This paper provides evidence on the potential for fiscal crisis occurring outside New York by studying the debt-service ratios of New York State and its local governmental units in relation to those of the aggregate of state-local governments (excluding New York) over the period 1961-75. Trends in these ratios show the unmistakable build-up in fiscal pressure in New York. However, when these same ratios and their standard deviations are calculated for the aggregate of state-local governments (excluding New York) no dangerous trends are apparent. Our main conclusion is that state-local governments as a group do not appear to be following the same fiscal road as New York.