Holidays Put Average NYC Renter $4,300 In Debt, Study Says

NEW YORK, NY — New York City's high cost of living makes it the most expensive place in the nation to celebrate the holidays, a report released this week shows. The typical Manhattan renter needs $4,349 in savings — or will charge that much to his or her credit card — to pay for the gifts, decorations, meals and other seasonal expenses, according to a study by the apartment-hunting site RentCafe.

That means Manhattanites need eight times as much money in the bank to get through the holidays as the average American household, which will use $549 in savings to cover its costs, according to RentCafe's analysis.

The study gathered data from the federal government, the National Retail Federation and the Yardi Matrix to determine the median income, rent, cost of living and holiday spending levels for the 50 most populous U.S. cities.

The typical Manhattan renter family earns $10,362 and spends $1,770 on presents and other holiday-related items in the last two months of each year, the data show. That means Manhattanites are in the hole more than $4,300 after spending $8,178 on rent and $4,763 on other living expenses over those same two months.

By comparison, the average American renter family earns $5,865 and spends $1,002 on holiday expenses, leaving it with $549 after putting out $2,716 for rent and $2,696 for other living costs. That same average family will put 2.8 percent of its annual income toward seasonal spending, RentCafe found.

Boston and San Francisco follow Manhattan as the second- and third-most expensive cities. Boston renters need $4,014 in savings or credit card debt to get through the holidays, while San Francisco renters need $2,657.

About two dozen cities, though, are cheap enough that renters will end the holiday season with extra cash on hand. In Virginia Beach, Virginia, the typical renter family will have $689 left over even after covering all its costs. Families in Tuscon, Arizona will just about break even with $6 on hand after the holidays.

Click here to see RentCafe's full study.

(Lead image: Shoppers walk on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan on Dec. 20. Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images)