The Empire Center’s unique online “Explore Your State Budget” app has been updated to reflect data in the enacted fiscal 2018 budget.

The database of New York state budget information, which is accessible through the Center’s SeeThroughNY website, includes actual results, estimates and projections for major spending and tax categories from 2012 until fiscal 2021. In addition, the tool contains annual disbursements dating back to 1984 and tax receipts since 1976.

Historical spending and tax data are presented both in nominal and inflation-adjusted terms. In addition, data can be downloaded and saved in spreadsheet form. Here is a small sampling of important budget trends revealed by the Explore Your State Budget database:

  • State aid to public schools will rise by 5.8 percent, more than double the expected rate of inflation, going from $24.4 billion in fiscal 2017 to $25.8 billion in fiscal 2018.
  • The state’s debt service payments, fueled in part by the Legislature’s decision to borrow to pay for economic development and pork-barrel projects, are expected to climb from $5.3 billion in fiscal 2017 to $7.4 billion in fiscal 2021.
  • The state will collect $4.8 billion in taxes and fees on health care services and health insurance during fiscal 2018 following the renewal of Health Care Reform Act taxes that were enacted on a temporary basis in 1996.

The direct web address for Explore Your State Budget is SeeThroughNY.net/nysbudget.

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

You may also like

Newly Retired NYPD Retirees Average $100,000+ in Pension

Newly retired1 “full career”2 members of the New York Police Department (NYPD) collected an average of $103,859, according to , the Empire Center’s transparency website. The data, received from the New York Read More

Empire Center Calls for Release of PPL Records

The Empire Center is calling on the Hochul administration to promptly release records of its spring 2024 communications with Public Partnerships LLC, the company that later won a controversial $1 billion contract under Medi Read More

As an LIRR Strike Looms, the Empire Center Publishes the Disputed Contracts

With Long Island Rail Road workers threatening a strike that could strand hundreds of thousands of commuters, the Empire Center is publishing copies of the labor contracts at the heart of the dispute. Read More

Average New NYC Fire Pensions Surpass $170K

New York City firefighters and fire officers retiring last year after full careers were entitled to average annual pension benefits of $171,336, up 13 percent from the prior year, according to , the Empire Center’s government transparency website. Am Read More

Average Pay at Port Authority Surges as 11 Employees Collect $400k+

Eleven Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (PANYNJ) employees collected more than $400,000 each in total pay last year as average pay surged nine percent, according to 2024 payroll , the Empire Center’s government transparency website. Read More

97 NYSLRS Retirees Eligible for Pensions Over $200K in FY2025

A total of 97 retirees from the New York State and Local Retirement System (NYSLRS) were eligible for pensions of $200,000 or more during the 2025 fiscal year, according to , the Empire Center’s government transparency website. Among the 97 retirees Read More

NYC Employee Pension Payments Cross $6 billion; 70 Members Collect $200k+

The pension plan covering most New York City government agencies, including the City’s subway system, had 70 members with pension payments of at least $200,000 last year, almost quadrupling 2019’s tally of 19, according to new , the Read More