Upper West Side Neighborhood Profile

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 (30.5%) of households is $100,001 - $250,000. In 2000, the same household income group had the largest share as well, with a slightly higher share of 31.3%.

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 $139,070, about 97% more than citywide median household income ($70,590). 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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HOUSING

Renters

Real median gross rent in Upper West Side increased from $1,710 in 2006 to $2,020 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 are affordable at the 80% Area Median Income, 9 percentage points higher than the share in 2010. 7.0% of the rental units are public housing rental units in 2020. The overall rental vacancy rate in Upper West Side was 5.3%.

Real median gross rent in Upper West Side increased from $1,850 in 2007 to $2,020 in 2019.

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7.0% of the rental units in Upper West Side are public housing rental units in 2020.

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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 2019, the home purchase loan rate was 16.1 per 1,000 properties (owner-occupied 1-4 family buildings, condominiums, or cooperative apartments) and the refinance loan rate was 15.9 per 1,000 properties in the neighborhood. Out of all the first-time home purchase loans and refinance loans in Upper West Side, 0.4% and 0.3% were high cost loans, respectively. 9 properties had a filing of mortgage foreclosure in Upper West Side in 2020. There were 0.4 mortgage foreclosure actions initiated per 1,000 1-4 family properties and condominium units.

There were 0.4 mortgage foreclosure notices per 1,000 1-4 family properties and condominium units in Upper West Side in 2020

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Development

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.

Department of Buildings issued new certificates of occupancy to 69 residential units in new buildings in Upper West Side last year, 1,303 less than the number of units certified in 2019.

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NEIGHBORHOOD SERVICES AND CONDITIONS

The serious crime rate was 8.1 serious crimes per 1,000 residents in 2020, compared to 11.6 serious crimes per 1,000 residents citywide.

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Neighborhood Indicators: MN07 Upper West Side

Demographics

Indicator	2000	2006	2010	2019	Rank (2000)	Rank (19/20)
Population
Born in New York State		48.5%	43.9%	44.2%		38
Disabled population			5.0%	5.9%		35
Foreign-born population	21.3%	20.2%	22.4%	22.0%	46	49
Population	192,213	216,812	199,843	179,682
Population aged 65+	13.4%	14.8%	16.7%	21.3%	17	7
Households
Households with children under 18 years old	14.6%	21.2%	18.9%	17.9%	51	49
Single-person households		50.4%	45.9%	50.3%		3
Race and Ethnicity
Percent Asian	5.6%	7.7%	7.7%	10.1%	28	26
Percent Black	8.5%	7.0%	6.6%	4.7%	34	38
Percent Hispanic	14.5%	10.8%	15.3%	14.0%	37	41
Percent white	69.0%	72.7%	68.1%	68.7%	9	4
Racial diversity index	0.49	0.45	0.50	0.50	37	45
Income and Poverty
Income diversity ratio		6.7	8.6	6.7		13
Median household income (2020$)	$105,500	$116,180	$105,720	$139,070	4	4
Median household income, homeowners (2020$)		$235,010	$202,900	$254,280		1
Median household income, renters (2020$)		$84,610	$73,620	$106,800		6
Poverty rate	10.0%	9.0%	10.4%	8.7%	48	45
Poverty rate, population aged 65+		13.2%	12.5%	12.2%		42
Poverty rate, population under 18 years old		6.0%	6.5%	9.3%		44
Labor Market
Labor force participation rate		70.7%	68.3%	68.8%		14
Population aged 25+ without a high school diploma		5.9%	5.1%	4.7%		52
Unemployment rate	4.77%	4.52%	7.46%	2.32%	51	53

Housing Market and Conditions

Indicator	2000	2006	2010	2019	2020	Rank (2000)	Rank (19/20)
Housing Stock
Homeownership rate	29.2%	35.6%	32.0%	35.1%		24	22
Housing units		120,652	113,725	118,000			2
Rental vacancy rate			3.8%	5.3%			6
Serious housing code violations (per 1,000 privately owned rental units)		13.9	14.8	41.1	25.4		44
Severe crowding rate (% of renter households)			1.8%	3.1%			41
Total housing code violations (per 1,000 privately owned rental units)		108.6	81.8	165.6	89.7		42
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	58	58
Notices of foreclosure, all residential properties	15	27	77	38	9	53	48
Notices of foreclosure, initial, 1-4 family and condo properties	8	21	63	17	3	52	50
Notices of foreclosure, repeat, 1-4 family and condo properties	2	5	8	18	5	50	46
Pre-foreclosure notice rate (per 1,000 1-4 family and condo properties)				8.2	4.8		57
Pre-foreclosure notices, 1-4 family and condo properties				168	103		42
Properties entering REO, 1-4 family	0	0	0			50
Finance - Lending
FHA/VA-backed home purchase loans (% of home purchase loans)		0.0%	0.0%	0.0%			45
Higher-cost home purchase loans (% of home purchase loans)		1.8%	0.7%	0.4%			51
Higher-cost refinance loans (% of refinance loans)		6.0%	0.1%	0.3%			51
Home purchase loan rate (per 1,000 properties)		29.8	20.5	16.1			43
Home purchase loans in LMI tracts (% of home purchase loans)		3.4%	1.0%	2.3%			47
Home purchase loans to LMI borrowers (% of home purchase loans)		0.4%	2.7%	0.7%			50
Refinance loan rate (per 1,000 properties)		11.6	38.3	15.9			26
Sales - Volume
Sales volume, 1 family building	4	5	8	3	7	51	47
Sales volume, 2-4 family building	9	11	12	1	6	53	50
Sales volume, 5+ family building	33	67	58	33	29	11	2
Sales volume, all property types	79	1,218	1,125	646	614	54	7
Sales volume, condominium	33	1,135	1,047	609	572	25	1
Sales - Median Prices
Median sales price per unit, 1 family building (2020$)	$10,425,400	$8,012,010	$6,416,280	$6,611,140	$8,176,720	1	3
Median sales price per unit, 2-4 family building (2020$)	$926,270	$1,386,080	$2,158,340	$1,805,350	$1,893,750	4	4
Median sales price per unit, 5+ family building (2020$)	$271,290	$450,280	$440,480	$549,230	$533,330	4	3
Median sales price per unit, condominium (2020$)	$872,010	$1,220,520	$1,267,130	$1,551,070	$1,905,000	5	3
Sales - Housing Price Index
Index of housing price appreciation, 1 family building	100.0	301.2	110.2	129.8	100.4		50
Index of housing price appreciation, 2-4 family building	100.0	169.2	101.1	220.2	5.3		57
Index of housing price appreciation, 5+ family building	100.0	216.7	233.1	366.0	368.3		37
Index of housing price appreciation, all property types	100.0	190.3	197.6	244.4	247.8		43
Index of housing price appreciation, condominium	100.0	188.2	195.1	237.6	245.0		38
Subsidized Housing
Total number of subsidized properties (properties)					202		17
HUD Financing or Insurance (properties)					10		11
HUD Financing or Insurance (units)					1,296		9
HUD Project-based Rental Assistance Program (properties)					23		18
HUD Project-based Rental Assistance Program (units)					1,784		18
Low Income Housing Tax Credit (properties)					33		18
Low Income Housing Tax Credit (units)					3,999		14
Public Housing (properties)					22		13
Public Housing (units)					5,926		15
Mitchell-Lama (properties)					11		8
Mitchell-Lama (units)					1,758		16
421-a Tax Exemption (properties)					38		32
421-a Tax Exemption (units)					6,997		6
420-c Tax Exemption (properties)					33		17
420-c Tax Exemption (units)					1,685		18
NYC Housing Production Programs and Zoning Incentives or Requirements (properties)					68		19
Eligible to expire from housing programs between 2020 and 2025 (properties)					6		22
Eligible to expire from housing programs between 2020 and 2025 (units)					1,371		9
Eligible to expire from housing programs between 2026 and 2035 (properties)					22		16
Eligible to expire from housing programs between 2026 and 2035 (units)					1,987		11
Eligible to expire from housing programs in 2036 and later (properties)					29		17
Eligible to expire from housing programs in 2036 and later (units)					3,299		17

Land Use and Development

Indicator	2000	2006	2010	2019	2020	Rank (2000)	Rank (19/20)
Density
Population density (1,000 persons per square mile)		73.2	67.5	60.6			12
Development
Units authorized by new residential building permits	441	703	0	343	110	11	40
Units issued new certificates of occupancy	921	566	1,285	1,372	78	3	45

Neighborhood Services and Conditions

Indicator	2000	2006	2010	2019	2020	Rank (2000)	Rank (19/20)
Commute
Car-free commute (% of commuters)	83.3%	83.9%	85.7%	85.5%		6	13
Mean travel time to work (minutes)	30.3	28.8	29.6	30.5		52	51
Crime and Incarceration
Serious crime rate (per 1,000 residents)		11.9	9.0	8.8	8.1		45
Serious crime rate, property (per 1,000 residents)		9.2	7.0	6.5	6.0		35
Serious crime rate, violent (per 1,000 residents)		2.7	2.1	2.2	2.1		48
Schools
Students performing at grade level in English language arts, 4th grade				78.8%			6
Students performing at grade level in math, 4th grade				75.7%			7

Renters

Indicator	2000	2006	2010	2019	2020	Rank (2000)	Rank (19/20)
Median Rent
Median rent, 2- and 3-bedrooms (2020$)			$1,630	$1,790			9
Median rent, all (2020$)	$1,550	$1,710	$1,790	$2,020		4	8
Median rent, recent movers (2020$)			$2,470	$2,540			7
Median rent, studios and 1-bedrooms (2020$)			$1,910	$2,140			4
Median rent, asking			$2,750
Affordability
Rental units affordable at 30% AMI (% of recently available units)			2.3%	5.9%			25
Rental units affordable at 80% AMI (% of recently available units)			17.4%	26.1%			39
Rental units affordable at 120% AMI (% of recently available units)			39.0%	53.5%			42
Rent Burden
Moderately rent-burdened households		21.3%	22.4%	18.2%			50
Moderately rent-burdened households, low income			25.9%	24.0%			54
Moderately rent-burdened households, moderate income			36.5%	38.4%			7
Severely rent-burdened households	16.6%		20.1%	20.3%		55	50
Severely rent-burdened households, low income			48.2%	51.8%			7
Severely rent-burdened households, moderate income			11.3%	12.9%			4
Rental Subsidy
Housing choice vouchers (% of occupied, privately owned rental units)			2.1%	2.2%			36
Public housing (% of rental units)					7.0%		29

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.