NYC Consumers Optimistic About Future For Some Reason, Poll Finds

NEW YORK CITY — Feeling optimistic about the economy and future despite, well, everything? If you live in New York City, you're not alone, according to a new study.

New York City dwellers' consumer sentiment — a measure of economic optimism or pessimism — stood at 78.4 points over the summer months, a Siena College study released Wednesday found.

By contrast, upstate New Yorkers' sentiment stood at 59.1, according to the study.

In fact, Big Apple consumers' optimism largely drove a 9 point spike in sentiment statewide up to 70.8, the study found. The national rate is 58.2, according to the study.

"New Yorkers’ collective sentiment continues to outpace the national
rate driven by far greater optimism in the NYC area especially when looking to the future," said Dan Levy, the director of Siena College Research Institute, in the study.

The study comes as inflation, especially gas prices, have somewhat eased in recent months. But other economic concerns, such as record-setting rents, remain in New York City.

Why New York City dwellers are overall optimistic about the economy isn't directly addressed by the study, but it does offer some clues.

Young New Yorkers' sentiment outpaced older people by 22 points, the study found.

And — perhaps most importantly for a left-leaning city such as New York — Democrats' confidence is 37 points higher than Republicans', according to the study.

Democrats and Republicans "live in different economic sentiment realms," Levy said.

New York City dwellers were also less likely to say that gas and food prices were a somewhat or a very serious problem, the study found.

Of those in the city's metro area, 65 percent said it was, according to the study. Meanwhile, 86 percent of Republicans and 74 percent of people who live upstate surveyed said gas and food were a somewhat or very serious problem, the study found.

Read the full study here.