The best boroughs to live in NYC — based on your salary

Living in New York City is an extraordinary experience, but it takes more than an ordinary income to afford to rent a roof over your head.

The median asking rent in the city for July was $3,421, according to a new Realtor.com® report.

At a time when rents in the U.S. have been declining, rents in the Big Apple jumped $73 compared with the same time last year—a rise of 2.2%.

“Although New York City was one of the rental markets that saw the steepest rent declines during the [COVID-19] pandemic, its median asking rent rebounded to pre-pandemic levels by spring 2022 and has continued to rise annually since then,” says Realtor.com economist Jiayi Xu in her recent analysis .

Overall, median rents in New York City in July were $413 higher than pre-pandemic times in 2019—which represents a 13.7% increase.

“The rental market in New York City remains very strong,” says Jenny Lenz, managing director of Dolly Lenz Real Estate in Manhattan. “Even in the dead of summer, properties are moving quickly and going for their asking price or, in some cases, over ask.”

Yet, renting in some areas of the city is much more cost-effective than in others. We crunched the numbers to pinpoint the Big Apple’s biggest bargains.

This July marks the 13th month in a row where Manhattan rents have fallen year over year.

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The median rent in New York’s most expensive borough last month was $4,489—down $91 from a year ago, representing a 2.0% savings.

In even better news, July’s median rental price was $362 less than its peak in August 2019.

Manhattan’s median rent in July was still $171 lower than its pre-pandemic level, “suggesting a relatively lower demand in this most expensive market,” Xu says.

To be able to afford to rent a typical place in Manhattan without spending more than 30% of your income on housing and utilities, you need a gross household income of $179,560 per year—or $14,963 per month.

That’s nearly $105,000 more than the U.S. median household income—which was $74,580 in 2022, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Despite the drop in Manhattan prices, renters are writing bigger monthly checks in Queens, the Bronx, and Brooklyn, which all experienced substantial year-over-year rent growth in July.

This indicates stronger demand in more affordable areas.

“In the face of record Manhattan rents and tight inventory, we are absolutely seeing more renters consider the outer boroughs than ever before,” says Lenz. “With the current uncertainty surrounding the economy, affordability and budgeting have become top priorities. Many are now willing to forgo living in Manhattan to secure significant savings by renting in another borough.”

Here’s what’s happening in Queens, The Bronx, and Brooklyn.

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Among these three boroughs, Queens saw the biggest jump in rental prices, with a rise of 8.2%, to $3,380.

That’s $256 higher than the same time last year, and is the highest Queens rent level seen in our data’s history.

Rents there are a whopping 40.1% higher than they were in 2019, which means Queens renters are shelling out $967 more per month on rent than they were five years ago.

To be able to afford renting a typical home in Queens without dropping more than 30% of your income on housing and utilities, you need a gross household income of $135,200 per year—or $11,267 per month.

In the Bronx, the median rent was $3,175 in July, which is 7.7% higher than it was a year ago, costing renters an additional $226 per month.

This is the second-highest Bronx rent level since March 2019,

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Bronx rents in July were $1,202 higher than they were in 2019—skyrocketing 60.9% in five years.

To afford to rent a typical place in the Bronx while adhering to the 30% rule of thumb, you need a gross annual household income of $127,000—or $10,583 per month.

In Brooklyn, July rent prices climbed $124 (3.5%) year over year, to a median of $3,718 per month.

That’s the highest Brooklyn rent we’ve ever seen in our data’s history.

Rents shot up by $916 (32.7%) since 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic.

To be able to afford to rent a typical unit in Brooklyn without coughing up more than 30% of your income on housing and utilities, you need a gross annual household income of $148,720, or $12,393 per month.

In New York City, size matters.

There was a greater demand in July for smaller rental units versus larger ones.

On average, the median rent for studios, one-bedroom units, and two-bedroom units in the city was $3,322, up by $72 (2.2%) since July 2023.

Meanwhile, the median rent on larger units with three or more bedrooms fell to $4,996, down by $262 (5.0%) year over year.

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