Is The Upper East Side An Affordable Rental Neighborhood?

UPPER EAST SIDE, NY — Is rent on the Upper East Side affordable?

Maybe the more important question is how expensive everywhere else is.

A new report reveals what the recent median one-bedroom rents have been all across the city.

The real estate publication Zumper published its "National Rent Report" on Wednesday, which broke down the median rent of over 80 neighborhoods in the five boroughs between April 1 and June of this year.

Overall, New York City had the priciest median one-bedroom home in the country in July at $3,980. The number was even higher in Manhattan, where it ballooned up to $4,200.

According to the list, the most expensive neighborhood in the Big Apple is NoMad, with their one-bedroom median rent hitting just over $6,000.

At number six is DUMBO, where the one bedroom rent in the trendy locale is statistically near $4,387 every month.

The Garment District came in at number eight, with a median rent of $4,707.

And the Upper West Side's rent of $4,573 give it a slot at number 12, just below Midtown East, where median rents hit $4,617.

To find the Upper East Side, you'll have to keep scrolling.

Past other Manhattan neighborhoods, like Hell's Kitchen ($4,343), Turtle Bay ($4,257), and Kips Bay ($3,863).

And past several Brooklyn neighborhoods, like Greenpoint, Fort Green, Prospect Heights, Downtown Brooklyn, Williamsburg and Clinton Hill.

And then, at number 30, sits the Upper East Side, with a one-bedroom median rent of $3,863.

Some other neighborhoods known for their pricy digs, like the East Village ($3,527), Park Slope ($3,340) and Battery Park City ($3,153) were even cheaper, according to the list.

Inwood ($2,060) was the most affordable neighborhood in Manhattan, and had the 63rd cheapest one-bedroom price of the 81 examined in the study.

For comparison, here are the top 10 priciest one-bedroom areas for the second quarter of 2023.

1. NoMad: $6,033 a month
2. Flatiron District: $5,933 a month
3. Chelsea: $5,377 a month
4. Stuyvesant Town: $5,190 a month
5. Greenwich Village: $5,080 a month
6. DUMBO: $4,837 a month
7. Gramercy Park: $4,787 a month
8. Garment District: $4,707 a month
9. SoHo: $4,703 a month
10. NoHo: $4,633 a month

The most-affordable median one-bedroom in New York City during the period was in Bensonhurst at $1,600, according to the study.

New York City's median one-bedroom rent of $3,980 is more than twice the national median, but half of city's neighborhoods have one-bedroom medians of under $2,800 — which is the current median for a one-bedroom in Boston and Miami.
You can read the complete Zumper study — HERE.

Additional reporting by Gus Saltonstall