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March 2, 2026

AUTHORS
Leigh Wedenoja
Patrick Schumacher

Executive Summary

The Rockefeller Institute of Government examined the economic impact of nonprofit disability service providers in New York State in 2023. The Institute found that 408 of these providers reported $9.0 billion in revenues. Overall, nonprofit disability service providers:

• Generated $15.6 billion in economic output in New York State. This includes the $9.0 billion in revenues generated by the providers, $2.0 billion in output for their suppliers, and $4.6 billion related to employee spending.
• Supported 194,186 full-time jobs with service providers, their suppliers, and in the wider regional economy.
• Contributed $2.4 billion in federal and state tax revenue.

The Institute also examined data from New York State Industries for the Disabled, Inc. (NYSID) providers in 2023. The results show a total economic impact of $470 million, based on $291.6 million in contracts across 99 member agencies. These member agencies employed 4,794 individuals with disabilities in 2023, who collectively worked 3,665,789 hours.

The economic impact of NYSID and disability service providers was realized across all regions of the state, with the largest impact in New York City, which has the highest population of any region. In New York City alone, NYSID had a total economic effect of nearly $200 million, and disability service providers had an impact of over $5 billion. Providers also had large economic impacts in the Mid-Hudson and Long Island regions, which are the second-highest regions in terms of population after New York City. NYSID’s members and corporate partners, in contrast, had the largest economic impact in Long Island and the Capital Region, likely due to the proximity of the state government for contracting services through the Preferred Source Program in the latter.

This report proceeds as follows: Sections 2 through 5 provide background information on NYSID and the state of disability employment policy in New York State. Section 2 provides an overview of NYSID and its history, Section 3 provides an overview of disability service providers in New York, Section 4 discusses policy changes and ongoing progress in supporting the employment of people with disabilities in New York, and Section 5 discusses the demographics of people with disabilities in New York. Sections 6 through 9 discuss the economic impact of disability employment and discuss persistent policy challenges. Section 6 discusses the economic impact in New York of disability service providers and NYSID, Section 7 includes the economic impact by region, Section 8 discusses persistent challenges facing the employment of people with disabilities, and Section 9 concludes the report.

Read the full report.

This report was prepared for the New York Alliance for Inclusion & Innovation and the New York State Industries for the Disabled, Inc.