Essential workers in New York City face the harshest impact from the city’s housing affordability crisis, with soaring rents and high upfront costs rendering most apartments unaffordable.
- Average New Yorker’s annual salary: just under $89,000
- Affordable monthly rent (30% of income): up to $2,216
- Average upfront rental costs: $10,454 (first month’s rent, security deposit, broker fees)
- Only 4.4% of rentals affordable without breaching affordability threshold
A graph shows the median household income and housing costs relationship at county and state levels, highlighting the proportion of income spent on housing.
- High cost of living cities have higher median salaries and housing costs
- Mortgage costs calculated on a 25-year amortization at 7% fixed rates with 5% down payment
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