- National Numbers Hit New Low; NY’ers Sour on Current Conditions, A Bit More Upbeat on Future
- Concern Over Gas Prices Jumps to 63%, Food Steady at 78%; Buying Plans Edge Upward
Press Release Summary Trends Buying Plans Gas and Food
Loudonville, NY – The New York State Index of Consumer Sentiment now stands at 66.5 up 0.9 points from the last measurement in the first quarter of 2026 according to the latest poll by the Siena Research Institute (SRI). New York’s overall Index of Consumer Sentiment is 17.0 points above the national* index of 49.5 following a 3.8-point national decrease. New York’s current index fell 1.5 points to 61.8 and New York’s measure of future expectations increased 2.4 points from 67.2 last quarter to 69.6 today. The Index of Consumer Sentiment remains higher in New York than across the nation. For the sixth consecutive quarter, the overall index is below the breakeven point of balanced optimism and pessimism.
“While the national Index of Consumer Sentiment dropped 3.8 points to a 50-year low, driven by a sharp decrease in the current sentiment which fell 8.1 points across the nation, New York’s overall Index went in the opposite direction increasing by 0.9 points,” according to Travis Brodbeck, SRI’s Associate Director of Data Management. “In New York, the slight bump in the Index is attributed to greater gains in future confidence, the Index of Consumer Expectations, relative to the current opinion on the economy, the Index of Current Economic Conditions. Both in New York and nationally, there was a drop in current confidence, while expectations for the future moved in different directions for the nation and the state.”
Except for furniture, which mostly held steady from the first quarter of the year, buying plans in the second quarter have increased for all items asked. The largest increase in buying plans was in consumer electronics, rising 5.1% to 46.7%. The second largest increase in buying plans was for cars or trucks, which increased 2.5% (from 18.3% to 20.8%) while major home improvement plans rose to 23.9% (from 22.1%). Intentions to buy a home increased 0.8% from 9.9% in the last quarter. Plans to purchase furniture dropped slightly 0.3 percentage points to 29.8%.
“Consumers are continuing to spend, but cautiously,” Brodbeck said. “Over the past year, there has been little movement in the buying plans of New Yorkers. Compared to last summer, buying plans for vehicles are up slightly, rising three percentage points, while buying plans for home improvements, electronics, furniture, and homes remains largely unchanged, with differences of less than one percentage point.”
Increasing 12 points from last quarter (51%), 63 percent of New Yorkers say that gasoline prices are having a somewhat or very serious impact on their financial condition. Food remains a top concern where nearly 8 in 10 (78%) continue to say that food prices are seriously impacting the financial condition of New Yorkers. The impact of utility prices edged down slightly from 75 percent last quarter to 72 percent this quarter. Housing prices are having a serious impact for 7 in 10 New Yorkers (69% this quarter, 72% last quarter). The financial impact of entertainment and streaming services also edged down 3 points, dropping to 48 percent. The seriousness of cell phone costs increased to 40 percent (up from 33%). Of the monthly living expenses that New Yorkers face, half of New Yorkers (53%) say that food, utility, and housing costs are having a very or somewhat serious impact on their financial condition. Nearly one in four residents (up from 19% last quarter) report that all six key monthly expenses—food, gas, housing, utilities, entertainment, and cell phones—are weighing heavily on their finances.
“New Yorkers are feeling the pain at the pump, in the grocery story, and at home”, Brodbeck said. “For the first time since 2023, six in ten residents say that gasoline prices are squeezing their budgets and seriously impacting their financial condition. This comes on top of food, utilities, and housing, where seven in ten are feeling the strain. While many New Yorkers are under financial stress, the experience for those with the lowest earnings and fewest resources is even more precarious.”
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This Siena University Poll was conducted July 1 – 8, 2026, among 814 New York State Residents. Of the 814 respondents, 365 were contacted through a dual frame (landline and cell phone) mode (52 completed via text to web) and 449 respondents were drawn from a proprietary online panel (Cint). Telephone calls were conducted in English and respondent sampling was initiated by asking for the youngest person in the household. Telephone sampling was conducted via a stratified dual frame probability sample of landline and cell phone telephone numbers weighted to reflect known population patterns. The landline telephone sample and the cell phone sample was obtained from Marketing Systems Group (MSG). Interviews conducted online are excluded from the sample and final analysis if they fail any data quality attention check question. Duplicate responses are identified by their response ID and removed from the sample. Three questions were asked of online respondents, including a honey-pot question to catch bots and two questions that ask respondents to follow explicit directions. The proprietary panel also incorporates measures that safeguard against automated bot attacks, deduplication issues, fraudulent VPN usage, and suspicious IP addresses. Coding of open-ended responses was done by a single human coder. Data from collection modes was weighted to balance sample demographics to match estimates for New York State’s population using data from the Census Bureau’s 2023 U.S. American Community Survey (ACS), on age, region, race/ethnicity, and gender to ensure representativeness. The sample was also weighted to match current patterns of party registration using data from the New York State Board of Elections. It has an overall margin of error of +/- 3.7 percentage points including the design effects resulting from weighting. Sampling error is only one of many potential sources of error and there may be other unmeasured error in this or any other public opinion poll. The Siena Research Institute (SRI) powered by ReconMR is directed by Donald Levy, Ph.D.. SRI conducts political, economic, social, and cultural research primarily in NYS. SRI, an independent, non-partisan research institute, subscribes to the American Association of Public Opinion Research Code of Professional Ethics and Practices. For survey cross-tabs: www.Siena.edu/SRI/.
