12 Reasons New Yorkers Say They’re Fed-Up With the State
The parking ticket sat on the windshield, tucked under the wiper, waiting all morning.
Rent due, toll paid, tax withheld, and the day had barely started.
New Yorkers know the feeling by heart.
These are the reasons New Yorkers say they’re fed up with their state.
Tax Man Wants It All
New Yorkers hand over more of their paycheck than almost anyone in the country, and they know it.
The top state income tax rate reaches 10.90%.
The Tax Foundation ranks New York’s tax system dead last among the 50 states for 2026.
Add federal tax, then city tax for anyone in New York City, and a person’s paycheck shrinks fast.
Many New Yorkers say the math stopped making sense years ago.
Property Taxes Never Quit
Property taxes in New York land among the heaviest bills in the nation, and downstate homeowners feel it the worst.
Westchester County carries the highest median property tax bill of any county in the United States.
Nassau and Rockland aren’t far behind.
New Yorkers say the bill arrives whether the house gained a dollar of value or not.
A paid-off home still owes thousands a year just to stay put.
Rent Eats Paychecks
Renting in New York, and New York City above all, takes a bigger bite than most Americans can picture.
A one-bedroom in Manhattan hit an all-time high of $4,680 a month in 2026.
That’s before electricity, before the subway swipe, before a single bag of groceries.
New Yorkers say the rent check alone can top a decent mortgage almost anywhere else.
Upstate runs cheaper, sure.
But New Yorkers there watch their wages sit lower to match.
Everything Costs More
New York ranks as the fifth priciest state to live in, running about 25% above the national average.
Groceries, gas, and dinner out all cost more here.
The sales tax in New York City runs close to nine cents on the dollar, tacked onto every receipt.
New Yorkers say a quick trip to the store never stays quick, and never stays cheap.
Your Electric Bill
Electricity in New York runs well above the national average.
Winter bills upstate run higher when the furnace and the lights both fight the dark.
Con Edison customers downstate know the sting too.
New Yorkers say the delivery charges alone can rival the cost of the electricity.
Winter Won’t Let Go
Upstate New York buries itself in snow the rest of the country can’t picture.
Syracuse averages more than 114 inches a year, the most of any large city in America.
Buffalo and Rochester aren’t far behind, thanks to lake-effect storms rolling off Erie and Ontario.
New Yorkers say winter shows up in November and overstays through April.
Snowblowers, roof rakes, and a second set of tires aren’t extras up here.
They’re the price of the address.
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Paying to Enter Manhattan
Driving into Lower Manhattan now costs New Yorkers a toll just to show up.
The congestion charge runs $9 for most cars during peak hours, on top of any bridge or tunnel toll.
Gov. Kathy Hochul's administration launched the toll in January 2025, and it's set to reach $15 by 2031.
New Yorkers say the drive downtown turned into a daily entry fee.
Leave the car home, and the subway swap brings its own crowds.
Neighbors Keep Moving Out
New York has lost over a million residents to other states since 2020, second only to California.
In the year ending July 2025 alone, a net 137,586 people packed up and left.
New Yorkers say the group chat keeps lighting up with news of another friend closing on a house in Florida or North Carolina.
The moving trucks head south, and the taxes stay behind.
Tolls at Every Turn
Tolls follow New York drivers long before they ever reach the city.
The New York State Thruway stretches hundreds of miles, and E-ZPass reads a transponder at nearly every major crossing.
Bridges, tunnels, and the Thruway itself all take their cut.
New Yorkers say a drive across their own state can cost more in tolls than the gas to make it.
Stuck in Traffic
New Yorkers spend a chunk of every day sitting still.
Downstate drivers crawl along the Long Island Expressway, and commuters pack the Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) shoulder to shoulder.
A signal problem at one station can ripple across a whole subway line.
The Brooklyn-Queens Expressway earns its reputation every evening, when three lanes crawl past the harbor.
New Yorkers say the trip that looks like 30 minutes on a map somehow eats an hour.
Red Tape and the DMV
Everyday life in New York comes wrapped in more rules than most states bother with.
A visit to the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) can burn a morning even with an appointment.
Permits, inspections, and forms follow New Yorkers from the apartment lease to the corner business.
New York even banned the plastic grocery bag statewide back in 2020.
New Yorkers say the paperwork multiplies faster than they can file it.
Upstate Feels Forgotten
Upstate New York often feels like an afterthought to its own capital.
Buffalo, Syracuse, and the North Country send their taxes to Albany, and New Yorkers there say the attention flows right back downstate.
Factory towns that once built the state watched the jobs leave decades ago.
New Yorkers upstate say the plow reaches the Thruway ramps long before it reaches their street.
They keep paying the same state tax bill either way.
9 Perks Presidents Keep for Life That New Yorkers Still Pay For
Four former presidents collect a pension worth more than a quarter million dollars a year, and none of them filled out a job application.
New Yorkers help foot the bill, right alongside the office, the staff, and the travel that never stops.
9 Perks Presidents Keep for Life That New Yorkers Still Pay For
10 Things New Yorkers Are Tired of Defending About Their State
Relatives in Florida and coworkers in Texas keep asking New Yorkers the same question: Why do you stay?
The answer takes longer than a flight out of LaGuardia, and New Yorkers are tired of giving it.
10 Things New Yorkers Are Tired of Defending About Their State
