Upper West Side Neighborhood Profile

Neighborhood Indicators

Demographics

Indicator	2000	2006	2010	2019
Population
Born in New York State		48.5%	43.9%	44.2%
Disabled population			5.0%	5.9%
Foreign-born population	21.3%	20.2%	22.4%	22.0%
Population	192,213	216,812	199,843	179,682
Population aged 65+	13.4%	14.8%	16.7%	21.3%
Households
Households with children under 18 years old	14.6%	21.2%	18.9%	17.9%
Single-person households		50.4%	45.9%	50.3%
Race and Ethnicity
Percent Asian	5.6%	7.7%	7.7%	10.1%
Percent Black	8.5%	7.0%	6.6%	4.7%
Percent Hispanic	14.5%	10.8%	15.3%	14.0%
Percent white	69.0%	72.7%	68.1%	68.7%
Racial diversity index	0.49	0.45	0.50	0.50
Income and Poverty
Income diversity ratio		6.7	8.6	6.7
Median household income (2021$)	$108,990	$120,040	$109,220	$143,690
Median household income, homeowners (2021$)		$242,800	$209,630	$262,710
Median household income, renters (2021$)		$87,420	$76,060	$110,340
Poverty rate	10.0%	9.0%	10.4%	8.7%
Poverty rate, population aged 65+		13.2%	12.5%	12.2%
Poverty rate, population under 18 years old		6.0%	6.5%	9.3%
Labor Market
Labor force participation rate		70.7%	68.3%	68.8%
Population aged 25+ without a high school diploma		5.9%	5.1%	4.7%
Unemployment rate	4.77%	4.52%	7.46%	2.32%

Housing Market and Conditions

Indicator	2000	2006	2010	2019	2020	2021
Housing Stock
Homeownership rate	29.2%	35.6%	32.0%	35.1%
Housing units		120,652	113,725	118,000
Rental vacancy rate			3.8%	5.3%
Serious housing code violations (per 1,000 privately owned rental units)		13.9	14.8	41.1	25.4	34.9
Severe crowding rate (% of renter households)			1.8%	3.1%
Total housing code violations (per 1,000 privately owned rental units)		108.6	81.8	165.6	89.7	161.7
Finance - Distress
Notices of foreclosure rate (per 1,000 1-4 family and condo properties)	0.9	1.7	3.8	1.7	0.4	0.5
Notices of foreclosure, all residential properties	15	27	77	38	9	11
Notices of foreclosure, initial, 1-4 family and condo properties	8	21	63	17	3	2
Notices of foreclosure, repeat, 1-4 family and condo properties	2	5	8	18	5	9
Pre-foreclosure notice rate (per 1,000 1-4 family and condo properties)				8.2	4.8	4.6
Pre-foreclosure notices, 1-4 family and condo properties				168	103	97
Properties entering REO, 1-4 family	0	0	0
Finance - Lending
FHA/VA-backed home purchase loans (% of home purchase loans)		0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%
Higher-cost home purchase loans (% of home purchase loans)		1.8%	0.7%	0.4%	0.1%
Higher-cost refinance loans (% of refinance loans)		6.0%	0.1%	0.3%	0.1%
Home purchase loan rate (per 1,000 properties)		29.8	20.5	16.1	12.3
Home purchase loans in LMI tracts (% of home purchase loans)		3.4%	1.0%	2.3%	2.4%
Home purchase loans to LMI borrowers (% of home purchase loans)		0.4%	2.7%	0.7%	2.2%
Refinance loan rate (per 1,000 properties)		11.6	38.3	15.9	26.4
Sales - Volume
Sales volume, 1 family building	4	5	8	3	8	12
Sales volume, 2-4 family building	9	11	12	1	8	7
Sales volume, 5+ family building	33	68	58	33	36	77
Sales volume, condominium	33	1,135	1,047	618	629	1,200
Sales volume, all property types	79	1,219	1,125	655	681	1,296
Sales - Median Prices
Median sales price per unit, 1 family building (2021$)		$8,277,720	$6,629,070	$6,830,390	$7,891,680	$6,500,000
Median sales price per unit, 2-4 family building (2021$)		$1,432,050	$2,229,920	$1,865,220	$1,956,560	$2,175,000
Median sales price per unit, 5+ family building (2021$)		$450,310	$455,090	$567,450	$468,150	$391,670
Median sales price per unit, condominium (2021$)		$1,261,000	$1,309,160	$1,610,400	$1,988,840	$1,378,320
Sales - Housing Price Index
Index of housing price appreciation, 1 family building	100.0	92.6	148.2	164.8	121.9	121.3
Index of housing price appreciation, 2-4 family building	100.0	200.1	181.9	330.0	435.6	372.1
Index of housing price appreciation, 5+ family building	100.0	210.1	248.5	431.9	400.8	365.2
Index of housing price appreciation, condominium	100.0	217.4	223.4	296.8	287.6	292.8
Index of housing price appreciation, all property types	100.0	206.7	214.4	287.5	277.9	285.8
Subsidized Housing
Total number of subsidized properties (properties)						239
HUD Financing or Insurance (properties)						9
HUD Financing or Insurance (units)						1,115
HUD Project-based Rental Assistance Program (properties)						20
HUD Project-based Rental Assistance Program (units)						1,424
Low Income Housing Tax Credit (properties)						38
Low Income Housing Tax Credit (units)						5,156
Public Housing (properties)						21
Public Housing (units)						4,729
Mitchell-Lama (properties)						11
Mitchell-Lama (units)						1,758
421-a Tax Exemption (properties)						28
421-a Tax Exemption (units)						7,049
420-c Tax Exemption (properties)						33
420-c Tax Exemption (units)						1,685
NYC Housing Production Programs and Zoning Incentives or Requirements (properties)						105
Eligible to expire from housing programs between 2022 and 2027 (properties)						5
Eligible to expire from housing programs between 2022 and 2027 (units)						1,047
Eligible to expire from housing programs between 2028 and 2037 (properties)						29
Eligible to expire from housing programs between 2028 and 2037 (units)						3,259
Eligible to expire from housing programs in 2038 and later (properties)						25
Eligible to expire from housing programs in 2038 and later (units)						3,162

Land Use and Development

Indicator	2000	2006	2010	2019	2020
Density
Population density (1,000 persons per square mile)		73.2	67.5	60.6
Development
Units authorized by new residential building permits	441	0	0	343	110
Units issued new certificates of occupancy	921	566	1,285	1,372	78

Neighborhood Services and Conditions

Indicator	2000	2006	2010	2019	2020	2021
Commute
Car-free commute (% of commuters)	83.3%	83.9%	85.7%	85.5%
Mean travel time to work (minutes)	30.3	28.8	29.6	30.5
Crime and Incarceration
Serious crime rate (per 1,000 residents)		11.9	9.0	8.8	8.1	9.8
Serious crime rate, property (per 1,000 residents)		9.2	7.0	6.6	6.0	7.3
Serious crime rate, violent (per 1,000 residents)		2.7	2.1	2.2	2.1	2.5
Schools
Students performing at grade level in English language arts, 4th grade				78.8%
Students performing at grade level in math, 4th grade				75.7%

Renters

Indicator	2000	2006	2010	2019	2020	2021
Median Rent
Median rent, 2- and 3-bedrooms (2021$)			$1,680	$1,850
Median rent, all (2021$)	$1,600	$1,770	$1,850	$2,080
Median rent, recent movers (2021$)			$2,550	$2,630
Median rent, studios and 1-bedrooms (2021$)			$1,970	$2,210
Change in collected rent (2019-2020)					-5.8%
Affordability
Rental units affordable at 30% AMI (% of recently available units)			2.3%	5.9%
Rental units affordable at 80% AMI (% of recently available units)			17.4%	26.1%
Rental units affordable at 120% AMI (% of recently available units)			39.0%	53.5%
Rent Burden
Moderately rent-burdened households		21.3%	22.4%	18.2%
Moderately rent-burdened households, low income			25.9%	24.0%
Moderately rent-burdened households, moderate income			36.5%	38.4%
Severely rent-burdened households	16.6%		20.1%	20.3%
Severely rent-burdened households, low income			48.2%	51.8%
Severely rent-burdened households, moderate income			11.3%	12.9%
Rental Subsidy
Housing choice vouchers (% of occupied, privately owned rental units)			2.1%	2.2%	2.5%
Public housing (% of rental units)						7.0%

DEMOGRAPHICS

In 2019, there were an estimated 179,682 people in Upper West Side, of which 10.1% of the population identified as Asian, 4.7% identified as Black, 14.0% identified as Hispanic, and 68.7% identified as white.

Graph showing the racial and ethnic composition of Upper West Side in both 2000 and 2015-2019.

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In 2019, the household income group with the largest share (30.2%) of households was $100,001 - $250,000. In 2000, the same household income group had the largest share as well, with a slightly higher share of 31.5%.

Graph showing the distribution of household income in Upper West Side in both 2000 and 2015-2019.

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Median household income in 2019 was $143,690, about 97% more than citywide median household income ($72,930). The poverty rate in Upper West Side was 8.7% in 2019 compared to 16.0% citywide.

The poverty rate in Upper West Side was 8.7% in 2019 compared to 16.0% citywide.

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The rent distribution shows the share of apartments by their size (according to the number of bedrooms), and then for each apartment size in the community district, the share of apartments according to their monthly gross rent. This distribution compares 5-year ACS figures from 2010 to 5-year ACS figures from 2019. This is a new figure made for the 2021 State of the City report.

Graph showing the distribution of rents in Upper West Side in both 2010 and 2015-2019.

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HOUSING

Renters

Real median gross rent in Upper West Side increased from $1,770 in 2006 to $2,080 in 2019. In 2019, 20.3% of renter households in Upper West Side were severely rent burdened (spent more than 50% of household income on rent). 26.1% of the rental units were affordable at 80% Area Median Income, 9 percentage points higher than the share in 2010. 7.0% of rental units were public housing rental units, as of 2021. The overall rental vacancy rate in Upper West Side was 5.3% in 2019.

Real median gross rent in Upper West Side increased from $1,920 in 2007 to $2,080 in 2019.

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7.0% of the rental units in Upper West Side are public housing rental units in 2021.

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Homeowners

In 2019, the homeownership rate in Upper West Side was 35.1%, higher than the citywide share of 31.9%. The homeownership rate in the neighborhood has increased by 3.1 percentage points since 2010. In 2020, the home purchase loan rate was 12.3 per 1,000 properties (owner-occupied 1-4 family buildings, condominiums, or cooperative apartments) and the refinance loan rate was 26.4 per 1,000 properties in the neighborhood. Out of all the first-time home purchase loans and refinance loans in Upper West Side, 0.1% and 0.1% were high cost loans, respectively. 11 properties had a filing of mortgage foreclosure in Upper West Side in 2021. There were 0.5 mortgage foreclosure actions initiated per 1,000 1-4 family properties and condominium units.

There were 0.5 mortgage foreclosure notices per 1,000 1-4 family properties and condominium units in Upper West Side in 2021

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Development

Department of Buildings issued new certificates of occupancy to 78 residential units in new buildings in Upper West Side in 2020, 1,294 less than the number of units certified in 2019.

Department of Buildings issued new certificates of occupancy to 78 residential units in new buildings in Upper West Side last year, 1,294 less than the number of units certified in 2019.

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Over the last decade, 5,249 units in 4+ unit buildings were built in Upper West Side. 85% were market rate, compared to 15% low-income. We use data from a variety of sources to count the number of income-restricted units targeted to households earning between 80% and 165% of AMI. However, due to restricted availability of granular data our calculations of income-restricted units should be read as conservative estimates. Read more about our methdology in the technical appendix of the 2021 Focus Report.

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NEIGHBORHOOD SERVICES AND CONDITIONS

The serious crime rate was 9.8 serious crimes per 1,000 residents in 2021, compared to 12.2 serious crimes per 1,000 residents citywide.

The serious crime rate was 9.8 serious crimes per 1,000 residents in 2021, compared to 12.2 serious crimes per 1,000 residents citywide.

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Data Notes: See CoreData User Guide for more information about indicator definitions and methods.

Indicators: The rental vacancy rate, severe crowding rate, and the severely rent-burdened households indicators use five-year American Community Survey (ACS) estimates. Data under the 2010 heading comes from the 2006 – 2010 ACS and data under the 2019 heading comes from the 2015 – 2019 ACS.

Rankings: We report rankings out of all neighborhoods for which the indicator can be calculated. Rankings are listed for community districts, though some indicators are reported at the sub-borough area level.