What are New Yorkers saying about the condition of the economy?
Vital City, in partnership with CrowdVox — an independent project led by veteran public opinion researcher John Della Volpe — is developing a new way for New Yorkers to be heard regularly about life in the city, the issues that matter most to them, and the direction in which leaders are taking New York.
The project grew out of previous research showing that many New Yorkers want to be heard and understood by the institutions and leaders shaping city life more than they are today. To build on that insight, CrowdVox conducts nightly AI-assisted, open-ended interviews. More than 700 New Yorkers have participated so far across the five boroughs through phone and online audio conversations.
Participants are recruited across each borough, with the interview pool designed to reflect the city’s diversity, including by geography, gender, race, ethnicity, education, income and ideology. Some questions are asked nightly so responses can be tracked over time. Others are updated on a rolling basis to explore the elements of city life that are most closely connected to New Yorkers’ overall life satisfaction, including affordability, personal safety, career and job opportunities, stress and recovery, community connection, whether city leaders understand neighborhood needs, school quality, public transportation, health care, public spaces, mental health, and more.
Together, these interviews create a rolling qualitative portrait of how New Yorkers are experiencing the city in their own words. Here is what New Yorkers told us in May and June 2026 about the state of the city’s economy and the challenges they face.
The bright side
"The cost of living is going down…There's better public service, there's better — the mayor is doing great and you know the cost of living is going down….The pay is competitive, the cost of living is competitive and the quality of living is about the same as most urban cities."
— James, 26, white man, Brooklyn, Republican. Interviewed May 31, 2026.
"Prices are going down, housing as well…The new mayor that's in charge has been profoundly moving things around in New York to make there more support for parents as far as opening schools. Prices are going down, housing as well, and just the people around are very friendly…Having a good paying job, a secure job, free daycare for, or free schooling for 2-to 3-year-olds so that I am able to work. Good grocery stores like Aldi that have good prices. Yes."
— Jasmine, 24, white woman, married, Staten Island, Democrat. Interviewed May 27, 2026.
"Oh no, I don't think anything is moving in the wrong direction of this city. I think this city is going in to, um, this city is going in... the right direction…Right now I'm building myself up to be an owner of my apartment. So I will definitely stay here."
— Randy, 27, white man, Harlem, independent. Interviewed April 28, 2026.So so
"Fortunate for me, I do actually have a really good, decent job where I can afford to still maintain and still, you know, be able to live a little comfortable with the stuff that's been provided for me from my job. But it hasn't really been a struggle to me, but it has been for a lot of people, especially with grocery prices up. And that seems like to be like a worldwide thing. But New York can be extremely pricey, especially it really, really don't matter what borough you live in."
— Day, 36, Black man, Queens, Democrat. Interviewed May 28, 2026.
"As long as our streets are safe and good education and childcare, I'm fine…Businesses here seem to be doing okay, and there are part-time and full-time manual jobs or jobs for unskilled labor so that someone at my son's age can get his start and get some work experience, which is great because if the economy is doing well, then we will be doing well here…I live quite simply. So as long as our streets are safe, public transportation is safe, and good education and childcare, I'm fine. I can be able to afford to live here."
— Allie, 57, white woman, retired, Staten Island, independent. Interviewed May 28, 2026.
"My quality of life is much better than I would have in another area…I would say not necessarily, but my quality of life is much better than I would have in another area due to my pay, as well as the accessibility of public transportation, the community network…The housing prices are through the roof. You can't afford a house, and even if you do afford something, there's no space at all…Long term, it's not sustainable, you know?"
— Liba, 22, Asian woman, Brooklyn, Democrat. Interviewed June 2, 2026.
"My outlook on it is still positive but you can't ignore the stuff that you see…People are buying less stuff. Some people can't afford their basic needs, the cost of gas is up, everything is up. There's a whole war going on. It's just a lot of negativity. So my outlook on it is still positive but like you can't ignore the stuff that you see…People still looking for jobs and people wandering around aimlessly. It's not boredom, but just like, you don't really see them. Like there's no goal to what people are doing."
— Guillermo, 42, second-generation Puerto Rican man, unemployed and studying digital cinematography, the Bronx, independent. Interviewed May 4, 2026.
"I'm always hopeful because hope is the only thing that is letting us move on…Rome is not built in a day. So it's collective effort. So I think... I decided that if I move, if everybody starts moving, we won't be called New Yorkers. So with that said, I am still hopeful that things are getting better. Moving is not an option for me."
— Abraham, 39, white man, Tribeca, Democrat. Interviewed May 1, 2026.
"It feels like we're looking out from the inside and just like we're stuck behind a wall of glass. It just makes you feel like you're numb or paralyzed or something and can't do anything in the city that you love." — Sarah, 43-year-old white woman, Queens, Republican, Interviewed May 6, 2026
The dark side
"We haven't been able to take vacations. There's certain foods we have to switch to cheaper brands…With everything going up, we haven't been able to take vacations recently and everybody in this house is dying to take a vacation. It's been over a year. There's certain things that we have to cut out on, certain foods that we have to switch, like brands, we have to switch to cheaper brands or we have to go without certain things…There are times when things stay heavy on my mind like rent and grocery prices and what's going to happen tomorrow with the utilities and all that stuff."
— Sean, 46, Hispanic man, married with two sons, the Bronx, Republican. Interviewed May 31, 2026.
"My salary doesn't rise with inflation…One big issue for me at least is that my salary doesn't rise with inflation or with cost of living... I actually make less money now than I did about a decade ago…I feel like there's probably a ton of people in New York working three or four jobs, just two couples both working multiple jobs just to make ends meet. But at some point, you have to wonder, you know, is it worth it? Should we just go somewhere else where it's a little more reasonable?"
— Brian, 58, white man, married, Long Island City, Democrat. Interviewed June 1, 2026.
"I have family in New York City and what's pushing me to leave is the cost of food, cost of rent, cost of gas. Everything is too expensive."
— Heather, 38, Black and Hispanic woman, Far Rockaway, Democrat. Interviewed May 16, 2026.
"I feel more isolated because I stay in more. I cannot afford to take Ubers or taxis on a regular basis to meetings of groups that may occur in faraway parts of Manhattan. So I'm by myself a lot…The cost of housing is astronomical. It's only habitable for wealthy people at this point."
— Miriam, 72, white woman, retired, Upper East Side, Democrat. Interviewed May 21, 2026.
"It feels like we're drowning in a cup of water and there's no one to save us. We just need a little help from you to at least bring rent back down to a certain amount where we're able to keep up and not have to just live paycheck to paycheck." — Yressa, 39-year-old Black woman, Brooklyn, Republican, Interviewed May 2, 2026"A lot of people that I speak to, including myself, cut back. Don't go to restaurants anymore. Don't go to the movies anymore. Just basically we have enough money just for our groceries and to get by and live." — Ally, 57-year-old white woman, Staten Island, Independent, Interviewed May 5, 2026
"I have no life. I'm stressed out constantly and I just work my part-time job and try to chip away at the rent a little bit by a little bit." — Michael, 45-year-old white man, Brooklyn, Republican, Interviewed May 4, 2026
