Congressional District 9 (119th Congress), New YorkBeta·Data under review

Of 510,954 adults age 25+ in this community, those without a bachelor’s degree typically earn in the range where benefit cliffs concentrate. An associate degree adds about $17K in annual earnings — but for a family of three, that still lands near the cliff zone ceiling.

61% of adults lack a bachelor’s degree — credential levels associated with occupations where wages typically overlap with benefit phase-out ranges. This education profile suggests the local workforce is disproportionately exposed to cliff-zone earnings, making benefits navigation a workforce retention strategy, not just a social service.

Families that spend more on housing have less capacity to absorb benefit losses at cliff thresholds. Research shows severely burdened renters (50%+ of income on rent) spend 39% less on food and 42% less on healthcare than unburdened families at similar income levels.

29% of renter households spend over half their income on housing. A family of four at 150% FPL takes home ~$4,125/month. At 50% housing burden, that leaves $2,062/month for everything else. Losing a $200 SNAP benefit or $400 childcare subsidy at that margin doesn’t just hurt — it can make continued employment impossible.