By Hank Russell
A new report showed that New York was one of 25 states last year that did not have enough money to pay its bills. In fact, it needed an eleven-figure sum to do so, while placing a heavy burden on its taxpayers.
According to the Truth in Accounting’s (TIA) Financial State of the States 2025 report, the Empire State needed $59.1 billion last year to make good on paying its bills. This resulted in each taxpayer carrying a burden to the tune of $8,400.
Based on TIA data, the state had $509.26 billion in assets, but — after $243.71 billion in capital assets and $35.58 billion in assets — New York had only $229.96 billion in assets available to pay its bills, which totaled $289.1 billion. Among the bills the state had to pay included $100.7 billion in bonds, $16.64 billion in unfunded pension benefits, $84.4 billion in unfunded retiree health care benefits and $197.94 billion in other liabilities.
However, TIA pointed out that the state has seen four straight years of declines in taxpayer burdens since 2020, when the burden was $20,100 — two-and-a-half times the 2024 figure and the second-highest burden to 2018’s figure ($20,500). In 2023, the burden dropped to $9,700. But the TIA said it does not erase the fact that the state is deep in debt.
But when it comes to financial management, TIA ranked New York 36th; North Dakota was first, which had a $63,300-per-taxpayer surplus while only having to pay $18.3 billion. New Jersey had the worst financial management, with $156.8 billion needed to pay its bills and a taxpayer burden of $44,500.
New York was also one of 13 states to receive a grade of D. This grade is given to states in which its taxpayer burden is between $5,000 and $20,000 and has an unbalanced budget with significant taxpayer burdens.
“The state reported revenues exceeded expenses, though the surplus was nearly 50 percent lower than the prior year. According to the state comptroller, reduced tax collections and increased spending drove the smaller surplus,” the TIA said. “A slowing economy, a weaker job market, and reduced financial-sector bonuses led to lower income tax revenue. Meanwhile, spending increased in Medicaid, public education, and transportation— including support for hospitals, schools, and the Metropolitan Transportation Authority.”
The only bright spot was the timeliness of their financial reports. New York was second to Kansas in taking 154 days to release its finances, which is considered “on time” by the Government Finance Officers Association. According to the report, the standard for states to publish their annual reports is 180 days after the end of the fiscal year.