The salary raise needed to afford the average NYC apartment since 2014 is considerable — even in supposedly more affordable areas.
The cost of renting an apartment in New York City just keeps going up. Since 2010, rents citywide have risen a remarkable 31%. In Manhattan, rents in the second quarter of 2019 reached a record high of $3,400 — a 5% increase from just the year prior.
But it’s widely understood that rents are rising. What gets less attention is how these rising living costs put intense pressure on New Yorkers to earn ever-higher incomes.
We looked at the salary raises New Yorkers would need to have earned over the last five years to afford the median 1-bedroom or studio in their neighborhood, based on the common rule that one should spend no more than 40% of their gross income on rent. And what we found was alarming — especially for New Yorkers in jobs that don’t necessarily come with big annual raises.
Largest Raises Are Needed in Outer Boroughs
It’s residents of purportedly more affordable neighborhoods — where rents are rising the fastest — who’d need the biggest raises to afford the median studio or 1-bedroom. In East Flatbush, Brooklyn, the median studio or 1-bedroom requires earning $17,000 more per year than just five years ago. That’s a 33% increase, and the highest of any NYC neighborhood analyzed[1].
Renters in Ridgewood, Queens, would also need a major raise since 2014 to afford the median rent — $18,400, bringing their gross income up to $78,400. For comparison, the median household income in NYC is $57,782.
Meanwhile, a Central Harlemite now needs $82,000 to live alone — $14,000 more than they needed five years ago, and the highest raise required in Manhattan.
(Data visualization by Paul Buffa)
Is Your Neighborhood in the Six-Figure Club?
Want to live in Prospect Heights, Brooklyn? You need to make six figures to have a place to yourself, $16,000 or 19% more than just five years ago. Many other areas in the borough — including Brooklyn Heights, Fort Greene, Cobble Hill, and Boerum Hill — are also highly likely to require incomes over $100,000 in order to rent a single person’s apartment.
So is Manhattan’s Lower East Side. In fact, to live in the median studio or 1-bedroom in Manhattan at all, you’d now need a gross income of $115,800 — twice the NYC median. Single renters in Brooklyn overall need $88,600 to live alone, assuming the 40-times-the-rent-rule, and Queens residents would need to make $75,800 per year.
Curious about the raise you’d need over the last five years to afford the median studio or 1-bedroom in your neighborhood? Use the interactive tool above to find out — just move the slider to see how the income requirements have increased in your neighborhood. And see the neighborhoods requiring the biggest raises below.
| Neighborhood | Five-Year Raise Needed | Gross Income Required in 2019 | % Raise Needed Over 5 Years |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. East Flatbush | $17,000 | $68,000 | 33% |
| 2. Ridgewood | $18,400 | $78,400 | 31% |
| 3. Prospect Lefferts Gardens | $16,000 | $74,000 | 28% |
| 4. Flatbush | $14,020 | $70,000 | 25% |
| 5. Bedford-Stuyvesant | $16,920 | $84,920 | 25% |
| 6. Bushwick | $18,000 | $92,000 | 24% |
| 7. Midwood | $13,000 | $68,000 | 24% |
| 8. Crown Heights | $14,000 | $80,000 | 21% |
| 9. Flushing | $12,080 | $69,480 | 21% |
| 10. Ditmas Park | $12,000 | $70,000 | 21% |
[1] This analysis looked only at neighborhoods with at least 250 rentals available in 2019.
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