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Perfect New York · A blueprint of the 50 States

New York

A $2.47 trillion economy where 145,560 people had no home on a single night.

Perfect Nations counts what New York owns, prices the seven basic standards of living for every resident, and designs the capital that closes the gap.

62 counties

The solutions All 50 states

01 · Assets · What New York owns

Five assets that can carry Perfect New York.

Each is owned by New Yorkers today, earns or saves every year, and can carry a standard of living.

  • 01

    $309.7bn

    The pension fund

    The New York State Common Retirement Fund, invested for the State’s public workers and retirees (estimated value, 30 June 2026).

    State Comptroller, 2026

  • 02

    6 million acres

    The Adirondack Park

    Nearly half belongs to all the people of New York State, protected “forever wild” by the State Constitution.

    Adirondack Park Agency

  • 03

    1 billion gallons a day

    The water

    New York City’s upstate reservoirs supply its 8.5 million residents and one million more people in four counties.

    NYC Environmental Protection

  • 04

    Up to 1 in 4

    The power

    The State’s own Power Authority supplies up to a quarter of the electricity New York consumes, from 17 generating facilities.

    Power Authority, 2024

  • 05

    20.0m

    The people

    New Yorkers on 1 July 2025: the asset every other asset serves.

    Census Bureau, 2025

02 · The seven basic standards of living

Perfect New York, star by star.

One measure for each of the seven basic standards of living. Where no official measure is published yet, the gap is shown, not filled.

  1. Food14.0%

    At risk

    of households food insecure, 2022–2024 (United States 13.3%) USDA, 2025

  2. Water

    Not yet measured

    Lead service lines still in use: the State’s figure under the 2025 federal update is being confirmed.

  3. Shelter145,560

    Binding

    people without a home on one night, January 2025 HUD, 2025

  4. Energy

    Not yet measured

    Households behind on energy bills: awaiting a primary published count.

  5. Education31%

    At risk

    of fourth graders read at the NAEP Proficient level, 2024 (United States 30%) NAEP, 2024

  6. Health4.7%

    Holding

    without health insurance, 2025 (United States 8.4%) Census Bureau, ACS 2025

  7. Livelihood13.8%

    At risk

    below the poverty line, 2025 (United States 11.8%) Census Bureau, ACS 2025

Where the poverty line falls hardest

Share of people below the poverty line in each of New York’s 62 counties, 2020–2024. Census Bureau, ACS 2020–2024

  • Under 10%
  • 10 to 12.5%
  • 12.5 to 15%
  • 15 to 20%
  • 20% and over

Highest: Bronx, 27.8%. Lowest: Nassau, 5.4%. Statewide in 2025: 13.8%.

All 62 counties
  1. Bronx27.8%
  2. Kings19.1%
  3. Cattaraugus19.1%
  4. Broome18.5%
  5. Franklin18.2%
  6. Chautauqua17.4%
  7. St. Lawrence16.9%
  8. New York16.5%
  9. Tompkins16.4%
  10. Oswego16.3%
  11. Chemung16.3%
  12. Rockland16.2%
  13. Allegany16.2%
  14. Sullivan15.9%
  15. Oneida15.5%
  16. Schuyler14.8%
  17. Ulster14.6%
  18. Montgomery14.6%
  19. Delaware14.4%
  20. Erie13.9%
  21. Onondaga13.8%
  22. Steuben13.8%
  23. Clinton13.7%
  24. Jefferson13.7%
  25. Monroe13.6%
  26. Niagara13.5%
  27. Cayuga13.5%
  28. Seneca13.5%
  29. Herkimer13.4%
  30. Tioga13.4%
  31. Schenectady13.3%
  32. Fulton13.1%
  33. Albany13.0%
  34. Queens12.9%
  35. Cortland12.8%
  36. Orleans12.7%
  37. Yates12.7%
  38. Orange12.6%
  39. Otsego12.5%
  40. Lewis12.3%
  41. Columbia12.1%
  42. Rensselaer11.8%
  43. Chenango11.8%
  44. Schoharie11.7%
  45. Richmond11.5%
  46. Wayne11.4%
  47. Essex11.2%
  48. Wyoming11.1%
  49. Livingston11.1%
  50. Washington10.7%
  51. Genesee10.6%
  52. Hamilton10.6%
  53. Warren10.5%
  54. Madison10.0%
  55. Greene9.9%
  56. Ontario9.0%
  57. Westchester9.0%
  58. Dutchess8.4%
  59. Putnam7.1%
  60. Saratoga7.1%
  61. Suffolk6.4%
  62. Nassau5.4%

03 · Solutions

Solutions for Perfect New York, in order.

Shelter first, because every other standard is harder to reach without a home.

  1. Phase 1Binding

    Shelter

    The challenge
    145,560 New Yorkers had no home on one night in January 2025. HUD, 2025
    What Perfect Nations advises
    Issue a State housing bond whose investors are repaid in part on outcomes: each household moved from shelter into a permanent home, building on New York’s own Pay for Success record. With super intelligence, New York can match every family in shelter to a vacant or buildable home and report each outcome as it happens.

  2. Phase 2At risk

    Food and livelihood

    The challenge
    14.0% of households were food insecure in 2022–2024, and 13.8% of New Yorkers lived below the poverty line in 2025. USDA, 2025
    What Perfect Nations advises
    Back a statewide social bond for food and income programs, priced off the State’s credit and paid against measured falls in hunger, county by county, starting with the Bronx. With super intelligence, the State can see where families are falling behind and reach them before they do.

  3. Phase 2At risk

    Education

    The challenge
    31% of fourth graders read at the NAEP Proficient level in 2024. NAEP, 2024
    What Perfect Nations advises
    Fund early reading through an outcome contract that pays only for measured gains, as the State first did for jobs in 2013. With super intelligence, every child can have a reading tutor that adapts to them, in their own language.

Phase 3, hold the line: health coverage (4.7% uninsured), with water and energy measured next.

04 · Capital already committed

New York already finances at scale.

Four instruments on record that a Perfect New York can build on.

  • $21.0bn

    MTA green bonds2016–2025

    Climate Bonds Certified green bonds issued by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority since 2016. MTA, 2025

  • $4.2bn

    The Environmental Bond Act2022

    Bonds for clean water, clean air and green jobs, approved by New York voters on 8 November 2022. State Environmental Conservation

  • nearly$2.7bn

    NY Green BankDecember 2025

    Committed to clean energy since 2013 by the State’s own green investment fund, supporting up to $10.4bn of projects. NY Green Bank, 2026

  • $13.5m

    Pay for Success2013

    The nation’s first state-led Pay for Success project: private investors paid upfront for job training for formerly incarcerated New Yorkers; the State repays on results. State Budget; Harvard GPL

Work with us

Design Perfect New York with us.

State leaders, treasurers and investors: start with a briefing.

Request a briefing The ReDesign Studio All 50 states
Sources (16)
  1. U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, GDP by state, 2025, current dollars (updated 30 September 2026). bea.gov
  2. Office of the New York State Comptroller, State Pension Fund Valued at $309.7 Billion at End of First Quarter, 17 August 2026. osc.ny.gov
  3. U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, 2025 Point-in-Time count, in Office of the New York State Comptroller, Homelessness Falls Statewide, But Rises in Many New York Regions. osc.ny.gov
  4. Adirondack Park Agency, The Adirondack Park. apa.ny.gov
  5. New York City Department of Environmental Protection, Water Supply. nyc.gov
  6. New York Power Authority, Major Authority Units 2024, section 12. nypa.gov
  7. U.S. Census Bureau, Vintage 2025 population estimates, 1 July 2025. census.gov
  8. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service, Household Food Security in the United States in 2024 (ERR-358), table 4, average 2022–2024. ers.usda.gov
  9. National Center for Education Statistics, NAEP 2024 Reading, grade 4, at or above NAEP Proficient, public schools (NAEP Data Service). nationsreportcard.gov
  10. U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2025 1-year, table B27001 (civilian noninstitutionalized population). data.census.gov
  11. U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2025 1-year, table B17001. data.census.gov
  12. U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020–2024 5-year, table B17001, New York counties. data.census.gov
  13. Metropolitan Transportation Authority, Climate Bond Certification compliance disclosure, MTA green bond issuances (total $20,969,568,671). mta.info
  14. New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, Clean Water, Clean Air and Green Jobs Environmental Bond Act of 2022. dec.ny.gov
  15. NY Green Bank, Metrics, Reporting and Evaluation, Quarterly Report No. 46 (through 31 December 2025). greenbank.ny.gov
  16. New York State Division of the Budget, Pay for Success Contingency Reserve (first state-led project); Harvard Kennedy School Government Performance Lab, New York State Pay for Success Project ($13.5 million raised). budget.ny.gov · govlab.hks.harvard.edu

Every figure carries its source and year. Where no primary figure is published, the standard is shown as not yet measured. Perfect Nations® is an independent advisory firm; the institutions named are cited for reference and do not endorse this blueprint.

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