New study shows New Yorkers pay two times more in rent than they should

Congratulations—you live in New York City! Now for the depressing news. According to a recent study by StreetEasy that accumulated all rental listings on its site in 2014, the cost of living in this amazing city is a rent that takes up twice as much of your income as the government says you should be paying. No, you are not having a nightmare: The real-life cost of NYC rent is nearly 60 percent of income (58.4, to be exact), with an expected median cost of $2,700 per apartment by the end of 2015. 

A rent-to-income ratio of about 30 percent is considered an affordable cost standard in the United States, so that people can, you know, have money left over to buy food and other necessities. Sure, it's becoming more and more difficult for any American to remain within this standard these days. According to a 2013 comprehensive Harvard study, half of all renters across the United States already spend more than 30 percent of their income on housing. However, rent in NYC based on this new study StreetEasy proves to be higher than most, with an estimated 12 million households currently paying over 50 percent of their income. It's not just the rising cost of rent that is super unsettling for New Yorkers; the rapid growth of NYC residents is moving quicker than the amount of units available, and it's not like income is rising at the same pace. The most recent 2013 census data showed that New York rent prices grew at almost twice the rate of NYC residents' income since 2000. 

Here's the breakdown on rent-to-income percentages by borough: Brooklynites spend on average 60 (yes, 60!) percent of their income on rent, and Manhattan comes in second with about 48.8 percent. Following are the Bronx (52.0), Queens (41.4) and Staten Island (30.1), which still falls within a reasonable price range.

So there you have it, friends, the rent really is "too damn high." But, like Hannah Horvath said, you're from New York, therefore you're inherently interesting. So, in the meantime, keep searching for rent deals and bask in the fact that you live in the best city on earth.

h/t New York Post