For the last decade, New York’s population growth has been outpaced by poverty rates among residents 65 and older, according to a recent study by the Center for an Urban Future. Research from the New York-based think tank used data from the AARP to determine the number of older New Yorkers who are living in poverty, which showed a nearly 50% increase between 2012 and 2022. Affordability has been one of the top concerns of state legislators since November after all but one county in New York saw an increase in voters opting for the Republican candidate. A year before the general election, a Siena College poll showed more than 8 in 10 voters considered cost of living “a major problem.”However, for older adults, researchers said the economic climate could be dire. Nearly half of New Yorkers 65 and older reported having no retirement income and 310,000 of them said they lacked access to Social Security benefits. St. Lawrence County was the only North Country community mentioned in the study. However, it showed 110.4% growth in older adult poverty from 2012 to 2022. Meanwhile, population growth for the 65-plus age group only increased by 28%. Only four other communities saw the number of older adults in poverty rise faster than St. Lawrence County, according to the study. The Center for an Urban Future used the data to outline specific actions lawmakers could take to lower costs and address the poverty crisis. Some of them included eliminating waiting lists for aging services like food and transportation assistance. According to the New York Association of Counties, more than 16,000 New Yorkers are on waiting lists. There were also recommendations to expand affordable senior housing and lower health care costs by importing less expensive prescription drugs from Canada. These issues are not new to the North Country, where the median age in Clinton, Essex and Franklin counties fell above the state and national average in 2023. Census data shows more than a quarter of the population in Essex County is 65 and older. Not addressing the needs of this population would cost the state a lot of money. NYSAC estimates there could be $177 million in Medicaid costs for skilled nursing facility care and $60 million in managed long-term care or community Medicare costs.Gov. Kathy Hochul’s executive budget for the 2026 fiscal year projects an $8.6 billion increase over 2025. She said the increase was largely driven by high levels of enrollment in the Medicaid program and expanded use of the managed long-term care program by aging New Yorkers.The 2026 budget proposal also included $45 million for the New York State Office for the Aging — the largest investment in community-based aging services in New York’s history, according to the agency. If approved by the Legislature, that funding would be distributed regionally, with about $6.6 million for counties in the North Country.
For the last decade, New York’s population growth has been outpaced by poverty rates among residents 65 and older, according to a recent study by the Center for an Urban Future.
Research from the New York-based think tank used data from the AARP to determine the number of older New Yorkers who are living in poverty, which showed a nearly 50% increase between 2012 and 2022.
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Affordability has been one of the top concerns of state legislators since November after all but one county in New York saw an increase in voters opting for the Republican candidate. A year before the general election, a Siena College poll showed more than 8 in 10 voters considered cost of living “a major problem.”
However, for older adults, researchers said the economic climate could be dire. Nearly half of New Yorkers 65 and older reported having no retirement income and 310,000 of them said they lacked access to Social Security benefits.
St. Lawrence County was the only North Country community mentioned in the study. However, it showed 110.4% growth in older adult poverty from 2012 to 2022. Meanwhile, population growth for the 65-plus age group only increased by 28%.
Only four other communities saw the number of older adults in poverty rise faster than St. Lawrence County, according to the study.
The Center for an Urban Future used the data to outline specific actions lawmakers could take to lower costs and address the poverty crisis. Some of them included eliminating waiting lists for aging services like food and transportation assistance. According to the New York Association of Counties, more than 16,000 New Yorkers are on waiting lists.
There were also recommendations to expand affordable senior housing and lower health care costs by importing less expensive prescription drugs from Canada.
These issues are not new to the North Country, where the median age in Clinton, Essex and Franklin counties fell above the state and national average in 2023. Census data shows more than a quarter of the population in Essex County is 65 and older.
Not addressing the needs of this population would cost the state a lot of money. NYSAC estimates there could be $177 million in Medicaid costs for skilled nursing facility care and $60 million in managed long-term care or community Medicare costs.
Gov. Kathy Hochul’s executive budget for the 2026 fiscal year projects an $8.6 billion increase over 2025. She said the increase was largely driven by high levels of enrollment in the Medicaid program and expanded use of the managed long-term care program by aging New Yorkers.
The 2026 budget proposal also included $45 million for the New York State Office for the Aging — the largest investment in community-based aging services in New York’s history, according to the agency. If approved by the Legislature, that funding would be distributed regionally, with about $6.6 million for counties in the North Country.
