Interactive

Can You Balance New York City's $112 Billion Budget?

New York City has the largest municipal budget in the United States. Try adjusting taxes and spending to see if you can balance it — and learn about the trade-offs city leaders face.

Data from the NYC Comptroller and City Council

Budget Balance−$4.3B deficit
Revenue: $108.1B Spending: $112.4B
You have a deficit. You'll need to raise revenue or cut spending.

Revenue

$108.1B
Property Tax
The largest single tax source, paid by property owners.
Current rates: Class 1 (homes) 20.1%, Class 2 (apartments) 12.5%, Class 4 (commercial) 10.8%
$34.3B
No change
$25B$45B
Personal Income Tax
Paid by NYC residents on wages and investment income. Data from NYC Comptroller 2023. Adjust brackets below.
$14.2B
No change
NYC Income Tax Brackets (2023 Comptroller Data)
$0 – $50,000
2.1M filers · $43.8B income
1.14%$0.5B
$50,001 – $100,000
916K filers · $65.1B income
3.07%$2.0B
$100,001 – $200,000
533K filers · $73.4B income
3.27%$2.4B
$200,001 – $500,000
245K filers · $72.5B income
3.59%$2.6B
High-Income Brackets (Raise to Add Surtax)
$500,001 – $1,000,000
54K filers · $37B income
3.78%$1.4B
$1,000,000+
34K filers · $143.4B income
3.70%$5.3B
Data: NYC Comptroller 2023. The $1M+ bracket has only 34K filers (0.9%) but $143B income (33% of total). Each 1% rate increase on millionaires = ~$1.4B revenue.
State Aid
Primarily education funding. Depends on Albany budget negotiations each year.
Not a tax — determined by state legislature
$17.5B
No change
$12B$25B
Federal Aid
Grants for Medicaid, education, housing. Subject to federal policy changes.
Not a tax — determined by Congress
$9.7B
No change
$4B$15B
Sales Tax
Collected on retail purchases. A regressive tax that hits lower-income residents harder.
Current rate: 8.875% (4% state + 4.5% city + 0.375% MTA)
$9.6B
No change
$6B$14B
Other Taxes
Hotel tax, commercial rent tax, mortgage recording tax, and various fees.
Hotel: 5.875%, Commercial rent: 3.9% (Midtown), Mortgage recording: 1.8-1.925%
$9.8B
No change
$5B$15B
Business Taxes
Corporation and unincorporated business taxes. Higher rates could discourage investment.
Current rates: Corporate 8.85%, Unincorporated 4%, State 6.5-7.25%
$8.0B
No change
$4B$14B
Other Revenue
Interest income, asset sales, fines, and miscellaneous sources.
Various fees, fines, and non-tax revenue
$5.0B
No change
$2B$10B

Spending

$112.4B
🚇 Transit
Make all MTA rides free
Eliminate fares on subways and buses. Would require city to cover MTA fare revenue.
+$5.0B
Make buses free (keep subway fares)
Free buses could speed boarding and help low-income commuters.
+$0.80B
Half-price fares for low-income riders
Expand Fair Fares program to more income levels.
+$1.2B
👮 Police
Reduce NYPD by 10%
Cut ~3,500 officers through attrition. Critics warn of safety impacts.
-$0.60B
Reduce NYPD by 25%
Major reduction of ~8,700 officers. Redirect funds to social services.
-$1.5B
Cap NYPD overtime spending
NYPD overtime often exceeds $700M/year. Cap could reduce excessive hours.
-$0.70B
Hire 3,000 more officers
Return to pre-pandemic staffing levels. Longer response times cited as concern.
+$0.50B
🏫 Education
Reduce class sizes (hire more teachers)
State law requires smaller classes. Full compliance would need thousands of new teachers.
+$1.5B
Expand 3-K to all neighborhoods
Universal 3-K for all 3-year-olds citywide.
+$0.50B
Free CUNY tuition for NYC residents
Cover tuition at city universities for NYC high school grads.
+$0.80B
Cut DOE central administration 20%
Reduce bureaucracy at Tweed. Critics say it's already lean.
-$0.60B
🏠 Housing
Accelerate NYCHA repairs ($2B/year)
Speed up repairs for 400,000+ public housing residents. $80B backlog.
+$2.0B
Expand rental vouchers (CityFHEPS)
10,000+ more vouchers to prevent homelessness.
+$1.0B
Build 10,000 new affordable units/year
Major expansion of affordable housing construction.
+$1.5B
🤝 Social Services
Guaranteed income pilot ($500/mo, 25K people)
Cash payments to low-income residents with no strings attached.
+$0.15B
Add 5,000 shelter beds
More capacity for homeless New Yorkers. Current system often full.
+$0.40B
Expand mental health crisis teams
More B-HEARD teams to respond to mental health calls instead of police.
+$0.30B
⚖️ Corrections
Accelerate Rikers closure
Speed up transition to borough jails. Current deadline: 2027.
+$0.80B
Reduce DOC staff as population falls
Jail population down 50%+ but staffing hasn't matched.
-$0.30B
🌳 Parks & Libraries
Double parks maintenance budget
Better maintained parks, more staff, longer hours.
+$0.60B
Free recreation centers for all
Eliminate fees at city recreation centers and pools.
+$0.20B
Restore 6-day library service
Many branches cut to 5 days. Full restoration.
+$0.15B
Base city spending$112.4B
Total spending$112.4B
Includes $10.2B pensions + $8B debt service (fixed obligations)

What Your Choices Mean

Select policies above to see how your choices would affect New Yorkers.