Economy of New York (state) facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Economy of New York

Statistics
GDP	$2.2 trillion (2023)
GDP per capita	$111,868 (2023)
Population below poverty line	13.6%
Gini coefficient	0.502
Labour force	9,645,984 (2023)
Unemployment	4.1% (March 2023)
Public finances
Revenues	$63.5 billion
Expenses	$54.6 billion

The economy of the State of New York is reflected in its gross state product in 2023 of $2.189 trillion, ranking third in size behind the larger states of California and Texas. If New York State were an independent nation, it would rank as the 10th largest economy in the world by nominal GDP. However, in 2019, the multi-state, New York City-centered metropolitan statistical area produced a gross metropolitan product (GMP) of $US2.0 trillion, ranking first nationally by a wide margin and would also rank as the 10th largest GDP in the world.

     New York State unemployment rate, 1976–2021      US unemployment rate

New York (state) counties by GDP (2021)

The state has a large manufacturing sector, which includes printing and publishing and the production of garments, furs, railroad rolling stock, and bus line vehicles. Some industries are concentrated in upstate locations also, such as ceramics and glass (the southern tier of counties), microchips and nanotechnology (Albany) and the Greater Capital District, and photographic equipment (Rochester). New York's agricultural outputs comprise dairy products, cattle and other livestock, vegetables, nursery stock, and apples. In April 2021, GlobalFoundries, a company specializing in the semiconductor industry, moved its headquarters from Silicon Valley, California to its most advanced semiconductor-chip manufacturing facility in Saratoga County near a section of the Adirondack Northway, in Malta, New York.

New York City

Looking from the West Side toward the East Side of Midtown Manhattan in New York City, the largest central business district in the world. Manhattan is the epicenter of the world's principal metropolitan economy.

Lower Manhattan, the home of Wall Street, anchors New York as the world's principal fintech and financial center.

New York City, characterized as the world's principal fintech and financial center, and the surrounding New York metropolitan area dominate the economy of the state. Manhattan is the leading center of banking, finance, and communication in the United States and is the location of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) on Wall Street. Many of the world's largest corporations locate their home offices in Manhattan or in nearby Westchester, Nassau, and Suffolk counties. Manhattan contained over 500 million square feet (46.5 million m²) of office space in 2015, making it the largest office market in the United States, while Midtown Manhattan, with nearly 400 million square feet (37.2 million m²) in 2015, is the largest central business district in the world. New York is a top-tier global high technology hub.

Long Island

Long Island has played a prominent role in scientific research and in engineering. It is the home of the Brookhaven National Laboratory. Seven Nobel prizes have been awarded for work conducted at Brookhaven lab.

Agriculture

Postcard showing the Great New York State Fair main entrance in the 1940s

The Erie Canal, completed in 1825, opened eastern U.S. markets to Midwest farm products. The canal also contributed to the growth of New York City, helped create large cities, and encouraged immigration to the state. Except in the mountain regions, the areas between cities are agriculturally rich. The Finger Lakes region has orchards producing apples, which are one of New York's leading crops. The state is known for wines produced at vineyards in the Finger Lakes region and Long Island. The state also produces other crops, especially grapes, strawberries, cherries, pears, onions, and potatoes. New York is a major supplier of maple syrup and is the third leading producer of dairy goods in the United States.

According to the Department of Agriculture and Markets, New York's agricultural production returned more than $3.6 billion to the farm economy in 2005. 36,000 farms occupy 7.6 million acres or about 25 percent of the state's land area, to produce a variety of food products. Here are some of the items in which New York ranks high nationally:

New York is an agricultural leader and is one of the top five states for agricultural products, including dairy, cattle, apples, cabbages, potatoes, beets, viticulture, onions, maple syrup and many others. The state is the second largest producer of cabbage in the U.S. The state has about a quarter of its land in farms and produced $3.4 billion in agricultural products in 2001. The south shore of Lake Ontario provides the right mix of soils and microclimate for apple, cherry, plum, pear and peach orchards. Apples are also grown in the Hudson Valley and near Lake Champlain. The south shore of Lake Erie and the southern Finger Lakes hillsides have vineyards. New York is the nation's third-largest grape-producing state, after California and Washington.

Energy

In 2017, New York State consumed 156,370-gigawatthours (GWh) of electrical energy. Downstate regions (Hudson Valley, New York City, and Long Island) consumed 66% of that amount. Upstate regions produced 50% of that amount. The peak load in 2017 was 29,699 MW. The resource capability in 2017 was 42,839 MW. The NYISO's market monitor described the average all-in wholesale electric price as a range (a single value was not provided) from $25 per MWh to $53 per MWh for 2017.

Solar power