Rental Market Trends and Average Rent in NYC

New York City is one of the most desirable places in America to live, especially among young, educated professionals seeking to kickstart their careers in an exciting environment.¹ 

The bountiful opportunities, bright lights, and legendary mystique present plentiful reasons to follow your dreams to the northeast—but this irresistible pull means The Big Apple now boasts the highest average rent of any urban area in the nation.²

Still, there’s no denying that millions of people from around the world believe living there is worth every penny. So, if you’re looking to navigate New York City’s housing market, we’re breaking down the average rent in NYC for 2023, spanning multiple areas across the city.

The Big Apple’s Big Price Tags

As mentioned, New York City holds the not-so-coveted position of most expensive rent in America, with the average person paying over $3,700 a month in 2022. On top of this, New York’s urban area has experienced some of the fastest average monthly rent increases across the nation, with rates shooting up 56% in the last two years.³

As if the current state of affairs isn’t pricey enough, the post-COVID return of residents to the city center is in full swing. People are now moving into New York’s urban area at faster rates than before the pandemic, and the increased demand for housing is bolstering prices at blistering paces.³

Will rent go down in 2023? While $3,700 may be the average price across the city as a whole, any seasoned New Yorker will tell you that rental trends vary wildly across The Empire City’s different areas. What is a normal rent increase in New York? Breaking things down by borough can help us predict the NYC rental market forecast for 2023 most accurately. 

However, given trends over the last two years, it wouldn’t be out of the question to see these prices rise by 20% to 25% by the year’s end.²

Manhattan

Manhattan often has its name conflated with the city as a whole—but there’s much more to The Capital of the World than miniature Manhattan, which is the smallest of the five boroughs.

Let’s take a look at some quick figures about New York’s most well-known area:

• Total land area – 23 square miles (59.5 square kilometers), or less than 22 if you subtract the 1.3 square miles set aside for Central Park.⁴
• Population – Over 1.6 million residents call the tiny island home. This means Manhattan’s population density is one of the highest of any area on the planet, with over 70,000 people per square mile.⁵ 
• Total housing units – Manhattan has 918,500 total registered housing units.⁶ (But out of this selection, it only feels like 7 to 8 are generally available for rent at any given time.) 

The lack of land and abundance of bodies means prices are at a premium in Manhattan. In fact, rent in Manhattan is pretty shocking, with the average cost surpassing $5,000 for the first time in mid-2022.⁸ 

What you pay for is what you get, however, and prices vary widely based on the type of apartment you’re after:⁹

• Studio Apartment – $3,067
• One bedroom – $4,190
• Two bedrooms – $6,235
• Three bedrooms – $11,354

Those lofty figures are no surprise if you consider how the tiny island contains some of New York’s most expensive neighborhoods. For instance: 

• Chelsea – Though Manhattan proper just hit the unenviable $5,000 average a few months ago, Chelsea rents have been routinely exceeding that figure for several years. The coveted neighborhood deserves special mention as it routinely tops the list of highest rent prices in NYC, and it doesn’t seem to be slowing down going into 2023.¹⁰ 
• Downtown Manhattan – When you’re downtown, things will be great, but they’ll also be expensive. Soho and The West Village are two bustling downtown neighborhoods with monthly price tags to match their desirability.
• Upper Manhattan – If you’re looking for a deal in The City, Upper Manhattan is the closest thing to it. Sticking to the north of Central Park may not put you directly in the action, but it will deduct a healthy sum from the amount your landlord asks of you.  

No matter which Manhattan neighborhood you decide to call home in 2023, you can count on the borough having the highest rates of anywhere in the city (and perhaps the nation).

Brooklyn

A short drive across the Brooklyn (or Williamsburg) bridge will bring you to the residential epicenter of New York City. If Manhattan represents New York’s prowess, Brooklyn supplies its people. In Kings County, Brooklyn, you’ll find:

• A hefty population – Nearly 2.6 million call the area home.¹¹
• A lot of land – 71 square miles (184 square kilometers), to be exact.⁴
• Plenty of (occupied) rentals – 1,090,000 units are registered to rent in the borough.⁶

If you’re looking for a place to call home in Brooklyn, your requirements will dictate how much you should be prepared to spend. Residing in Brooklyn won’t drain your wallet quite as much as Manhattan, but it’s definitely not a low-cost-of-living area. 

Consider these recent averages:⁸

• Studio Apartment – $2,813
• One bedroom – $3,157
• Two bedrooms – $4,106
• Three bedrooms – $5,042

Despite the generous area and wealth of people, Brooklyn is by no means a spacious, sleepy stretch of suburbia. The bumping borough has a reputation for housing aspiring artists and hip hangouts, meaning there are several vibrant neighborhoods that offer plenty to do. Some of the most noteworthy include:

• Williamsburg – The genesis of all things trendy in The Big Apple, Williamsburg has long held a reputation for being hip and avant-garde. If you’re looking to surround yourself with chic cafes and even chicer clientele, look no further than The Burg. 
• Park Slope – If tree-lined avenues and classic New York Brownstones are more your bag, then Park Slope is the place to procure your palace. With an eclectic mix of family-centered spaces and local hangouts, Park Slope has something to offer everyone.
• Bushwick – Edgy and hip combine forces in Bushwick’s ever-evolving post industrial renaissance. If converted warehouses and quirky clubs appeal to you, the “beer capital of the Northeast” is the perfect place to wet your whistle and put down your roots.

While Brooklyn presents a more affordable alternative to its money-bags cousin Manhattan, these prices are likely to only go one direction in 2023, and it’s not down. 

Queens

Manhattan creates the culture, Brooklyn brings the bodies, and, as for Queens?

Queens is the undisputed king of land, boasting the most of any borough in the city.⁴ A short hop across the East River from Manhattan, you’ll find yourself on acre after acre of residential bliss.

Here’s a quick breakdown of the Queens area:

• Total land – 109 square miles (282 square kilometers), over four times the amount found in Manhattan.⁴
• Population – Over 2.3 million people reside in Queens County—roughly equal to the entire population of Houston.¹²
• Rentals – Slightly over 900,000 units are (usually not) available to rent across the entirety of Queens.⁶

Queens stretches for miles upon Long Island toward Garden City. As you venture further from the epicenter of the universe, you experience less of The City’s influence on driving up rent prices. However, you also experience less of what makes New York so uniquely New York.  

To craft a fair comparison with the powerhouses of Manhattan and Brooklyn, we’ll focus on the more urban sectors of Queens. Here, rents are definitely subject to Manhattan’s aggrandizing effects:⁸

• Studio Apartment – $2,870
• One bedroom – $3,013
• Two bedrooms – $4,130
• Three bedrooms – $4,768

While Queens is easily stereotyped as a slice of suburbia, you can do more than live a quiet life as a parcel courier in this varied borough. Closer to the city center, there are some happening neighborhoods that have a lot to offer:

• Astoria – Your palate will thank you if you decide to settle in this bustling area. The diverse ethnic rainbow of people that call Astoria home has led to some of the most delicious culinary offerings in the city. 
• Long Island City – Much like Bushwick in Brooklyn, Long Island City is Queens’ attempt to reclaim prime parts of the borough from the industrial era. Modern rejuvenation has turned aging eyesores of factory and warehouse complexes into trendy dining, living, and entertainment hotspots along the East River. 
• Flushing – Flushing can be summarized in one compound word: Chinatown. If you’re looking for the best noodles North America has to offer, or want to engage with the thriving and vibrant cultures of the East, Flushing is the place to set up camp.

These three may be some of the most desirable neighborhoods in Queens, but they also represent some of the most expensive. If you really want to reduce your rent in 2023, moving further away from the city center is one viable option. 

But moving further in can also save you cash—as long as you take the Common route.

Forego the New York Premium in a Classy Coliving Space from Common

No matter where you choose to reside in New York City, you’re going to end up paying an arm and a leg. That is, unless you move into a contemporary coliving space from Common.

With Common, you’ll never need to resort to the all-too-normal New York standard of sleeping in a packed room. All of our spaces come with private, furnished quarters to rest your head, as well as incredible amenities. 

If you’re trying to break into Manhattan for an affordable price, we have suites available on Strivers’ Row and other areas of Harlem starting from under $1,400. Or, if Brooklyn is more your pace, our Bushwick trio of buildings—Common Evergreen, Common Gates, and Common Wyckoff —provide New York’s trendiest area with refined coliving spaces at attainable prices.

Wherever you choose to plant your seed in The Big Apple, choose the convenience, affordability, and community of Common.

 

Sources: 

1. Axios. Exclusive Poll: Where College Students Want to Live. https://www.axios.com/
2. Consumer News and Business Channel. U.S. cities expected to have highest rent prices in 2023. https://www.cnbc.com/
3. Bloomberg. More People Are Moving to Manhattan Than Before the Pandemic. https://www.bloomberg.com/
4. New York Metropolitan Transportation Council. Coordinated Public Transit-Human Services Transportation Plan for NYMTC Region. https://www.nymtc.org/
5. World Population Review. Manhattan Population 2023. https://worldpopulationreview.com/
6. NYC Department of Housing Preservation and Development. 2021 New York City Housing and Vacancy Survey Selected Initial Findings. https://www1.nyc.gov/
7. Consumer News and Business Channel. Average rent in Manhattan was a record $5,000 last month. https://www.cnbc.com/
8. DouglasElliman. November 2022 Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Queens Rentals. https://www.elliman.com/
9. The Villager. New heat map shows which areas of Manhattan are the most expensive to rent in. https://www.amny.com/
10. World Population Review. Brooklyn Population 2023. https://worldpopulationreview.com/
11. United States Census Bureau. Queens County, New York. https://www.census.gov/