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We don't need to hire rocket scientists to tell us that living in New York City is so expensive it hurts. Unlike many other cities across the U.S., the rents in New York have only continued to go up post-pandemic. Where you live and how much money you make can make a huge impact on your quality of life.
The New York Post conducted an analysis of data to determine how much money your household needs to make on average to live comfortably in each borough. Here's what they found.
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Right now, the median rent in New York City is $3,421, according to the data analyzed by the Post. That number, though, varies significantly from borough to borough.
Surprisingly, Manhattan rent prices have actually dropped compared to 2019. The current median rent price is $4,489, which is $392 less than August 2019. In order to live comfortably in Manhattan while only spending around 30% of your income on rent, which is what many economists typically recommend, you'd need to make a gross household income of $179,560 per year.
Although Manhattan rents are slightly cheaper than they were a few years ago, the opposite is true for the outer boroughs, where more and more people have been moving to in recent years in search of more space, chiller neighborhood vibes and cheaper rent.
Across the outer boroughs, Queens surprisingly saw the biggest jump in median rent prices: a 8.2% jump to $3,380 per month.
Rents in Queens are about 40.1% higher now than they were in 2019, which makes sense when you consider the rapid popularization of neighborhoods like Ridgewood, Long Island City and Astoria. If you want to spend 30% of your annual income on rent, you'll have to earn a gross household income of about $135,200 per year on average.
The Bronx also saw exponential rent increases in the past five years. Leasing a place there will now cost you a staggering 60.9% percent more than 2019. The median rent there is currently $3,175 per month, which means you need to make a gross annual income of $127,000 per year to thrive in the area.
Unsurprisingly, Brooklyn also saw a jump in median rents, although not as dramatic as neighboring Queens or the Bronx. Still, the iconic borough saw a 32.7% increase in rent prices since 2019 and now requires a median of $3,718 per month of rent, which would require a gross annual income of $148,720 per year.
In sum, Manhattan continues to be the most expensive borough to live in and the best option if you're making big cash, but Brooklyn is definitely closing in as rents continue to grow from year to year. In Manhattan, believe it or not, things are slowing down.
Queens is not too far behind Brooklyn and The Bronx is having the fastest rate of rent price hikes out of all the boroughs.
The only people who are celebrating these findings are probably those renting in Manhattan, who can revel in price drops for a moment. For the rest of us, it might be time to start considering a move to Staten Island.