Do New York City’s elected officials deserve a raise?
By Cecilia Low-Weiner, Senior Research Associate, and Lisa McMonagle, Senior Policy Associate
For the first time in 10 years, elected officials in New York City voted to give themselves a raise—an 18.2 percent increase. That number came as a recommendation from the Quadrennial Commission, theoretically a once-every-four-year evaluation of their salaries. CUNY ISLG conducted an independent analysis of affordability, comparable wages, and other cities to make sure the recommendations were rooted in data.
Last week, the New York City Council passed the first raise for elected officials in a decade. The raise came at the recommendation of the Quadrennial Commission, an appointed taskforce established by Mayor Edward I. Koch in 1978 to evaluate elected officials’ salaries—which includes the mayor, City Councilmembers, borough presidents, the public advocate, comptroller, and district attorneys—in New York City every four years.
However, the Commission had not met since 2015. Consequently, the 2026 Quadrennial Commission was “asked to review compensation levels that have been, for the most part, frozen for a decade.”
The Commission made several recommendations, including the overall salary increase as well as a policy recommendation to establish an annual inflation-tied increase of 2 percent or the actual inflation rate, whichever is lower, if the Commission is not convened in a timely manner. The City Council passed the 18.2 percent raise, but not the policy recommendation. As an independent research partner, CUNY ISLG provided the Commission with an analysis that resulted in the 18.2 percent number along with background research and analysis to understand how other large cities set raises.
But how did we get to that 18.2 percent?
The Quadrennial Commission’s Role
The legislated purpose of the Quadrennial Commission is to ensure that public offices are able to attract and retain qualified candidates, meaning these roles are viable paths for people regardless of their background or personal wealth. The legislation suggests that this is achieved by providing salaries that are “sufficient to maintain a standard of living consistent with the office and the city they represent.”
In practice, the Commission is tasked with making recommendations on salaries for elected officials that are then reviewed by the City Council. The City Council, then, is responsible for introducing legislation that amends the New York City Charter to implement salary adjustments. As an independent researcher, CUNY ISLG staff informed these recommendations by providing data and analysis on elected officials in comparable cities, analysis on inflation and cost of living in New York City, and wage trends for similar positions both within government and in the private sector over time.
As an independent researcher, CUNY ISLG staff informed these recommendations by providing data and analysis on elected officials in comparable cities, analysis on inflation and cost of living in New York City, and wage trends for similar positions both within government and in the private sector over time.
Given that salaries have been frozen since 2016, it was the 2026 Commission’s remit to determine whether the salaries were sufficient or whether they should be increased. As may be no surprise to anyone living in New York City, there has been a consistent and steep increase in the cost of living leading to real concerns about affordability, particularly since the pandemic.
During the period for public testimony this spring (as documented on page 35 of the report), concerns were raised about the stagnant wages, particularly for the current group of City Council members who are increasingly younger, women, and people of color than previous City Council cohorts. It is against this backdrop of rising cost of living, increased salaries in other public and private sector jobs, and lost purchasing power that the Commission made its recommendations.
Connecting Research to Policy: What the Data Showed, and Where it Led
CUNY ISLG’s research for the Commission focused on four areas: compensation levels for City elected officials; compensation of elected officials in comparable cities across the country; compensation of City elected officials relative to wages for other roles in NYC; and income and cost of living in NYC and other cities.
Compensation Levels and Comparable Cities
First, we selected comparable cities; this was defined as cities similar in population density, cost of living, and “city fiscal control,” which is a constructed measure that reflects how much of the total local government spending on residents is the city’s direct responsibility. These included San Francisco, Boston, Los Angeles, and Chicago, among others. We found that New York City was one of the few amongst comparable cities that had gone a decade since the last increase for elected officials’ salaries. Additionally, amongst comparable cities:
Many cities automatically adjust their salaries annually, and tie salaries to the Consumer Price Index (CPI) or salaries set at the state level.
Some cities, like NYC, convene commissions to adjust salaries, with some requiring public ballot measures to implement changes.
Cities had increased elected official salaries between 0 percent and 144 percent since 2015, with a median increase of 29 percent.
In 2016, salaries for New York City mayor and City Councilmember ranked second amongst comparable cities but dropped to fifth and sixth, respectively, in 2026.
Cost of Living and Purchasing Power
Since the last Commission was convened, and particularly since the pandemic, New Yorkers have experienced rising inflation and significant increases in costs across housing, childcare, and other expenses that impact their ability to sufficiently support their household. Specifically, New Yorkers—elected officials and otherwise—experienced:
A 31 percent increase in average annual inflation;
An over 35 percent increase in childcare costs; and
An almost 35 percent increase in median rent.
These increased costs have come over a period where elected officials have seen zero nominal growth in their pay, as their current salaries were set in 2016 and have remained unchanged. In real terms, these salaries have lost real purchasing power by almost 25 percent since 2016.
Comparable Wages in NYC
In addition to cost-of-living indicators, we also examined changes in salaries for comparable positions within City and State government, as well as in the broader public and private sector, since 2016. Specifically, we found that:
Executive wages in the New York metropolitan area rose by over 69 percent; although this is not directly comparable to elected officials, it is representative of the opportunity cost facing public officials.
Senior executive pay at large nonprofits has substantially increased over the period, ranging from 25 percent to almost double in select nonprofits.
DC37, a union that represents thousands of New York City municipal workers and sets wages through collective bargaining, saw wages increase by about 28 percent over the period.
New York State legislators saw a 29 percent increase in salary.
The Recommendation
While CUNY ISLG provided cost of living and wage trends going back to 2016—when salaries were last changed and the Commission considered this full context—the Commission ultimately focused their recommendations on the period since 2021, when most currently active elected officials assumed their first full term. The recommendation for the 18.2 percent increase in salaries was based on the compounded year-over-year change in New York metropolitan area average annual inflation across four full calendar years, 2022 through 2025. This raise reflects what it would take for salaries to keep pace with inflation since 2021, restoring or enhancing the purchasing power that elected officials expected when they took office in or after 2022.
Nonpartisan Facts for Political Discussions
Salary discussions for elected officials are inherently political. Last fall, proposed legislation to raise salaries by 16 percent failed to go for a vote after watchdog groups raised concerns about bypassing the independent review process. This is in addition to how constituents often feel that elected officials should not be able to set their own salaries and often disagree with raises, particularly in times of widespread economic distress.
But the underlying question of whether public officials’ compensation should keep pace with cost of living and reflects the importance of their role should not be decided by political opinion alone. The Commission must balance politics with the reality of supporting households in New York City and keeping the role competitive and accessible to everyone—including those without existing wealth or income. Independent, nonpartisan research gives commissions like this one a data-driven foundation to work from and helps ensure that decisions are grounded in facts, rather than politics. This work is crucially important to building governing bodies that remain reflective of people they serve.
Independent, nonpartisan research gives commissions like this one a data-driven foundation to work from and helps ensure that decisions are grounded in facts, rather than politics. This work is crucially important to building governing bodies that remain reflective of people they serve.
Photo by Lazar Gugleta on Unsplash.