Washington, D.C. — Today, Power The Future released a hard-hitting policy report, "Pennsylvania and New York: Different Agendas, Different Results," examining how two neighboring states chose opposite energy paths and received dramatically different results. The study compares Pennsylvania's embrace of shale development with New York's ban on hydraulic fracturing, concluding that Pennsylvania's energy-producing communities have experienced stronger job growth, higher economic activity, lower poverty, and billions in added benefits.
"American energy never fails, but green policies always do. Pennsylvania chose production, jobs, and opportunity while New York chose bans and higher costs," said Daniel Turner, Founder and Executive Director of Power The Future. "The politicians responsible for this colossal failure will not miss a meal, a paycheck, or a luxury fundraiser, but the families they're supposed to represent are forced to live with the disastrous results."
Key findings from the report include:
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GDP Growth: Susquehanna County's (PA) GDP increased by 211%, while Tioga County's (NY) GDP grew by only 11%, creating an economic gap of nearly $33,500 per person by 2023.
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Employment: Pennsylvania employment reached a record high of approximately 6.34 million workers in 2024, with unemployment falling to 3.6%. New York saw no commercial shale employment gains, with unemployment averaging about 4.2% in 2024.
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Poverty: The six highest energy producing counties in Pennsylvania cut poverty by an average of almost 2 points while poverty rates climbed in New York. Susquehanna County's (PA) poverty rate fell from 11.3% to 10.9% while the poverty rate in Tioga County (NY) rose from 9.6% to 12.2%.
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Natural Gas Jobs: Pennsylvania's natural gas sector supported roughly 123,000 statewide jobs in 2022. New York has no comparable commercial shale sector, despite prior estimates projecting 15,000 to 18,000 jobs in the Southern Tier and Western New York if development had been allowed.
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Economic Activity: Pennsylvania's natural gas sector generated more than $41 billion in statewide economic activity in 2022. New York's moratorium and ban left projected output unrealized.
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State Revenue: Pennsylvania collected $164.5 million through its natural gas impact fee for 2024, with nearly $3 billion distributed since 2012. New York received no comparable shale impact-fee revenue.
The full report is available here.
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