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Cliff-Zone Families
433,265
Total Wage Suppression
$315.4M
State Avg Cliff Zone
14.4%
The benefits cliff — sometimes called the welfare cliff or cliff effect — occurs when families lose public benefits faster than they can replace them through increased earnings. In New York, an estimated 433,265 families across 62 counties earn between 100–200% of the Federal Poverty Level, where benefits like SNAP, Medicaid, childcare subsidies, and housing assistance phase out. The CLIFF Index measures this exposure at the county level, including peak marginal effective tax rates, wage suppression estimates, and advancement thresholds. Click any county below for the full diagnostic report.
| CountyCounty↕ | PopulationPopulation↕ | Cliff Zone %Cliff Zone %↕ | Families AffectedFamilies↓ | Wage SuppressionWage Gap↕ | Peak METRPeak METR↕ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kings County | 2,631,580 | 17.1% | 72,984 | $53.1M | 591% |
| Queens County | 2,323,052 | 16.9% | 67,414 | $49.1M | 591% |
| Bronx County | 1,404,779 | 21.5% | 47,293 | $34.4M | 591% |
| New York County | 1,629,477 | 11.9% | 25,633 | $18.7M | 591% |
| Erie County | 950,622 | 15.2% | 19,971 | $14.5M | 212% |
| Suffolk County | 1,530,146 | 8.9% | 19,649 | $14.3M | 553% |
| Westchester County | 999,677 | 10.3% | 17,105 | $12.5M | 591% |
| Nassau County | 1,389,591 | 7.6% | 16,902 | $12.3M | 553% |
| Monroe County | 753,753 | 14.5% | 15,372 | $11.2M | 281% |
| Richmond County | 494,956 | 13.7% | 10,961 | $8.0M | 591% |
| Onondaga County | 471,129 | 14.9% | 9,401 | $6.8M | 226% |
| Orange County | 406,616 | 14.2% | 8,580 | $6.2M | 376% |
| Rockland County | 341,883 | 14.7% | 7,124 | $5.2M | 591% |
| Oneida County | 229,124 | 16.7% | 5,350 | $3.9M | 160% |
| Dutchess County | 298,220 | 11.0% | 4,939 | $3.6M | 376% |
| Niagara County | 210,721 | 14.9% | 4,536 | $3.3M | 212% |
| Albany County | 317,018 | 11.6% | 4,429 | $3.2M | 312% |
| Broome County | 197,378 | 16.7% | 4,119 | $3.0M | 140% |
| Jefferson County | 115,040 | 18.6% | 3,784 | $2.8M | 230% |
| Chautauqua County | 125,544 | 20.5% | 3,707 | $2.7M | 111% |
| Saratoga County | 238,284 | 10.1% | 3,597 | $2.6M | 312% |
| Oswego County | 117,953 | 16.7% | 3,111 | $2.3M | 226% |
| Ulster County | 182,601 | 11.4% | 2,754 | $2.0M | 339% |
| Schenectady County | 160,369 | 11.9% | 2,696 | $2.0M | 312% |
| St. Lawrence County | 107,226 | 19.5% | 2,638 | $1.9M | 130% |
| Rensselaer County | 160,332 | 12.1% | 2,560 | $1.9M | 312% |
| Steuben County | 92,588 | 18.3% | 2,403 | $1.7M | 133% |
| Cattaraugus County | 76,145 | 19.9% | 2,131 | $1.6M | 111% |
| Ontario County | 112,625 | 13.0% | 2,107 | $1.5M | 281% |
| Sullivan County | 79,721 | 18.3% | 2,048 | $1.5M | 199% |
| Chemung County | 82,147 | 16.2% | 1,980 | $1.4M | 194% |
| Clinton County | 78,493 | 17.5% | 1,965 | $1.4M | 183% |
| Cayuga County | 75,102 | 17.2% | 1,879 | $1.4M | 146% |
| Wayne County | 90,929 | 15.4% | 1,768 | $1.3M | 281% |
| Fulton County | 52,487 | 19.1% | 1,668 | $1.2M | 135% |
| Madison County | 67,328 | 16.3% | 1,477 | $1.1M | 226% |
| Otsego County | 60,108 | 18.5% | 1,437 | $1.0M | 177% |
| Herkimer County | 59,757 | 17.3% | 1,392 | $1.0M | 160% |
| Washington County | 60,522 | 16.2% | 1,390 | $1.0M | 213% |
| Tompkins County | 104,537 | 12.5% | 1,389 | $1.0M | 324% |
| Genesee County | 57,787 | 16.4% | 1,374 | $1.0M | 159% |
| Livingston County | 61,498 | 16.6% | 1,368 | $996K | 281% |
| Chenango County | 46,321 | 22.0% | 1,346 | $980K | 111% |
| Columbia County | 61,100 | 14.4% | 1,278 | $930K | 239% |
| Warren County | 65,517 | 14.4% | 1,252 | $911K | 213% |
| Putnam County | 98,107 | 7.6% | 1,209 | $880K | 591% |
| Tioga County | 47,864 | 15.6% | 1,176 | $856K | 140% |
| Delaware County | 44,487 | 19.0% | 1,176 | $856K | 119% |
| Franklin County | 46,696 | 16.8% | 1,124 | $818K | 122% |
| Cortland County | 46,246 | 17.8% | 1,072 | $780K | 168% |
| Montgomery County | 49,528 | 16.7% | 1,064 | $775K | 139% |
| Allegany County | 47,159 | 19.0% | 1,036 | $754K | 111% |
| Orleans County | 39,608 | 17.9% | 1,035 | $753K | 281% |
| Greene County | 47,409 | 16.3% | 956 | $696K | 221% |
| Essex County | 36,973 | 16.5% | 907 | $660K | 164% |
| Lewis County | 26,607 | 20.5% | 839 | $611K | 111% |
| Wyoming County | 39,753 | 15.7% | 793 | $577K | 111% |
| Schoharie County | 30,049 | 16.8% | 744 | $542K | 312% |
| Yates County | 24,526 | 19.6% | 682 | $496K | 138% |
| Seneca County | 32,920 | 16.0% | 596 | $434K | 159% |
| Schuyler County | 17,562 | 18.4% | 487 | $355K | 153% |
| Hamilton County | 5,089 | 14.9% | 108 | $79K | 237% |
62 of 62 counties shown. Click any county for full diagnostic.