What salary do you need to live in New York, NY?

New York housing costs at a glance

A one-bedroom in New York rents for a median of $1,686 a month, utilities the tenant pays included; a two-bedroom goes for $1,869 and a three-bedroom for $2,162. Over a full year, the two-bedroom median comes to $22,428.

Homeowners in New York report a median home value of $614,200. Set against the $99,155 median household income, that is a ratio of 6.2×, which keeps the buying part of the score low for most incomes.

The Regional Price Parity, BEA's index of local prices with the US at 100, is 112.6 here. Above 100 means a paycheck stretches less: $100,000 in New York has the buying power of roughly $88,839 at national average prices.

Income needed for each grade in New York

The salary lines for a two-bedroom household land at $98,000 for Tight, $197,000 for Okay and $396,000 for Comfortable. The gap between the Okay and Comfortable lines alone is $199,000, which says how much extra income it takes to make housing feel roomy here rather than merely workable.

No salary reaches Royal in New York: a fifth of the score reflects local prices rather than income, and with a parity of 112.6 the ceiling is 82 points, below the Royal cutoff of 85.

Each figure is the lowest income, to the next $1,000, at which the calculator itself would show that grade for a two-bedroom in New York.

Four salaries, three home sizes in New York

Choosing a bigger place in New York at $75,000 trims the score from 19 to 15 without leaving Stretched.

In New York the table's top salary of $150,000 stops at Tight (37) for two bedrooms; Comfortable starts higher, at $396,000.

New York compared with every US metro

Ranked against all 387 metros, New York sits 4th on overall price level and 22nd on the two-bedroom rent median, counting from the most expensive. Its median home value ranks 20th.

Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL ($1,900) and Naples-Marco Island, FL ($1,827) bracket New York on two-bedroom rent.

New York next to New York and similar metros

Compared with New York as a whole, two-bedroom rent in New York is 15% higher ($1,869 vs. $1,620) and the median home is 45% higher ($614,200 vs. $423,800). Because the metro spans New York and New Jersey, the comparison uses New York, where New York itself is.

The New York figure for the Comfortable line, using state medians, is $278,000 against $396,000 for New York.

The nearest matches in New York, judged on rent and price parity together, are Kiryas Joel-Poughkeepsie-Newburgh, NY, Kingston, NY, and Ithaca, NY.

Where the typical New York household lands

What about a typical local household? Census puts median household income here at $99,155, which grades Tight (25) for a two-bedroom at the median rent. That falls $296,845 short of the $396,000 Comfortable line, a reminder that the typical household here spends a larger share on housing than the Comfortable band allows. Statewide, the New York median household ($85,974) grades Tight on the state's own medians. Keep in mind a household median often combines two incomes.

These are pre-tax estimates from public statistics, not financial advice.