Decreasing
What does this measure?
The average percentage of people of all ages receiving public assistance each month. This includes both major welfare programs: Family Assistance and Safety Net. Safety Net covers single adults, children living without their parents, and others not eligible for Family Assistance.
Why is this important?
This measure represents the numbers of individuals dependent upon government support for their basic needs.
How is our region performing?
In 2021, 1.2% of residents in the region received public assistance on average each month, compared to 2.3% in the state. Rates in the region have been declining since 2014 and the number of people receiving assistance has dropped by almost a third to just over 15,000 in 2021. Among counties, Monroe and Orleans had the highest rates of assistance, at 1.5% and 1.7% respectively. In Monroe County, this was a decline from 4.5% in 2014.
Notes about the data
National data were not available in comparable form. Data do not necessarily reflect the actual number of people eligible for this benefit, only those who receive it.
| 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NYS | 3.6% | 3.2% | 3.2% | 3.3% | 3.2% | 3.0% | 2.8% | 2.7% | 2.7% | 2.8% | 2.9% | 2.9% | 2.9% | 2.9% | 2.9% | 2.9% | 2.8% | 2.7% | 2.5% | 2.4% | 2.3% |
| NYS (excluding NYC) | 1.8% | 1.7% | 1.7% | 1.8% | 1.7% | 1.6% | 1.5% | 1.5% | 1.6% | 1.8% | 2.0% | 2.0% | 2.0% | 2.1% | 2.0% | 1.8% | 1.7% | 1.5% | 1.4% | 1.2% | 0.9% |
| Region | 3.1% | 3.0% | 3.0% | 3.2% | 3.1% | 3.0% | 2.9% | 2.8% | 2.8% | 3.0% | 3.2% | 3.2% | 3.3% | 3.4% | 3.1% | 2.8% | 2.6% | 2.3% | 1.9% | 1.7% | 1.2% |
| Monroe | 4.3% | 4.1% | 4.1% | 4.5% | 4.3% | 4.1% | 4.0% | 3.9% | 3.9% | 4.1% | 4.3% | 4.4% | 4.5% | 4.5% | 4.1% | 3.7% | 3.4% | 2.9% | 2.4% | 2.1% | 1.5% |
| Surrounding Counties | 1.2% | 1.2% | 1.2% | 1.3% | 1.3% | 1.2% | 1.1% | 1.0% | 1.1% | 1.2% | 1.3% | 1.3% | 1.5% | 1.6% | 1.5% | 1.4% | 1.4% | 1.3% | 1.1% | 1.0% | 0.8% |
| Genesee | 1.0% | 0.9% | 1.0% | 1.1% | 1.1% | 1.2% | 1.0% | 1.0% | 1.0% | 0.9% | 1.0% | 1.0% | 1.1% | 1.1% | 1.0% | 1.0% | 1.1% | 1.0% | 0.9% | 0.7% | 0.6% |
| Livingston | 1.6% | 1.7% | 1.8% | 1.8% | 1.6% | 1.4% | 0.9% | 1.1% | 1.4% | 1.6% | 1.8% | 1.9% | 2.4% | 2.5% | 2.3% | 2.2% | 2.1% | 1.8% | 1.5% | 1.2% | 0.9% |
| Ontario | 1.1% | 1.2% | 1.2% | 1.3% | 1.3% | 1.3% | 1.2% | 1.1% | 1.1% | 1.3% | 1.3% | 1.3% | 1.3% | 1.4% | 1.4% | 1.3% | 1.2% | 1.3% | 1.1% | 1.0% | 0.9% |
| Orleans | 2.4% | 2.3% | 2.0% | 2.1% | 2.0% | 2.1% | 2.1% | 2.0% | 2.2% | 2.5% | 2.7% | 2.7% | 2.9% | 3.2% | 2.9% | 2.8% | 2.6% | 2.5% | 2.4% | 2.2% | 1.7% |
| Seneca | 1.0% | 0.9% | 1.0% | 0.9% | 0.8% | 0.7% | 0.6% | 0.6% | 0.7% | 0.7% | 0.7% | 0.9% | 1.2% | 1.5% | 1.5% | 1.3% | 1.2% | 1.1% | 1.1% | 0.9% | 0.8% |
| Wayne | 0.9% | 1.0% | 1.1% | 1.1% | 1.2% | 1.1% | 1.0% | 0.9% | 1.0% | 1.1% | 1.1% | 1.1% | 1.2% | 1.2% | 1.2% | 1.1% | 1.1% | 1.0% | 0.9% | 0.9% | 0.7% |
| Wyoming | 0.8% | 0.6% | 0.7% | 0.6% | 0.7% | 0.8% | 0.8% | 0.7% | 0.8% | 0.8% | 0.8% | 0.8% | 0.8% | 0.8% | 0.8% | 0.9% | 0.7% | 0.7% | 0.6% | 0.5% | 0.5% |
| Yates | 0.6% | 0.7% | 0.8% | 1.1% | 1.1% | 0.9% | 0.7% | 0.7% | 0.7% | 0.6% | 0.6% | 0.9% | 0.9% | 1.0% | 1.0% | 1.0% | 0.9% | 0.7% | 0.7% | 0.9% | 0.9% |
Notes: Comparable national data were not available.
| 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NYS | 688,547 | 620,518 | 612,422 | 629,063 | 604,922 | 572,151 | 530,916 | 510,160 | 529,404 | 547,600 | 565,224 | 570,095 | 578,482 | 565,859 | 573,563 | 564,208 | 546,013 | 520,339 | 476,864 | 486,038 | 464,233 |
| NYS (excluding NYC) | 196,270 | 187,773 | 188,478 | 195,129 | 188,913 | 180,227 | 171,503 | 170,024 | 184,174 | 202,886 | 219,044 | 222,079 | 228,511 | 230,154 | 220,633 | 202,597 | 187,203 | 170,903 | 151,448 | 131,836 | 102,558 |
| Region | 37,332 | 35,810 | 36,410 | 39,056 | 37,642 | 36,015 | 34,529 | 33,909 | 34,629 | 35,979 | 38,568 | 38,919 | 40,589 | 40,839 | 37,678 | 34,223 | 31,328 | 27,446 | 23,355 | 20,409 | 15,085 |
| Monroe | 31,894 | 30,264 | 30,593 | 33,009 | 31,738 | 30,277 | 29,470 | 29,040 | 29,310 | 30,194 | 32,396 | 32,604 | 33,649 | 33,448 | 30,736 | 27,586 | 25,077 | 21,562 | 18,105 | 15,707 | 11,202 |
| Surrounding Counties | 5,438 | 5,546 | 5,817 | 6,047 | 5,904 | 5,738 | 5,059 | 4,869 | 5,319 | 5,785 | 6,172 | 6,315 | 6,940 | 7,391 | 6,942 | 6,637 | 6,251 | 5,884 | 5,250 | 4,702 | 3,883 |
| Genesee | 590 | 552 | 616 | 673 | 667 | 694 | 611 | 582 | 576 | 549 | 598 | 620 | 634 | 622 | 569 | 596 | 610 | 593 | 504 | 402 | 339 |
| Livingston | 1,038 | 1,107 | 1,157 | 1,174 | 1,048 | 920 | 615 | 690 | 912 | 1,019 | 1,148 | 1,237 | 1,528 | 1,645 | 1,498 | 1,380 | 1,309 | 1,109 | 913 | 764 | 573 |
| Ontario | 1,075 | 1,186 | 1,280 | 1,380 | 1,362 | 1,354 | 1,262 | 1,149 | 1,217 | 1,367 | 1,466 | 1,431 | 1,460 | 1,547 | 1,484 | 1,427 | 1,350 | 1,381 | 1,212 | 1,119 | 964 |
| Orleans | 1,054 | 994 | 877 | 919 | 861 | 902 | 905 | 861 | 941 | 1,079 | 1,164 | 1,124 | 1,234 | 1,351 | 1,207 | 1,159 | 1,073 | 1,030 | 968 | 890 | 689 |
| Seneca | 331 | 301 | 340 | 323 | 283 | 253 | 212 | 220 | 247 | 261 | 243 | 322 | 434 | 527 | 533 | 438 | 414 | 371 | 382 | 291 | 286 |
| Wayne | 844 | 957 | 1,068 | 1,038 | 1,100 | 1,028 | 919 | 890 | 932 | 1,019 | 1,068 | 1,026 | 1,076 | 1,105 | 1,073 | 1,042 | 985 | 946 | 849 | 784 | 599 |
| Wyoming | 359 | 266 | 282 | 264 | 312 | 352 | 352 | 304 | 318 | 340 | 338 | 327 | 344 | 334 | 315 | 354 | 297 | 275 | 247 | 217 | 201 |
| Yates | 147 | 183 | 197 | 276 | 271 | 235 | 183 | 173 | 176 | 151 | 147 | 228 | 230 | 260 | 263 | 241 | 213 | 179 | 175 | 235 | 232 |
Notes: Comparable national data were not available.
Worse than NYS by 10% or more
Up to 10% worse than NYS
Equal to or better than NYS Worse than NYS by 10% or more Up to 10% worse than NYS Equal to or better than NYS
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