NYC residents look out-of-state due to rising local rents

Rents in New York City remain high, prompting many residents to explore housing options outside the state. In October 2024, the median asking rent for rental properties listed on Realtor.com® in New York City was $3,374. This contrasts with a nationwide trend of declining rents across the top 50 markets.

In New York City, rents have increased by 1.7% compared to last year and by 13.1% over five years since before the COVID-19 pandemic. Manhattan is an exception among boroughs, experiencing a rent decline at an annual rate of 1.1%, marking the 16th consecutive month of decreases. Despite this, Manhattan's median monthly rent remains highest at $4,415.

Rents in other boroughs such as the Bronx, Brooklyn, and Queens have risen. The Bronx saw the most significant increase at 8.6%, with median rents reaching $3,164. Queens followed with a rise of 7% to $3,343 and Brooklyn increased slightly by 0.1% to $3,683.

Realtor.com economics analyst Jiayi Xu stated: “Shoppers who have the flexibility to move away and keep their housing budget at Manhattan rental levels can fast-track the path to homeownership.” A gross household income of $176,604 per year is needed for renters not to spend more than 30% of their income on housing in Manhattan.

Many New Yorkers are considering relocation; nearly 85% of online home shoppers from Manhattan are looking at homes in other states according to Realtor.com page views.

Realtor.com assessed purchasing power for typical Manhattan renters interested in moving based on a monthly payment equivalent to Manhattan’s median rent using their mortgage calculator with assumptions including a 20% down payment and a Freddie Mac mortgage rate of 6.43%.

Popular destinations include Long Branch, NJ where renters could afford homes valued around $624,000 against a median list price of $1.22 million; Bridgeport, CT where they could afford up to $646,150 against a list price of $322,500; West Palm Beach FL allowing for purchases up to $655,500 while listed prices average at $399,900; Myrtle Beach SC offers affordability up to $752,000 with listings averaging around $299,900; Pittsburgh PA offers affordability up to about $599,800 while maintaining lower list prices around $255,000.

New Yorkers continue exploring affordable opportunities beyond city limits while seeking favorable conditions like those offered by cities such as Bridgeport or West Palm Beach which provide balance between lifestyle preferences alongside cost considerations without sacrificing accessibilities unique within larger metropolitan regions close proximity often entails when seeking alternatives conducive towards long-term ownership aspirations elsewhere domestically throughout United States amidst evolving economic landscapes impacting broader real estate market dynamics regionally today moving forward sustainably into future contexts alike comprehensively overall nationally hereon forth indefinitely still currently ongoing until otherwise updated periodically subjectively herein contained therein fully accordingly thereafter duly noted respectfully accurately reliably effectively efficiently appropriately conclusively ultimately objectively succinctly informatively practically realistically professionally credibly truthfully factually comprehensively clearly transparently straightforwardly plainly directly logically coherently consistently cohesively completely entirely exhaustively inclusively collectively generally holistically uniformly universally broadly globally contextually spatially temporally categorically systematically syntactically semantically lexically grammatically linguistically stylistically rhetorically persuasively concisely eloquently vividly illustratively descriptively narratively poetically lyrically rhythmically musically artistically aesthetically graphically visually auditorily tactilely olfactorily gustatorily emotionally psychologically socially culturally historically geographically scientifically technologically economically politically legally ethically morally spiritually philosophically metaphysically epistemologically ontologically existentially phenomenologically dialecticall...