Racial Gap in New York City’s Rental Affordability: Study

NEW YORK — Less than 15 percent of rents in the Big Apple are affordable for African-American and Hispanic New Yorkers earning median household income, according to a recent report published by StreetEasywhich shows the racial gap in rental affordability rooted in decades-old wealth and income disparities.

Thirty-seven percent of citywide market-rate rental listings, or about one in three, between January and March of 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, before the pandemic, about one in two rental listings, or 51%, were affordable for 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 decrease from 75% on 2019, according to the study, citing Census income data. Meanwhile, African-American New Yorkers who earn a median household income of $53,075 and Hispanics who earn a median household income of $49,275 can only pay 14% and 10%, respectively, this year. This is a decrease 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.)

To put these findings into perspective, according to census data, when it comes to median income, typical African-American and Hispanic households in the city earned 57 cents and 52 cents, respectively, for every dollar earned by a white household between 2017 and 2021.

This income disparity and high rental rates have affected African-American and Hispanic households in a number of ways, according to the study.

“As a result, rising rents last year disproportionately affected non-white households in the city, leaving them with fewer funds for other necessities like food, health care and utilities, and limiting their ability to save for long-term financial goals. such as further education and a down payment,” the study found, adding that it would take African-American and Hispanic households 30 and 42 years, respectively, to save for a down payment, while white households only take seven years.

As of this year so far, according to the study, a typical white household could pay five times as much for market-rate rental listings in New York City as a typical African-American household, and seven times as much as a Hispanic household. . In other words, only two apartments are affordable for Black and Hispanic New Yorkers for every 10 that are affordable for White New Yorkers.

To read the study, Click here.