Study Reveals That 'Friends' Greenwich Village Apt Is Unrealistic

WEST VILLAGE, NY — Could the Friends apartment be anymore beyond its characters' pay grade? According to a new study, no.

The study, conducted by Today's Homeowner, used contemporary data to roughly figure out how much these fictional homes would cost in 2023 and how much the residents would be making in their respective careers.

Unsurprisingly, the study was conclusive: "Friends" is not a realistic depiction of living in Greenwich Village.

In fact, the study called Monica and Rachel's apartment "perhaps the most unrealistic physical space across TV shows, as a 1,500-square-foot-apartment at 90 Bedford St. in Greenwich Village is virtually unheard of."

The study pegs the cost of the magically large apartment at about $6,500 a month in 2023. Monica and Rachel's season one jobs as a chef ($64,190) and a waitress ($40,000) gave them a pre-tax household monthly income of just under $8,700.

That means 75 percent of their total income would have to go right to their landlord in order to sustain their outlandish lifestyle.

Eventually show writers developed a clever exposition — Monica inherited the rent-controlled apartment from her late grandmother, and actually only had to pay up $200 a month.

But the study found that neither "Friends" nor the other New York City based show they looked at, "Seinfeld," where they estimated that Jerry would have coughed up almost 60 percent of his salary for his "more realistic" Upper West Side pad, were the most egregious.

San Francisco based program"Full House" depicted the most unrealistic living situation, the study found.

Despite having three adults holding down jobs earning around $16,000 per month, that still wouldn't be enough for the $30,000 in monthly costs at 1709 Broderick St., or 177 percent of their income would have to go solely to housing.

At least those fictional New York City tenants could cover their expenses.

Even with the addition of a fourth income in season two, Danny’s co-anchor and Jesse’s wife, Rebecca Donaldson, housing costs would still eat 122 percent of their income.

The iconic house sold in 2020 for $5.3 million, according to Zillow.

Too bad they don't make show's about fiscal responsibility. Or, well, actually one program did set a good fiscal example for audiences: "That 70's Show."

The Forman family would have to only spend 18 percent of their income on their 3,100 square-foot Wisconsin home.

To check out the rest of the TV shows in the study, click here.