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New York ALJ Statistics

Social Security Disability hearing statistics for 10 hearing offices and 77 administrative law judges in New York.

State Approval Rate

62.7%

vs 57.6% national

Hearing Offices

10

in New York

ALJs

77

active judges

Avg Wait Time

8.6 months

vs 8.4 months national

Hearing Offices in New York

Office ALJs Approval Rate Wait Time Processing Pending
Albany 11 65.5% 8.5 months 314 days 3,349
Bronx 14 56.3% 8.5 months 312 days 2,396
Buffalo 7 54% 7 months 261 days 1,467
Long Island 8 73% 9 months 298 days 2,614
New York 9 60.6% 10 months 344 days 2,583
New York Varick 5 66.6% 8.5 months 275 days 1,539
Queens 4 73.2% 10 months 308 days 2,126
Rochester 4 70.2% 8 months 292 days 1,061
Syracuse 8 56% 7.5 months 251 days 1,725
White Plains 7 63.3% N/A 291 days N/A

About New York Disability Hearings

The Social Security Administration operates 10 hearing offices in New York, falling under SSA Region 02. These offices are staffed by 77 ALJs who preside over disability appeals from claimants throughout the state.

The average approval rate across New York hearing offices is 62.7%, which is above the national average of 57.6%. Higher state-level rates can reflect various factors including case demographics, representation patterns, and the mix of judges across the state's offices. Within the state, office-level approval rates range from 54% at the Buffalo hearing office to 73.2% at the Queens hearing office, a 19-point difference.

Wait times across New York offices range from 7 months at the Buffalo hearing office to 10 months at the Queens hearing office.

Across all offices, there are 18,860 cases currently pending in New York, averaging approximately 245 pending cases per judge. Click on any hearing office below to see detailed judge-level statistics and individual approval rates.

New York Hearing Landscape

With 10 hearing offices spread across the state, New York's disability hearing landscape offers multiple points of comparison for attorneys and claimants. Case assignment is determined by residential address, so the specific office — and the judges at that office — depends on where the claimant lives. All statistics on this page are weighted by individual judge caseloads to accurately reflect the volume of cases processed.

With 10 hearing offices, New York provides multiple venues for disability hearings. Office sizes vary from 4 judges at the Rochester hearing office to 14 judges at the Bronx hearing office. Cases are assigned to offices based on the claimant's residential address, so hearing location is determined by geography rather than preference.

For attorneys practicing disability law in New York, understanding the local hearing landscape is an important part of case preparation. The data on this page provides a starting point for evaluating office-level patterns, though individual judge statistics offer more granular insight into decision-making tendencies. Visit individual office pages for judge-level data.

New York Disability Hearing FAQ

How often are cases approved in New York?
The average ALJ approval rate in New York is 62.7% for the 12 months ending July 2026. This includes both fully favorable and partially favorable decisions. The national average is 57.6%, putting New York above the national benchmark. Office-level rates within the state range from 54% to 73.2%.
Where are the disability hearing offices in New York?
New York has 10 SSA hearing offices with a total of 77 administrative law judges. The largest office is the Bronx hearing office with 14 judges, while the Rochester hearing office has 4. The SSA assigns cases to offices according to claimant geography, and judges receive cases through rotation rather than selection.
Where in New York can I get a disability hearing fastest?
The Buffalo hearing office currently has the shortest wait time at 7 months. The longest wait is at the Queens hearing office at 10 months, a gap of 3.0 months. Wait time averages reflect the most recently reported SSA data and will evolve as new disposition reports are released.
How is state data calculated?
New York has 10 offices serving 77 judges across the state. State averages are calculated by aggregating data from all hearing offices within the state. See our methodology page for details on data sources and calculations. Source data comes from the Social Security Administration's public reporting on ALJ decisions, which we incorporate as updates are released.
How do New York's hearing statistics compare nationally?
New York is in SSA Region 02. Its average approval rate of 62.7% is above the national average of 57.6%. For a full comparison of approval rates and wait times across all states, visit the states overview page.
Why do approval rates vary across offices in New York?
Hearing outcomes in New York are influenced by several factors including the strength and completeness of medical evidence, vocational factors such as the claimant's age, education, and work history, the quality of legal representation at the hearing, and individual judge decision-making patterns.

New York's above-average approval rate of 62.7% may partly reflect higher representation rates or differences in the types of cases that reach the hearing level in this region. With 77 active judges across 10 offices, outcomes in New York reflect a broad range of judicial decision-making patterns.

While all ALJs apply the same federal disability standards, these case-level factors can lead to variation in outcomes across offices and judges.
Is it possible to change hearing offices within New York?
Cases are assigned to hearing offices based on the claimant's residential address, and judge assignments within an office are typically made on a rotational basis. While transfers between offices are generally not possible based on preference, a change of address that moves you into a different office's service area may result in case reassignment. New York has 10 hearing offices, each serving a defined geographic area within the state.

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