Average NYC roommate rent surpassed $1,500 for the first time ever

In 2022, New York officially became the most expensive city in the world. The rising housing costs and interest rate hikes pushed New York to the top of the Economist Intelligence Unit's list, along with another expensive city, Singapore. One of the ways New Yorkers try to save money is by sharing their apartment with roommates. However, as New York City rents remain near record levels, the average share paid by a roommate reaches a new all-time high. 

The average NYC roommate rent exceeded $1,500 a month in the fourth quarter of 2022, according to a roommate matching website, SpareRoom. The average rent paid by a roommate in New York City rose 20 percent year-over-year from $1,294 to $1,559. San Francisco became the second most expensive city for renters with housemates, with the average monthly roommate rent reaching $1,328, up 7 percent from a year before.

"New York has always been expensive, but we’re reaching the point where you start to wonder whether things have finally reached breaking point,” Matt Hutchinson, director of SpareRoom, told Brick Underground. “How much more can rents really go up by and remain within the reach of the average renter?”

One of the key benefits of living with a roommate is savings. Renters who share also have more options to choose from and could score a bigger apartment for a lower price. Living with a roommate helps more New Yorkers meet the 40x rent requirement, which states that a tenant must earn 40 times the rent to qualify for an apartment. However, although the 40x rent rule is common in New York City, it is not the law. 

When it comes to NYC neighborhoods, Greenpoint, Brooklyn, saw the biggest annual increase in the average monthly roommate rent. The average rent paid by a roommate in this neighborhood rose 50 percent from the fourth quarter of 2021 to $1,171. The most expensive NYC neighborhoods for those living with a roommate are Midtown East, West Village, and Gramercy Park. The average roommate rent in these three neighborhoods starts at $2,440 a month. 

There are still a few NYC neighborhoods where renters could pay less than $1,000 if they live with roommates. Elmhurst, Queens, is the most affordable NYC neighborhood. The average rental cost for a roommate there is $881. The second most affordable neighborhood is Woodside, Queens. Brooklyn’s Midwood, Flatbush (Ditmas Park), and Bay Ridge (Fort Hamilton) also have some of the lowest average monthly rents.

Resources:

“SpareRoom US Rental Index: Quarter 4 - 2022,” (SpareRoom, 2023)

“NYC neighborhood rents ranked,” by Harriet Adam (SpareRoom, 2023)

“Average rent paid by roommates in NYC exceeds $1,500 for the first time,” by Emily Myers (Brick Underground, 2023)