What to Know
- Less than 15 percent of rentals in the Big Apple are affordable to Black and Hispanic New Yorkers earning median household incomes, according to a recent report published by StreetEasy -- showing the racial gap in rental affordability rooted in decades-old disparities in wealth and income.
- Thirty-seven percent of citywide market-rate rental listings -- or about one of three -- between January and March this year were affordable for a typical household earning the city's combined median income of $70,663. This is a significant decrease, given that during the same period in 2019, prior to the pandemic, about one in two rental listings -- or 51% -- were affordable to New Yorkers.
- Only two apartments are affordable to Black and Hispanic New Yorkers for every 10 that are affordable to white New Yorkers.
Less than 15 percent of rentals in the Big Apple are affordable to Black and Hispanic New Yorkers earning median household incomes, according to a recent report published by StreetEasy -- showing the racial gap in rental affordability rooted in decades-old disparities in wealth and income.
Thirty-seven percent of citywide market-rate rental listings -- or about one of three -- between January and March this year were affordable for a typical household earning the city's combined median income of $70,663. This is a significant decrease, given that during the same period in 2019, prior to the pandemic, about one in two rental listings -- or 51% -- were affordable to New Yorkers.
This year, New Yorkers earning the median white household income of $93,919 can afford 64% of the city’s rental inventory, a decline from 75% in 2019, the study found, citing Census information on income. Meanwhile, Black New Yorkers earning the median of $53,075 and Hispanic of $49,275 household income can afford only 14% and 10%, respectively, this year. This is a decline from 21% and 12% in 2019. (For the study, "affordable" rentals were classified as those that cost less than 50% of a household's combined income.)
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To put these findings into perspective, according to Census information, when it comes to median income, typical Black and Hispanic households in the city earned 57 cents and 52 cents, respectively, per every dollar a white household earned between 2017 and 2021.
This disparity in earnings and the high-rent rates has impacted Black and Hispanic households in various ways, according to the study.
"As a result, soaring rents last year disproportionately affected non-white households in the city, leaving them with less funds for other necessities like food, healthcare, and utilities, and limiting their ability to save for long-term financial goals such as higher education and a down payment," the study found, adding that it would take Black and Hispanic households 30 and 42 years respectively to save for a down payment, while it takes white households only seven years.
News
When it comes to this year so far, according to the study, a typical white household could afford five times as many market-rate rental listings in New York City as a typical Black household, and seven times as many as a Hispanic household. In other words, only two apartments are affordable to Black and Hispanic New Yorkers for every 10 that are affordable to white New Yorkers.
To read the study, click here.
