Economic Heterogeneity Indicators (EHIs)

The EHIs are broad-based economic indicators that measure macroeconomic outcomes experienced by different demographic, economic, and geographic groups on both a regional and national level.


The EHIs aim to study macroeconomic trends and outcomes across the various strata of people, businesses, and economic conditions that exist in our economy and the implications for the economy.

  • The regional EHIs focus on economic heterogeneities in inflation, earnings (real and nominal), and employment, across the New York-New Jersey metro area, as well as all other counties in New York state.
  • The national EHIs present heterogeneities in inflation, earnings (real and nominal), employment, and wealth for the U.S. as a whole.

The demographic and economic heterogeneities include differences by disability, veteran status, age, education, income, race/ethnicity, and business size. The geographic groups include urban/rural status, U.S. census regions, majority-minority areas, and low-income areas.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Below are highlights from the various topic areas covered by the latest release.

APRIL UPDATE (Data Through February 2025)
DOWNLOAD: FULL REGIONAL REPORT | DATA
DOWNLOAD: FULL NATIONAL REPORT | DATA

Jump to: 
INFLATION | EARNINGS | EMPLOYMENTWEALTH

Inflation
  • In the region, inflation rates have converged across groups with different incomes, ages, and education levels.
  • At the national level, Hispanic, middle- and upper-income, and rural households see lower inflation than the national average, while low-income, Northeastern and urban households are experiencing higher inflation than the national average.

DOWNLOAD: REGIONAL INFLATION REPORT | NATIONAL INFLATION REPORT

Earnings
  • Average real earnings are higher in the region compared to the national average. Real earnings gaps across racial and ethnic groups, educational groups, and between men and women have remained in their long-run ranges. 
  • At the national level, rural workers earned more as a fraction of urban workers’ earnings in February 2025 than in November 2024. 

DOWNLOAD: REGIONAL EARNINGS REPORT |  NATIONAL EARNINGS REPORT

Employment
  • Labor market gaps have declined in the region at rates similar to those of the nation as a whole. In particular, the gender gap in the region has fallen lower than the national gender gap.
  • At the national level, employment-to-population ratio and labor force participation gaps for Black men and veterans have risen between November 2024 and February 2025.

  • DOWNLOAD: REGIONAL EMPLOYMENT REPORT |  NATIONAL EMPLOYMENT REPORT

Wealth (data through 2024:Q4)
  • At the national level, liquid assets increased in 2024:Q4 for most demographic and economic groups.

DOWNLOAD: NATIONAL WEALTH REPORT 

About the Data
The EHIs are calculated using the Consumer Expenditure Survey microdata from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS); National and Regional Consumer Price Indexes from the BLS; Current Population Survey microdata from the BLS; Distributional Financial Accounts (DFA) data from the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System; and American Community Survey microdata and Quarterly Workforce Indicators from the U.S. Census Bureau.

DOWNLOAD: REGIONAL DATA | NATIONAL DATA

Note: As of July 9, 2024, updates to the Economic Heterogeneity Indicators (EHIs) do not include consumer spending data. Historical consumer spending data continues to be available.

DOWNLOAD CONSUMER SPENDING:
REGIONAL: REPORT  | DATA 
NATIONAL: REPORT  | DATA



Release Schedule

Released at or shortly after 10 a.m.

2025
January 7 Regional Report | National Report 
April 8 Regional Report | National Report 
July 8
October 7

Archive

2024
April 9 National Report | Regional Report
July 9 National Report | Regional Report
October 8 National Report | Regional Report
2023
May 25
July 6
Aug 2
November 29 National Report | Regional Report



How to cite these reports:
Federal Reserve Bank of New York, Economic Heterogeneity Indicators, https:// www.newyorkfed.org/research/economic-heterogeneity-indicators.

Related reading:
Veterans in the Labor Market: 2024 Update (May 2024)
Recent Disparities in Earnings and Employment (December 2023)


Disclaimer
The Economic Heterogeneity Indicators are not official estimates of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, its President, the Federal Reserve System, or the Federal Open Market Committee.

About the EHIs
Economic analysis often focuses on understanding the average effects of a policy or program. However, it is vital to study how the economic trends and economic effects of policies vary across demographic, geographic and socioeconomic boundaries to understand their impacts on the macroeconomy. Analysis of the New York Fed EHIs helps bring a deeper understanding of economic growth considerations to policymaking, research, and practice. 

The EHIs are updated at or shortly after 10 a.m. on the dates posted toward the bottom of this page.

The EHIs are not official estimates of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, its President, the Federal Reserve System, or the Federal Open Market Committee.

Contact Us
If you have questions about the Economic Heterogeneity Indicators, submit them to research.publications@ny.frb.org.
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