and access to customers,” said state Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli, a Democrat. “While operating here remains expensive, this report shows that some core business costs have grown more slowly than in many competing regions.”
The report comes amid political and economic debate over next steps for the economy, spurred in no small part by Mamdani’s election win, political gains by his fellow democratic socialists here and elsewhere, and the mayor’s policy prescriptions for making the city more affordable, raising the minimum wage (as well as incomes for some six-figure earners), and at once raising taxes.
The comptroller’s report gives a nod to the swirling policy debates. While it notes the many advantages afforded to businesses in the city, the report states that the “persistently high costs, particularly for workspace, utilities and certain taxes, pose challenges, especially for small and midsize firms,” which operate at smaller margins.
“As these cost pressures rise elsewhere, the city could gain a competitive advantage if it succeeds in keeping cost growth manageable,” the report says. “Policymakers can influence this trajectory through decisions on tax rates, regulatory requirements, and infrastructure investments that affect costs such as utilities and transportation.”
The report adds, “Careful monitoring of the effect of tax policy changes is another avenue for understanding the business environment.”
Some other notable findings in the report:
- Nearly 90% of the 290,000 businesses in the city in 2025 employed fewer than 20 workers.
- The median annual salary across all industries in the New York City Metropolitan Statistical Area, which stretches beyond the city, was $61,430 in 2025, compared to $50,980 nationwide.
- The average commercial customer cost for electricity in the city was 28.20 cents per kilowatt hour in 2024, highest in the state and more than double the national average of 12.75 cents per kilowatt hour.
- In addition to salaries, employers grouped in the New York City Metropolitan Statistical Area paid $17.74 per hour worked for employee benefits in 2025, above the $13.49 national average; health insurance remains the largest and fastest-rising benefit cost, at $4.15 per hour worked in the Northeast region.
- When adjusting for inflation, average salaries in the New York City Metropolitan Statistical Area increased 4.5% between 2015 and 2025. San Francisco had the highest rate of inflation-adjusted growth for any major area — 33.8%.
Tagged
economy
new york city
Herb Pinder
Herb is the editor of the Race & Justice unit. Got a tip? Email [email protected] or Signal 917-922-2497.
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