New York City Lead Poisoning Statistics [2026]

New York City lead poisoning statistics tell a two-part story. The numbers have fallen dramatically over the past three decades, down 93% since 2005. But in 2024, 4,655 children under age 6 were still found to have elevated blood lead levels (≥3.5 µg/dL). The Bronx and central Brooklyn carry the highest burden, and children in low-income and minority communities face the greatest risk.

New York City has made real progress against childhood lead poisoning over the past three decades. Thirty years ago, more than 21,000 children a year were diagnosed at the threshold used at the time. Today, far fewer children are affected. But "fewer" is not "none." Thousands of New York City children are still exposed to lead every year. Almost all of them live in older, poorly maintained rental housing, and almost all of them live in vulnerable communities.

This post compiles the most current data on lead poisoning in New York City. It covers childhood exposure trends and who is most at risk. It also covers the borough-by-borough breakdown, the long-term health effects, enforcement, and the lead paint laws that make negligent landlords liable. The Orlow Firm has handled lead poisoning cases in New York City for decades. We maintain this page as a current statistical reference for parents, tenants, researchers, and anyone trying to understand the scope of the problem.

How Many Children Have Lead Poisoning in NYC Right Now?

According to the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH), 4,655 children under age 6 had elevated blood lead levels of at least 3.5 µg/dL in 2024. That works out to a rate of 20.4 per 1,000 children tested, down about 6% from 21.7 per 1,000 in 2023.

A few numbers put that in context:

• 228,600 children were tested for lead in New York City in 2024, more than in any other U.S. city.
• The number of children with elevated levels fell from 5,078 in 2023 to 4,655 in 2024.
• Citywide, the rate of childhood lead poisoning has declined 93% since 2005.

That decline is a genuine public health achievement. But the absolute number is a reminder that lead exposure is still an active hazard in New York City, not a relic of the past. More than 4,600 young children were affected in a single year. And as the rest of this post shows, the burden is not spread evenly. It falls hardest on the children least able to absorb it.

The Historical Decline: From 21,000+ to 4,655

To see where New York City stands today, it helps to see how far the numbers have fallen. It also helps to see how the goalposts moved along the way.

In 1995, more than 21,000 NYC children a year were diagnosed with blood lead levels of 10 µg/dL or higher. That was the threshold the CDC used at the time. By 2009, that figure had dropped to roughly 1,634 cases at the same 10 µg/dL threshold. That is a 92% reduction in just over a decade. The drop had three main drivers. They were the removal of lead from gasoline, the federal ban on residential lead paint, and New York City's landmark Local Law 1 of 2004.

The recent numbers look larger than the 2009 figure for one reason: the standard for "elevated" has been tightened dramatically. The CDC has lowered its blood lead reference level three times. It went from 10 µg/dL to 5 µg/dL, and most recently to 3.5 µg/dL. Each cut followed research confirming that lead harms children at concentrations once considered safe. At the current 3.5 µg/dL threshold, roughly 68,000 NYC children under 6 had elevated levels in 2005. By 2023 that number was 5,078, and by 2024 it was 4,655. That is the 93% decline cited above.

In other words, the city has cut childhood lead poisoning by more than nine-tenths even as the definition of poisoning grew steadily stricter. That makes the progress more impressive, not less.

One caveat on the recent trend line: pediatric lead testing was disrupted during the COVID-19 pandemic. Routine well-child visits dropped sharply in 2020 and 2021, which means some cases in those years likely went undetected. Year-over-year comparisons across the 2020–2022 window should be read with that disruption in mind.

Who Is Most at Risk: Children, Adults, and Pregnant Individuals

Lead does not affect everyone the same way. The vast majority of New York City lead poisoning cases involve young children. But adults and pregnant individuals face distinct risks worth understanding.

Young Children

Children ages 1 and 2 are the most vulnerable group, which is why New York State law mandates a blood lead test at both ages. Two things make toddlers especially susceptible. First, their developing brains and nervous systems are highly sensitive to lead's effects. Second, their behavior makes them efficient at ingesting fine lead dust. Frequent hand-to-mouth contact, crawling on floors, and putting objects in their mouths all play a role. That dust settles when old paint deteriorates or is disturbed during renovation. Lead dust, not paint chips, is the main exposure pathway in most cases.

Testing compliance is still a gap. Roughly 79% of NYC children receive at least one lead test by age 3. But only about half are tested at both age 1 and age 2 as the law requires. That means roughly one in five children misses required lead testing at these critical ages. And an untested child with elevated levels is a child whose family and doctor never get the warning.

Adults

Adult lead poisoning in New York City is overwhelmingly occupational. The most common source is exposure during the renovation, repair, demolition, or abrasive cleaning of pre-1960 buildings. Workers can inhale or ingest lead dust without proper protection. Construction trades, painters, and demolition crews face the greatest risk.

The good news is that adult exposure has fallen alongside childhood exposure. In 2009, roughly 749 NYC adults had blood lead levels of 10 µg/dL or higher, and the rate has continued to decline since. The average adult blood lead level in New York City dropped from about 1.79 µg/dL in 2004 to 1.13 µg/dL in 2014. Workers who develop lead-related illness on the job may be entitled to workers' compensation benefits. In some cases they may also have a separate injury claim against a responsible party.

Pregnant Individuals

A newer area of concern is lead exposure during pregnancy. In 2024, more than 285 pregnant individuals in New York City had elevated blood lead levels (≥5 µg/dL), according to DOHMH surveillance. Lead crosses the placenta, so a mother's exposure becomes the fetus's exposure, with potential harm to the developing baby.

What stands out about this group is the source. About 86% of pregnant individuals with elevated levels were foreign-born, originating from 26 different countries. The most common were Mexico (52%), Ecuador (9%), Guatemala (7%), and India (7%). In most of these cases the lead does not come from paint at all. It comes from imported consumer products such as traditional cosmetics, certain spices, and glazed ceramics that can contain lead. The city has launched targeted outreach to immigrant communities to address this distinct exposure pathway.

The Racial, Ethnic, and Socioeconomic Divide

The single most consistent fact about lead poisoning in New York City is that it does not strike at random. It tracks closely with race, ethnicity, and income. The reason is not any biological difference. It is where families live.

In 2023, 85% of newly diagnosed children under 6 were African American, Latino, or Asian, according to DOHMH. The same year, 87% of cases were concentrated in moderate-to-high-poverty neighborhoods. The disparity also shows up in the rates themselves. High-poverty areas saw roughly 24 cases per 1,000 children tested. The wealthiest areas saw about 15 per 1,000. That means low-income children faced roughly 60% higher risk.

This pattern is not new, and it has been stubbornly persistent. Back in 2005, 89% of lead-poisoned children in NYC were Black, Hispanic, or Asian. Nearly two decades later, despite enormous absolute declines, the proportional disparity has barely moved.

The explanation is environmental, not genetic. Lead poisoning is a housing problem. The communities with the highest case rates are the same communities most likely to live in older, deteriorating, and poorly maintained rental housing. These are buildings constructed before the 1960 cutoff for residential lead paint, often owned by landlords who do not keep up with their legal obligations. The Citizens' Committee for Children of New York has documented this overlap in detail. Its mapping ties together lead hazards, poverty, race, HPD violations, and housing court cases.

New York City Lead Poisoning Statistics by Borough

Where lead violations occur tells you where children are most at risk. The distribution across the five boroughs is dramatically uneven. It is driven by the age and condition of each borough's housing stock.

The NYC Council Data Team has compiled the lead paint violations issued by the Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD). They break down roughly as follows:

The Bronx carries by far the heaviest burden. It accounts for about 44% of all lead violations citywide and the highest violation rate per residential unit, roughly 73 per 1,000 units. The Bronx also accounts for an outsized share of lead-related housing court cases, somewhere around 45–47% of the citywide total. Mott Haven, Melrose, and Fordham are among the borough's highest-concentration neighborhoods.

Brooklyn is second, with about 29% of violations and roughly 38 per 1,000 units. The highest-risk neighborhoods include Borough Park, Greenpoint, Williamsburg, Bedford-Stuyvesant, and Crown Heights. Parts of South Williamsburg have historically recorded some of the borough's highest child blood lead rates, though specific sub-neighborhood figures change over time and should be confirmed with the DOHMH data portal.

Manhattan accounts for about 15% of violations. Hot spots include Washington Heights, Inwood, and Harlem. Community District 10 has recorded around 1,477 violations per 1,000 buildings.

Queens accounts for about 12% of violations. Higher-risk areas include Jackson Heights, Jamaica, and Southeast Queens.

Staten Island has the lowest burden by a wide margin, at roughly 1% of violations. That reflects its smaller population and newer housing stock.

Public vs. Private Housing: The NYCHA Story

It surprises many New Yorkers to learn that children living in public housing now have lower lead poisoning rates than children in private rentals. For years the assumption ran the other way.

In 2023, the rate among children in New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) developments was 14.3 per 1,000 tested, about 35% below the citywide rate. Only 178 young children in NYCHA had elevated levels that year, an 82% decline from prior years.

The turnaround has a specific cause. In 2018, NYCHA entered a federal consent decree with the U.S. Department of Justice and EPA. It came after a revelation that the authority had failed to conduct required lead inspections and had falsified records claiming it had. Under the agreement, New York City committed $1.2 billion of additional capital funds over five years to support comprehensive NYCHA reforms, including lead remediation. NYCHA began systematically inspecting and testing thousands of apartments using XRF technology. The result is a public housing system that, on lead specifically, now outperforms much of the private market.

That leaves the central conclusion of all this data. The overwhelming majority of lead-poisoned children in New York City today live in private rental housing. These are buildings where the landlord is legally required to identify and remediate lead hazards under Local Law 1. Either the landlord has not done so or has not done it adequately. Owner-occupied homes carry risk too, especially during renovations that disturb old paint and generate lead dust. But the core of the problem is private rental units with absentee or non-compliant owners.

The Long-Term Effects of Lead Poisoning

Lead poisoning is not a temporary illness that resolves when the exposure stops. For children, the damage can be permanent. That permanence is central to both the public health stakes and the value of a legal claim.

There is no known safe level of lead in a child's blood. The CDC's reference level is currently 3.5 µg/dL. But that figure is a screening tool, not a safety threshold. Research consistently finds harm at levels below it.

The most serious effects are neurological. Lead interferes with the developing nervous system, and the resulting damage is generally permanent and irreversible. Studies have associated each 10 µg/dL increase in blood lead with a decline of roughly 1 to 5 IQ points. There is no identified threshold below which the effect disappears. Even a blood lead level of 5 µg/dL has been linked to reduced attention span, behavioral problems, lower academic achievement, and increased antisocial behavior.

A 2024 study by researchers at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, Harvard Medical School, Boston Children's Hospital, and Simon Fraser University, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, added a sobering dimension. It found that low-level lead exposure, at concentrations previously considered "safe," is a significant risk factor for two things. The first is cognitive deficits in children. The second is cardiovascular disease in adults later in life. The neuropsychological effects of childhood exposure can persist well into adulthood and old age, including measurable differences in cognitive functioning.

From a legal standpoint, this permanence is exactly why lead poisoning cases can carry substantial damages. A child who suffers irreversible cognitive harm may face a lifetime of special education needs, lost earning capacity, and diminished quality of life. Those are real, lasting losses. They are the basis on which courts and juries award compensation.

A note on language: research in this area generally speaks of lead being associated with or linked to these harms. Direct causation is well documented for high exposures. For the lowest-level effects, the strongest claim the science supports is a strong, consistent association.

Inspections, Violations, and Abatement Efforts

New York City does not rely on families to discover lead hazards on their own. A layered system of inspections and enforcement runs through DOHMH and HPD, and recent years have seen that enforcement intensify.

Since March 2022, any confirmed blood lead level of 3.5 µg/dL or higher in a child under 18 triggers a mandatory environmental inspection of the child's home. In 2023, DOHMH performed 2,267 such inspections across 1,060 buildings.

The city also responds to complaints. In 2023, DOHMH investigated 539 buildings in response to 311 complaints about unsafe work practices. It confirmed unsafe practices in 207 cases and issued 300 stop-work orders to halt hazardous renovation.

On the housing side, HPD enforcement has scaled up significantly. In fiscal year 2025, HPD issued 20,380 violations for lead-based paint hazards and collected more than $90,000 in civil penalties. Since 2018, the city has recorded over 111,000 lead violations citywide.

Two regulatory milestones have reshaped enforcement:

• June 2024: Common-area XRF testing requirements took effect, extending lead testing obligations to hallways, stairwells, and other shared spaces.
• August 9, 2025: The Local Law 31 deadline for XRF testing of all apartments and common areas in covered buildings passed. Owners who have not completed this testing are now in violation.

XRF testing (short for X-ray fluorescence) uses a handheld device to detect lead in paint without damaging the surface. The 2025 deadline made it the citywide baseline for identifying lead in older buildings.

NYC Lead Paint Laws: What Landlords Are Required to Do

For families, the most important thing to understand is simple. New York City law places the burden of preventing lead poisoning squarely on landlords. Three local laws form the backbone of those obligations.

Local Law 1 of 2004 (NYC Admin Code § 27-2056)

Local Law 1 is the foundation of NYC's lead-safe housing regime. It applies to multiple dwellings (buildings with three or more units) built before 1960. It also applies to pre-1960 and certain pre-1978 buildings where lead paint is presumed present. Its core requirements include:

• Annual inspections of any apartment where a child under 6 lives.
• Annual written notice to tenants asking whether a child under 6 resides in the unit.
• Lead-safe repairs performed only by trained or certified workers using safe work practices.
• Lead abatement upon tenant turnover in covered units.
• Recordkeeping for at least 10 years to document compliance.

Local Law 1 also builds in a legal presumption that paint in a pre-1960 multiple dwelling contains lead. That presumption is part of what makes the law so powerful for injured families. The landlord cannot simply claim ignorance of the hazard.

Local Law 31 of 2020 (the XRF Testing Mandate)

Local Law 31 added a hard testing requirement on top of Local Law 1. It required owners of covered buildings to conduct XRF testing of all apartments and common areas to identify the presence of lead-based paint. The compliance deadline was August 9, 2025, now passed. Non-compliance is treated as a Class C (immediately hazardous) violation, with penalties of up to $1,500 per violation. Owners must also submit testing results to HPD on request. Practically speaking, Local Law 31 finishes off the "I didn't know there was lead" defense for any covered building. The law required owners to find out.

Local Law 123 of 2023 (Friction Surface Abatement)

Local Law 123 goes a step further. It requires not just identification but permanent removal of lead from the most dangerous surfaces. It mandates full abatement of lead-based paint on door and window friction surfaces, plus certain floors. Friction surfaces are the areas where opening and closing generates the most lead dust. For units where a child under 6 resided as of January 1, 2025, the deadline is July 1, 2027. For units where a child under 6 moves in after that date, the abatement must be completed within three years of the move-in. The law became enforceable on September 1, 2024.

Landlord Liability and Chapman v. Silber

New York case law also shapes who can be held responsible. In Chapman v. Silber, 97 N.Y.2d 9 (2001), the New York Court of Appeals held that even the owner of a one- or two-family home can be liable for a child's lead poisoning. Five conditions must be met. The landlord retained a right of entry and a duty to make repairs. The landlord knew the building predated the lead paint ban. The landlord was aware that paint was peeling. The landlord knew of the hazards of lead-based paint to young children. And the landlord knew a young child lived in the unit. In other words, a landlord does not need a formal complaint about lead to be on the hook. Actual knowledge of the conditions can be enough. Together with the presumptions built into Local Law 1, this framework makes New York one of the more protective states in the country for lead-poisoned children.

Major Legal Actions and Enforcement (2024–2025)

Recent enforcement shows that lead violations carry real consequences. For the worst-offending landlords, those consequences run into the millions of dollars.

The most significant recent action came in December 2024. New York Attorney General Letitia James secured a $6.5 million settlement with Lilmor Management. The AG's office described Lilmor as the operator of some of New York City's worst buildings. More than 100 children under 6 had tested positive for elevated lead in Lilmor properties. Roughly 90% of the AG's $3.25 million share of the settlement was earmarked for return to affected tenants, over $2.9 million in tenant restitution.

City agencies have also begun enforcing the documentation requirements more aggressively, not just reacting after a child is poisoned. In September 2024, HPD pursued more than $150,000 in penalties against a Bronx owner, Roger Tate. The case covered recordkeeping failures spanning 11 buildings and 650-plus units. It signaled that the city now treats missing inspection records as a violation in their own right.

Private civil litigation remains active and consequential alongside government enforcement. When a landlord's negligence causes a child permanent neurological harm, families can pursue compensation directly through the courts. The Orlow Firm has recovered up to $5,000,000 for an infant in a foster home with extremely elevated lead levels and resulting neurological problems, and multi-million-dollar results in other lead cases. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.

A word on timing. New York's general statute of limitations for a personal injury claim is three years under CPLR § 214. For a child, that clock is generally tolled under CPLR § 208. It does not begin to run while the injured person is a minor, which often gives lead-poisoned children significantly more time to bring a claim. The precise deadline in any given case can turn on the facts, including how and when the injury was discovered. Families should not assume a case is timely or untimely without speaking to an attorney.

What Families Should Do Right Now

If you have young children in New York City, especially in an older building, a few concrete steps can protect them. They can also preserve your children's rights if exposure has already happened.

Get your child tested at age 1 and age 2. New York State law requires it, yet roughly one in five children misses one or both tests. A simple blood test is the only way to detect lead exposure, which often produces no obvious symptoms until significant harm has occurred.

Don't wait for symptoms. Suspect any exposure, such as peeling paint, recent renovation, or an older apartment? Ask your pediatrician for a blood lead test rather than waiting to see if your child seems unwell.

Report peeling paint to 311 immediately. A complaint triggers the landlord's duty to remediate and creates a record that the owner was on notice of the condition.

Know your landlord's obligations. In a pre-1960 multi-unit building, your landlord must conduct annual inspections where a child under 6 lives, whether or not you have complained about anything.

If your child has already been diagnosed with elevated lead, take three steps. Request a DOHMH environmental inspection of your home. Document every communication with your landlord. And preserve all of your child's medical records. These steps protect your child's health and, if it comes to it, your legal claim.

If you are pregnant, be cautious with imported cosmetics, folk remedies, and glazed pottery or ceramics of unknown origin. These are a leading source of lead exposure for expectant mothers in NYC.

Frequently Asked Questions

What borough has the most lead poisoning in NYC?

The Bronx has the most lead poisoning in New York City. It accounts for roughly 44% of all HPD lead paint violations citywide and close to half of all lead-related housing court cases. Brooklyn ranks second at about 29% of violations, while Staten Island has the lowest burden at around 1%. The pattern reflects each borough's older, lower-maintenance rental housing stock.

What are the symptoms of lead poisoning in children?

Lead poisoning often causes no obvious symptoms, which is why blood testing matters. When symptoms appear, they can include irritability, fatigue, loss of appetite, abdominal pain, constipation, developmental delays, and difficulty concentrating. These signs are easily mistaken for other conditions. A blood lead test at ages 1 and 2 is the only reliable way to confirm exposure in young children.

Can I sue my landlord for lead poisoning in New York?

Yes. If a child is poisoned by lead paint in a building where the landlord failed to meet legal obligations, the family may have a claim. Under Local Law 1, owners of pre-1960 multi-unit buildings face a presumption that lead paint is present and a duty to inspect and remediate. Under Chapman v. Silber, even one- and two-family home landlords can be liable. An attorney can evaluate whether your specific situation supports a claim.

What is Local Law 1 in NYC?

Local Law 1 of 2004 (NYC Admin Code § 27-2056) is New York City's primary lead-safe housing law. It requires owners of pre-1960 multiple dwellings to inspect units annually where a child under 6 lives, notify tenants in writing each year, make repairs using lead-safe practices, abate lead upon turnover, and keep records for at least 10 years. It also presumes that paint in covered buildings contains lead, which strengthens injured families' ability to hold landlords accountable.

How do I know if my apartment has lead paint?

If your building was built before 1960, the law presumes lead paint is present. A pre-1978 building may also contain it. Under Local Law 31, owners of covered buildings were required to complete XRF testing of all apartments and common areas by August 9, 2025. You can ask your landlord directly for those results, request inspection records, and report any peeling or deteriorating paint to 311.

Is lead poisoning permanent?

In children, the neurological damage from lead poisoning is generally permanent and irreversible. Lead interferes with the developing nervous system, and the resulting cognitive and behavioral effects, including IQ loss, attention problems, and reduced academic achievement, can persist into adulthood. Removing the lead source stops further harm, but it cannot undo developmental damage that has already occurred. This permanence is a key reason lead poisoning cases can warrant significant compensation.

Sources & Official Resources

New York City Laws Cited

1. Local Law 1 of 2004 — NYC Lead Poisoning Prevention Act (NYC Admin Code § 27-2056)
2. Local Law 31 of 2020 — XRF Testing Requirements (HPD)
3. Local Law 123 of 2023 — Friction Surface Abatement Requirements

New York State Laws Cited 4. CPLR § 214 — Three-Year Statute of Limitations for Personal Injury 5. CPLR § 208 — Tolling for Infancy (Minors)

Case Law 6. Chapman v. Silber, 97 N.Y.2d 9 (2001) — Court of Appeals, Five-Factor Landlord Liability Test

Statistics & Surveillance Data 7. NYC DOHMH — Lead Poisoning Reports, Publications and Surveillance Data 8. NYC DOHMH — 2025 Annual Report to City Council on Lead Poisoning (2024 data) 9. NYC DOHMH — 2024 Annual Report to City Council on Lead Poisoning (2023 data) 10. NYC Council Data Team — Lead in NYC Homes (Borough Breakdown)

Enforcement Actions 11. NY Attorney General — $6.5 Million Settlement with Lilmor Management (December 2024) 12. DOJ / SDNY — NYCHA $1.2 Billion Settlement Agreement (2018)

Scientific Research 13. Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health — Low-Level Lead Poisoning Study (2024, published in NEJM)

Contact The Orlow Firm

Has your child been diagnosed with elevated blood lead levels? If you live in a pre-1960 New York City rental, you may have a legal claim against your landlord. New York's lead-safe housing laws are among the strongest in the country. But time limits apply, and the steps you take early can make a real difference.

The Orlow Firm has handled lead poisoning cases throughout Queens and New York City for decades, recovering up to $5,000,000 for children harmed by landlord negligence. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.

Call (646) 647-3398 for a free, confidential consultation. We work on contingency, so you pay nothing unless we win.

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This article provides general information and is not legal advice. Every case is different. Contact an attorney to discuss your specific situation.