ALBANY, NY — 2021 payroll data for 82,513 New York public authority employees working at 320 different agencies is newly posted on SeeThroughNY.net, the Empire Center’s transparency website.

The site now contains 2021 payroll data for a total of 172,947 employees, including 90,434 individuals employed by the Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA), Port Authority of New York & New Jersey (PANYNJ) and SUNY Research Foundation, whose payroll data was posted in April.

Among the agencies whose payroll data is newly posted, the Power Authority’s 2,491 employees had the highest average pay of $107,298, a two percent increase from 2020.

A sharper spike in average payouts occurred at several of the other higher-paying public authorities. These included:

• New York State Dormitory Authority (529 employees, Avg. salary $100,773, a 13% increase);
• New York State Urban Development Corporation (aka Empire State Development Corporation) (376 employees, Avg. salary $91,032, a 9% increase);
• Environmental Facilities Corporation (95 employees, Avg. salary $86,451, an 8% increase); and
• Housing Trust Fund Corporation (160 employees, Avg. salary $85,797, a 9% increase).

Among the three major New York City public authorities, the School Construction Authority’s average pay rose most dramatically:

• The School Construction Authority (984 employees, Avg. Salary $102,102, a 28% increase)
• New York City Housing Development Corporation (210 employees, Avg. salary $96,544, a 3% increase)
• New York City Health & Hospitals Corporation (50,356 employees, Avg. salary $73,657, a 2% increase)

Among other state public authorities included in the 2021 payroll database:

• Roswell Park Cancer Institute Corporation (3,192 employees, Avg. salary $92,813, a 5% increase)
• Westchester County Health Care Corporation (3,849 employees, Avg. salary $88,774, a 2% increase)
• Suffolk County Water Authority (617 employees, Avg. salary $80,706, a 4% increase)

• Erie County Water Authority (258 employees, Avg. salary $79,546, no increase)

The payroll data reflect pay received during employer fiscal years ending in 2021. Not reflected in the payroll data are the costs of pensions, health insurance for employees and retirees, and other benefits.

The Empire Center, based in Albany, is an independent, not-for-profit, non-partisan think tank dedicated to promoting policies that can make New York a better place to live, work and raise a family.