- NY’ers Pessimistic on Current and Future Economic Conditions
- Concern Over Gas & Grocery Prices Remains High; Buying Plans Virtually Unchanged
Loudonville, NY – The New York State Index of Consumer Sentiment now stands at 65.6 down 0.9 points from the last measurement in the second quarter of 2026 according to the latest poll by the Siena Research Institute (SRI). New York’s overall Index of Consumer Sentiment is 17.5 points above the national* index of 48.1 following a 1.4-point national decrease. New York’s current index fell 0.8 points to 61.0 and New York’s measure of future expectations decreased 1.0 point from 69.6 last quarter to 68.6 today. The Index of Consumer Sentiment remains higher in New York than across the nation. For the seventh consecutive quarter, the overall index is below the breakeven point of balanced optimism and pessimism.
*National data compiled by the U. of Michigan * ( ) shows points above/below breakeven point at which sentiment is balanced
“Since March, the national Index of Consumer Sentiment has been dropping while New York’s overall Index has remained flat,” according to Travis Brodbeck, SRI’s Associate Director of Data Management. “New Yorkers are just as pessimistic on the economy today as they were in the first quarter of 2026. Compared to last year, consumers are feeling the same about the future, but their assessment of the current economy has soured, dropping nearly 7 points.”
Consumer buying plans for big ticket items mostly held steady from the second quarter of the year. Plans to buy an automobile or furniture were virtually unchanged at 20.6% (0.2% decrease) and 29.5% (0.3% decrease) respectively. Buying plans for consumer electronics dropped 2.6% to 44.1% (from 46.7%). Home buying plans also dropped from the previous quarter, moving from 10.7% to 10.2%, a 0.5% decrease. The only buying plan that increased was for a major home improvement which rose to 27.2% (from 23.9%). Compared to last year, most buying plans today are within 1 percentage point of where they were. The only exception is major home improvements, which rose to 27.2% this year from 23.3% last year.
“Despite a low assessment of the current and future economic conditions, consumers are not changing their purchasing plans, Brodbeck said. “Purchasing intentions for big ticket items are relatively unchanged from both last quarter and last year. New Yorkers are not pulling back on these buying plans, but they are also not increasing their spending on large purchases.”
Grocery prices remain a top concern where nearly 8 in 10 (77%, down from 78%) say these prices are seriously impacting New Yorkers’ financial condition, followed by the cost of utilities (72%, unchanged), housing (70%, up from 69%), and gas (64%, up from 63%). Entertainment and streaming services (48%, unchanged) and cell phone costs (38%, down from 40%) also weigh on New Yorkers. Half of New Yorkers (53%, unchanged) say their monthly living expenses of food, utility, and housing costs are having a very or somewhat serious impact on their financial condition. One in five residents (21%, down from 24% last) report that all six key monthly expenses—food, gas, housing, utilities, entertainment, and cell phones—are weighing heavily on their finances.
“Half of New Yorkers say that their monthly expenses are taking a serious toll on their finances”, Brodbeck said. “Over the last four years, grocery bills have consistently hit the hardest, with eight in ten residents reporting that food prices are straining their household budget. Mounting costs for housing, utilities, and gasoline amplify that pressure, hitting lower-income households the hardest.”
This Siena University Poll was conducted September 1 – October 3, 2026, among 808 New York State Residents. Of the 808 respondents, 382 were contacted through a dual frame (landline and cell phone) mode (159 completed via text to web) and 426 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 +/- 3.8 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/.
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