The cost of renting a one-bedroom apartment in New York City reached an all-time high for the second month in a row in August, according to Zumper’s latest National Rent Report.
Residents are paying a median amount of $4,500 for a one-bedroom apartment in the city, up 12.8 percent compared to a year earlier and 3.4 percent compared to July. Those renting out two-bedroom apartments are not doing much better. According to Zumper, the median two-bedroom rent reached a record high of $5,100 in August, up 13.3 percent year-over-year and 3.7 percent month-over-month.
These numbers make New York the most expensive city for people to rent either a one-bedroom or two-bedroom apartment in the entire country. The second-most expensive rental market, by comparison, was Jersey City (NJ), for a median rent of $3,400 for a one-bedroom and of $3,900 for a two-bedroom. San Francisco (CA) ranked third, with a median rent of $3,160 for a one-bedroom—a four-year high—and of $4,220 for a two-bedroom.
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Compared to New York, both Jersey City, New Jersey, and San Francisco experienced much more modest rent growth. Between August 2023 and August 2024, Jersey City saw an annual increase of 1.5 percent for a one-bedroom, while the San Francisco saw an annual increase of 3.9 percent.
Rent prices have been climbing across the U.S., according to Zumper’s findings. In August, the median one-bedroom rent was up 1.6 percent nationally compared to a year earlier to $1,534. The median two-bedroom rent reached $1,915, up 2.7 percent year-over-year.
But the rent increases in New York mark a resurgence for the city’s market, after rent dropped to a four-year low in January 2021 during the COVID-19 pandemic. At the time, the median one-bedroom rent was $2,350. Since then, rent has nearly doubled—confirming New York’s rental market to be the most expensive in the nation.
“With a rental vacancy rate of 1.4 percent in 2023—the lowest since 1968—New York City has been facing a significant shortage in available housing supply compared to the current demand,” the Zumper report said.
“The resurgence of urban living over the past two years, coupled with employers implementing return-to-office policies, have prompted many former suburbanites to return to the city. Additionally, the peak summer moving season is further intensifying upward pressure on rent prices here.”
A recent report from Moody’s Analytics found New York to be the most rent-burdened city in the country in the second quarter of 2024, followed by Miami, Fort Lauderdale and Los Angeles.
Renters in New York spent 57.7 percent of their income toward rent between April and June. Thirty percent is the threshold to consider a city rent-burdened.
Moody’s Analytics reported that the income necessary to comfortably rent in the state of New York increased by 22 percent from $111,237 in 2019 to $135,637 in 2024. The median household income in the state does “not support living in an average priced apartment without burden,” the company wrote.
Are you renting an apartment in New York City? We want to hear from you how you’re dealing with increasing rent prices. Contact g.carbonaro@newsweek.com.
