Moving to New York

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Quick facts

Population20,002,427
State income tax10.90%
Avg. effective property tax1.45%
State sales tax4.00% (7.00%–8.88% combined)

New York's defining, most genuinely distinctive fiscal story is its two-layer income tax on New York City residents specifically: New York STATE levies a real, current, genuinely graduated personal income tax across nine brackets, 4% to 10.9% -- already among the higher top state rates in the country -- and New York CITY layers its own, separate resident income tax directly on top (four brackets, 3.078%-3.876%, unchanged since 1999), producing a real combined top marginal rate near 14.8% for a top-bracket New York City resident, among the highest combined state-plus-local income tax burdens in the entire United States, genuinely exceeding even California's own top marginal STATE-only rate of 13.3%. A genuinely important, easy-to-miss distinction: New York City's resident tax follows RESIDENCY ONLY, unlike Philadelphia's Wage Tax -- a commuter who works in New York City but lives elsewhere owes New York State tax on that income but not the separate city tax, following the 1999-2000 repeal and constitutional invalidation of New York City's old, separate non-resident commuter tax. Outside New York City, the overwhelming majority of New York's municipalities levy no separate local income tax at all -- Yonkers is New York's one real, notable, and structurally different exception, charging its own residents a surcharge equal to 16.75% of their state tax liability (not a bracket schedule on wages) plus a separate 0.5% nonresident earnings tax on Yonkers-source wages for commuters. New York's sales tax runs a comparatively low 4% state base rate, but every New York county adds its own local rate on top (unlike Pennsylvania's mostly-uncharged counties) -- New York City's real, current combined 8.875% rate (including a 0.375% Metropolitan Commuter Transportation District surcharge extending across the full MCTD region, not just the five boroughs) is the statewide high. Property tax runs a real, disclosed statewide average effective rate of roughly 1.3%-1.73% depending on source (a median annual bill of $6,542, the fourth-highest in the nation), assessed under two genuinely DIFFERENT systems this record discloses precisely: upstate New York counties (several ranking among the nation's highest-effective-rate metros, including Binghamton) carry the state's highest property tax RATES, while New York City's own, separate four-class assessment system -- with Class 1 one-to-three-family homes assessed at just 6% of market value and capped annual increases -- produces genuinely LOW effective rates on much of its owner-occupied housing relative to actual market value, a real inversion of what many movers assume about 'expensive New York City.' New York's flood/hurricane risk is genuinely two distinct stories: New York City and Long Island carry real, direct, and historically catastrophic Atlantic hurricane exposure, anchored by Superstorm Sandy's 2012 landfall-adjacent devastation ($19 billion in New York City damage alone, roughly $32.8 billion statewide, 48 New York State deaths, an estimated 100,000 Long Island homes destroyed or severely damaged), genuinely distinct from upstate New York's own real risk profile of exceptionally heavy Great Lakes lake-effect snow (Buffalo, the Tug Hill Plateau near Watertown) and river/spring-flood risk. New York's population has run a real, cumulative -1.0% decline since the 2020 census (down to an estimated 20,002,427 as of the July 1, 2025 Vintage 2025 estimate) that has genuinely stabilized in the most recent year measured, alongside New York City's own real, honest post-pandemic partial recovery. New York's real, extreme regional diversity -- New York City's global-city identity; Long Island's massive suburban market and the Hamptons' internationally recognized resort identity; the Hudson Valley's affluent-commuter-suburb-versus-arts-town split; the Capital Region's government-and-nanotechnology economy; the Finger Lakes' internationally recognized wine country; the Southern Tier's honest post-manufacturing-decline identity; Buffalo's and Rochester's separately honest post-industrial trajectories; Niagara Falls' iconic tourism identity; and the North Country/Adirondacks' distinct wilderness-and-mountain-resort character, anchored by Lake Placid's genuine two-time Winter Olympics host history -- rounds out a genuinely distinct, multi-region state this record does not flatten into one uniform statewide story.

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The tradeoffs

Pros

A real, genuinely singular global-city economy in New York City (Wall Street/global finance, media, and a fast-growing tech sector) alongside real, genuinely distinct regional economies elsewhere in the state -- Buffalo's and Rochester's real healthcare/education/optics-anchored economies, the Capital Region's government-and-nanotechnology base, the Finger Lakes' internationally recognized wine country, and Corning Incorporated's real global corporate headquarters presence; one of the largest and most heavily used rapid-transit systems in the world (the New York City Subway), reducing car-dependency for millions of residents; real, extreme geographic and lifestyle diversity within one state -- Long Island's beaches and the Hamptons' internationally recognized resort identity, the Adirondacks' real wilderness and Lake Placid's genuine two-time Winter Olympics heritage, and the Finger Lakes' wine country, all within a single day's drive of New York City; genuinely low effective property tax rates for many New York City homeowners specifically, a real, disclosed benefit of the city's own protective assessment-cap system; and a real, current Democratic trifecta (a Democratic governor and Democratic majorities in both legislative chambers) some relocating households may weigh as settled, predictable state-level political direction.

Cons

Real, genuine tax complexity this record does not omit or oversimplify -- New York City residents specifically face a real combined state-plus-city top marginal income tax rate near 14.8%, among the highest in the entire United States, and this two-layer system requires genuine, specific due diligence (including confirming Yonkers' own, structurally different 16.75%-of-state-tax-liability mechanic for anyone considering that specific city); a real, disclosed statewide property-tax picture that runs in a genuinely counterintuitive direction -- upstate New York counties, not New York City, carry the state's highest effective property tax RATES, with several upstate metros ranking among the nation's highest, while New York City's median annual property tax bill still runs high in dollar terms even where effective rates are comparatively low, given the city's high property values; a real, direct, and historically catastrophic Atlantic hurricane risk for New York City and Long Island specifically, anchored by Superstorm Sandy's 2012 devastation, distinct from and in addition to upstate New York's own real severe lake-effect-snow and river-flood risk; a real, disclosed statewide population decline since the 2020 census (-1.0% cumulative) that has genuinely stabilized but not reversed, alongside New York City's own real, honest post-pandemic partial (not full) population recovery; and every New York county levying its own local sales tax add-on on top of an already-real 4% state base, with New York City's real 8.875% combined rate among the highest in the nation.

Taxes

New York's top state income tax rate is 10.90% (New York State Department of Taxation and Finance, "2025 tax tables" and Personal Income Tax guidance; ustax.tools, "New York Tax Brackets 2025 -- 4%-10.9% Single & MFJ"; NerdWallet, "New York State Income Tax Rates and Brackets for 2025-2026"; TaxAct, "What is New York Income Tax? Rates & Tax Brackets"). The statewide average effective property tax rate is 1.45%, though this varies significantly by county -- from 1.30% to 1.73%. A reliable statewide median annual property tax bill is not yet sourced.

Insurance

New York's homeowners-insurance risk profile is genuinely two distinct stories this record does not flatten into one statewide narrative. New York City and Long Island carry real, documented, and directly catastrophic Atlantic hurricane exposure, anchored by Superstorm Sandy (October 29, 2012) -- a real, catastrophic storm that caused an estimated $19 billion in damage to New York City alone and roughly $32.8 billion statewide (Governor Cuomo's own contemporaneous estimate ran as high as $33 billion), killed 48 people in New York State, destroyed or severely damaged an estimated 100,000 homes on Long Island alone, flooded the New York City subway system (including the South Ferry station), left nearly 2 million people without power at some point during the storm, and destroyed roughly 126 homes in a single catastrophic fire in Breezy Point, Queens. This real, coastal hurricane-and-storm-surge risk is genuinely distinct from upstate New York's own real risk profile: severe Great Lakes lake-effect snow (Buffalo and the Tug Hill Plateau near Watertown carry some of the heaviest documented lake-effect snowfall totals in the entire eastern United States) and real river/spring-flood risk along the Mohawk, Hudson, and Susquehanna river systems, rather than direct hurricane landfall. Statewide average premium figures carry a real, disclosed spread across sources reviewed this pass ($1,554-$1,683/year depending on coverage level and source), with a genuinely wide, real, and directly risk-correlated ZIP-code-level spread underneath that average -- see zipCodeSpreadNote. This record does not let a favorable-looking statewide average obscure the real, substantially higher cost and risk any specific coastal Long Island or New York City waterfront property should expect to confirm directly.

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Sources & last reviewed: 2026-08-25. Independent research; see individual metric entries for source attribution. This is not financial, tax, or legal advice.