How does NYC's tax reliance on the top 1% compare to other major US cities?
Executive summary
New York City’s tax system depends heavily on its highest‑earners: multiple analyses and city fiscal reports show the top 1 percent of filers supply a large and growing share of personal income tax receipts—figures variously reported in the 40–46 percent range—making the city unusually exposed to gains and losses concentrated at the top [1] [2] [3]. Available reporting shows New York State and its localities collect far more tax per person than most states and that business and property taxes are also major and volatile revenue sources, but the sources provided do not contain apples‑to‑apples city‑by‑city shares for the top 1 percent that would permit a precise ranking against other major U.S. cities [4] [5] [6].
1. New York’s top 1 percent shoulders an outsized share of income tax revenue
Independent analyses and city studies converge that a very small share of filers funds a startling share of city personal income tax: Empire Center/IBO data indicate the top 1 percent generated roughly 43 percent of city income taxes (and about 51 percent of New York State income taxes paid by city residents) in the mid‑2010s, while other city reporting and trackers put recent high‑earner contributions as high as 40–46 percent of city PIT, concentrating risk in a few thousand filers [1] [2] [3].
2. That concentration matters because NYC’s overall tax base is large but uneven
The Citizens Budget Commission and other state analyses show New York State and its localities collect more tax per person than almost any other state—63 percent more than the national average in one CBCNY analysis—so the city’s reliance on top earners sits atop an already high per‑capita tax burden that magnifies fiscal sensitivity to high‑income migration or income volatility [4] [7].
3. Business and property revenues partially diversify but are themselves volatile
Comptroller reports make clear that business income taxes have outpaced other revenue sources—rising more than 50 percent since FY2019 and reaching their highest share since 2013—while property tax remains the single largest city tax source and has shown steady growth, together buffering but not eliminating dependence on concentrated PIT receipts [5] [6].
4. Policy changes have shifted who pays, complicating comparisons
Recent policy developments—like the state pass‑through entity tax (PTET) that recharacterized some revenues and the periodic changes to SALT deductibility—have altered the balance between corporate and individual tax collections, meaning historical top‑1% shares can jump or fall because of law changes rather than pure income shifts [7] [8]. Analysts and the Comptroller warn that expiration or alteration of federal SALT caps and local tax policy will influence future PIT patterns [8].
5. How NYC compares to other major U.S. cities: evidence and limits
The provided sources establish that New York’s top 1 percent pays an unusually large share of city personal income taxes, but none of the supplied material offers a consistent, comparative dataset that lists top‑1% tax shares for other major cities (for example, Los Angeles, Chicago, Houston, Miami) to produce a definitive ranking [1] [2] [3]. National tax competitiveness rankings (Tax Foundation) address state tax structure and rates—New York State ranks poorly on competitiveness—but that index is not a direct measure of the share of municipal PIT paid by the top 1 percent in each city [9] [10].
6. Competing narratives and fiscal risks
Advocates for lower taxes argue that NYC’s fiscal model depends too heavily on top earners and that high marginal burdens and public‑spending levels risk out‑migration and revenue swings—a view echoed by policy groups urging restraint [4] [7]. City fiscal offices and progressive analysts counter that high‑income households undergird funding for services and that targeted revenue measures and enforcement (e.g., audits, business tax collections) can mitigate shocks, as Comptroller forecasts and revenue‑raising proposals illustrate [11] [5].
7. Bottom line for taxpayers and policymakers
New York City is more reliant on its highest‑income taxpayers than typical jurisdictions, with top‑1% shares of PIT concentrated in the 40–46 percent range according to multiple reports, and that concentration is layered on an already high per‑capita tax collection regime; however, a precise, systematic comparison with other major U.S. cities is not available in the supplied reporting, leaving a gap for researchers seeking a cross‑city ranking to fill [1] [2] [4].