Income-Housing Gap Grows for New York City Renters

In the past decade, rent increases have far surpassed income growth for New York City renters. And according to just-released data, the rent-income growth gap grew even wider between 2013 and 2014.

According to new data from the American Community Survey, rents rose sharply (2.9%) between 2013 and 2014. Meanwhile, incomes fell slightly—less than a percentage point.

Median rent increased by a total of 14.7% for New York City’s renter households in the past decade. Between 2005 and 2014, rents increased steadily each year from $1,112 to $1,244 (both figures are in 2014$).

Meanwhile, median income of renter households increased by only 2.3% during the same period—from $40,519 in 2005 to $41,449 in 2014, as measured in real terms. Incomes were volatile over this period. After rising from 2005 to 2008, median renter household income fell following the 2008 recession, recovered slightly, remained stagnant, and then fell by less than a percentage point (0.6%) between 2013 and 2014.

For more on the NYU Furman Center’s index of median gross rent and median renter household income, please see the Methods section (PDF) of the State of New York City’s Housing and Neighborhoods report.