Cost of Living in New York

Summary of cost of living in New York, NY, United States:

Restaurants
Edit Range
Meal, Inexpensive Restaurant 30.00 $ 15.00-60.00
Meal for 2 People, Mid-range Restaurant, Three-course 130.00 $ 80.00-250.00
McMeal at McDonalds (or Equivalent Combo Meal) 12.00 $ 11.00-15.00
Domestic Beer (1 pint draught) 9.00 $ 7.00-11.00
Imported Beer (12 oz small bottle) 12.00 $ 8.00-15.00
Cappuccino (regular) 5.88 $ 4.50-8.00
Coke/Pepsi (12 oz small bottle) 3.14 $ 2.00-5.00
Water (12 oz small bottle) 2.35 $ 2.00-3.75
Markets
Edit
Milk (regular), (1 gallon) 5.90 $ 3.79-9.00
Loaf of Fresh White Bread (1 lb) 4.53 $ 3.00-10.00
Rice (white), (1 lb) 3.67 $ 1.79-6.35
Eggs (regular) (12) 5.21 $ 2.29-9.00
Local Cheese (1 lb) 8.14 $ 4.44-19.96
Chicken Fillets (1 lb) 7.08 $ 3.00-10.00
Beef Round (1 lb) (or Equivalent Back Leg Red Meat) 9.49 $ 5.00-15.00
Apples (1 lb) 3.36 $ 1.00-6.00
Banana (1 lb) 1.11 $ 0.60-3.00
Oranges (1 lb) 2.90 $ 1.00-4.99
Tomato (1 lb) 2.83 $ 1.00-4.99
Potato (1 lb) 1.85 $ 0.70-3.99
Onion (1 lb) 1.76 $ 0.91-3.50
Lettuce (1 head) 3.26 $ 1.09-5.30
Water (1.5 liter bottle) 2.52 $ 1.25-6.00
Bottle of Wine (Mid-Range) 20.00 $ 12.00-25.00
Domestic Beer (0.5 liter bottle) 2.89 $ 1.73-4.29
Imported Beer (12 oz small bottle) 3.68 $ 2.00-5.44
Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro) 17.00 $ 15.00-21.00
Transportation
Edit
One-way Ticket (Local Transport) 2.90 $ 2.90-3.00
Monthly Pass (Regular Price) 133.00 $ 128.00-170.00
Taxi Start (Normal Tariff) 5.00 $ 3.50-8.00
Taxi 1 mile (Normal Tariff) 3.50 $ 2.50-8.00
Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff) 39.00 $ 30.00-45.00
Gasoline (1 gallon) 3.79 $ 3.12-4.89
Volkswagen Golf 1.4 90 KW Trendline (Or Equivalent New Car) 35,000.00 $ 26,000.00-36,344.69
Toyota Corolla Sedan 1.6l 97kW Comfort (Or Equivalent New Car) 28,163.92 $ 22,000.00-38,999.00
Utilities (Monthly)
Edit
Basic (Electricity, Heating, Cooling, Water, Garbage) for 915 sq ft Apartment 180.90 $ 100.00-300.00
Mobile Phone Monthly Plan with Calls and 10GB+ Data 65.58 $ 25.00-150.00
Internet (60 Mbps or More, Unlimited Data, Cable/ADSL) 67.40 $ 50.00-100.00
Sports And Leisure
Edit
Fitness Club, Monthly Fee for 1 Adult 147.94 $ 35.00-300.00
Tennis Court Rent (1 Hour on Weekend) 72.22 $ 50.00-100.00
Cinema, International Release, 1 Seat 20.00 $ 15.00-25.00
Childcare
Edit
Preschool (or Kindergarten), Full Day, Private, Monthly for 1 Child 3,187.71 $ 2,200.00-4,500.00
International Primary School, Yearly for 1 Child 59,000.00 $ 50,000.00-65,000.00
Clothing And Shoes
Edit
1 Pair of Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar) 66.66 $ 40.00-100.00
1 Summer Dress in a Chain Store (Zara, H&M, ...) 47.76 $ 25.00-75.00
1 Pair of Nike Running Shoes (Mid-Range) 109.56 $ 70.00-170.00
1 Pair of Men Leather Business Shoes 174.27 $ 100.00-300.00
Rent Per Month
Edit
Apartment (1 bedroom) in City Centre 4,017.99 $ 3,000.00-5,400.00
Apartment (1 bedroom) Outside of Centre 2,866.50 $ 2,000.00-4,500.00
Apartment (3 bedrooms) in City Centre 8,793.28 $ 6,000.00-15,000.00
Apartment (3 bedrooms) Outside of Centre 5,249.20 $ 3,250.00-7,500.00
Buy Apartment Price
Edit
Price per Square Feet to Buy Apartment in City Centre 1,808.34 $ 1,099.99-2,499.98
Price per Square Feet to Buy Apartment Outside of Centre 1,332.00 $ 869.99-1,999.98
Salaries And Financing
Edit
Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax) 5,643.24 $
Mortgage Interest Rate in Percentages (%), Yearly, for 20 Years Fixed-Rate 6.66 6.00-8.00

Prices in New York, New York

This city had 2179 entries in the past 12 months by 458 different contributors.
Last update: December 2024
Sources and References
Distribution of Expenses Using Our Statistical Model:
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29 Comments so far
Nat on Nov 19, 2024:
you will get nothing for 3k in Manhattan, you need to calclaute at least 5k for a one bedroom in Manhattan or 2 bedrooms in Brooklyn..
Europe on Oct 12, 2024:
Wow, paying $3k-8k for renting an apartment is totally crazy unless your salary is 10k+ and you live with someone.
Anonymous on Oct 01, 2024:
That cost of living estimate might be way to low as it doesn't include healthcare. also the table below doesn't include healthcare
Steve on Sep 30, 2024:
@Tony Bolzano

Thanks for posting this !

Good to know these things :

https://www.youtube.com/@CashJordan/videos
Rajaa Aseab on Sep 01, 2024:
Where i can find an apartment in New York just $350
StayReal on Aug 29, 2024:
@Sam No way mate. 100k before taxes is far from enough.It might be a sufficient salary in London but in NY...it won't cut it, unless you share an apartment with a few other people, eat out only once a week and use only public transportation.
But the level of crime alone is a reason to consider if moving to NY is worth it.
Sam on Aug 23, 2024:
Hi all. I am a Brit and have been offered a transfer to the NYC office of my employer. I work in advertising. The salary offer is $100,000 per annum. Would this salary afford me a decent life in NY? It is considerably more than an I make in the UK [allowing for FER).
Anonymous on Jul 06, 2024:
Nobody wants to live in the ghetto being New York the Bronx is safer than NYC
Tony Bolzano on Jun 18, 2024:
New York became unaffordable, even for the upper middle class and even the rich.

Cash Jordan shows you exactly what it looks like now living in New York :

https://www.youtube.com/@CashJordan/videos
Vishad on Apr 13, 2024:
You can afford basic items easily after making 20$per hours but in india we can make 250 rupees hardly and can afford only cry.
Angel on Mar 08, 2024:
I might just live in keya now since i heard that was a lot more cheaper
Anonymous on Feb 07, 2024:
New York is too old and need a lot of reconstructions.
Sobhan on Aug 01, 2023:
Hi my name is sobhan Abbasi my 13 years old lm from Iran in zanjan
Max on Jun 13, 2023:
>Mark on Jun 07, 2023<
Putin's rubbish, leave your propaganda for cattle from beyond the Urals and go to the trenches to die as soon as possible
Mark on Jun 07, 2023:
I Mark moved my family from the USA for 3 years to the Russian Federation, as it is impossible to live in NY because of the increase in prices for food, heating, fuel and, of course, crowds of brazen migrants who live on welfare and rob and mock local residents, and the authorities only indulge them for votes in elections. Now we have been living in Moscow for 4 years and this city is a thousand times better than NY. No wonder UN experts recognize Moscow best metropolis in terms of quality of life! Moscow has been name the best in the world in terms of infrastructure development and quality of life according to UN-Habitat's City Prosperity Index.. Haters can write anything, but the fact remains anyway!
Don on Oct 25, 2022:
so what folks in NY employees does not offer parking space for workers if you all talking about public transport? I though these are only for homeless and students.
Brooklyner on Sep 24, 2022:
@confused—the minimum wage is $15 per hour, which works out to $31,200 annually before taxes. Most people are living paycheck to paycheck, but there’s so much wealth concentrated in New York that the average salary is totally skewed. So while 75% of people are living on $50,000 or less, the top 5%—hedge fund managers, Wall Street brokers, lawyers, software engineers—make so much more than everyone else that it seems like the average New Yorker is a lot richer than they actually are.
Joy nelson on Sep 23, 2022:
it's good and some of them are high prices
Ash on Sep 09, 2022:
Anon from Aug 25 — your country is made up of foreigners, stupid.
Anonymous on Aug 25, 2022:
U S government shouldn't allow Ukrainians into our country. The biggest problem is the u s government never asks American citizens if we want it. It's not up to the u s government to allow foreigners into our country never was. Those people they let into the u s weren't even vetted.
confused on Apr 11, 2022:
the guy who started off at 40k in 2014 with roommates did very well he said and now makes 64k and still was able to save money.
what is the minimum wage in NY??
i read it is 13 dollars and 20 cents an hour.
so how much is that YEARLY?
https://www.jdsupra.com/legalnews/new-york-minimum-wage-and-salary-7981936/#:~:text=Workers%20in%20New%20York%20City%20employed%20by%20businesses%20with%2010,hour%20(up%20from%20%2414.00).

the average yearly salary for new yorkers is 35,000 per year. yes, thats HALF of what that college graduate makes at 64k.
so if the average salary for people statistically is 35k a year, then there are TONS of people living in new york with a home.
Stuck In Columbus on Mar 22, 2022:
I saw a few comments trying to debunk some of the myths about people living in NYC comfortably on like a $65k salary, but they all skimmed over the part where the people travel. This page focuses on one aspect of New York and it does a great job of it so I think the people who make it work are using other aspects to their advantage. With the cost of living so high in NYC, residents can actually use travel to reduce their yearly expenses by taking extended trips to places with a much much lower cost of living. There are a bunch of other pages with valuable info about NYC that also have to be used to make a plan of attack. If it's not obvious already, I've never been to NYC, but I've lived in 3 different cities and chose a different lifestyle for each one. I'm planning on moving to NYC in the next year, and I know my Ohio lifestyle won't work, so I adapt. Wish me luck in finding the crappiest apartment possible!
ozai on Oct 13, 2021:
Unless you're born with a golden spoon in your mouth to a millionaire daddy, don't come here.
If the job offer is less than $6,000 NET after tax, don't come here.
The stress and pace of life alone are guaranteed to kill you, let alone the cost of living and inflation.
I see dog moms in their mid twenties looking like 40 year olds walking the streets of NY like zombies. It's tough, it's depressing, it's lonely, it's very expensive and it will consume you slowly. You've been warned.
On a side note, yesterday I was at a Turkish coffee shop here in the backwards of Queens. I bought a small regular coffee and a Turkish delight piece the size of an airpod case cut into 4 little pieces and paid 10 USD TOTAL plus tip. The coffee shop is on Queens Boulevard, arguably the shittiest boulevard in Northern America.
I sat on the sidewalk and stared at my order and I was like Poor America, it could've saved itself, but chose not to.
Julie Bryan on Jun 10, 2021:
I'm a student and wish to study at NYC,and with all what I'm seeing here,ion think this will be easy for me,cause no support from anyone since i lost my family,please any advice or better options you guys can gimme.......(409)-292-3527.
Anonymous on May 01, 2021:
Thank God!I am in Kenya. Where I get clean water for free and almost all the food mentioned above goes for less than one dollar per kg..After seeing the cost of living there I honestly have no desire to ever go to NYC..
Anonymous on Dec 19, 2020:
NYC has turned into a ghost town in more than one way. But on a positive note covid19 has adjusted the population somewhat,a good thing.
Anonymous on Dec 05, 2020:
Poor example... no toilet paper you can’t even clean your butt
Daniel Robert Phipps on Nov 25, 2020:
how does the cost of living compare to Chicago, L.A. or Paris?
Che on Oct 08, 2020:
Rents came down in NYC over past few months. A lot of kids moved out as a result of the pandemic. A studio, which went for $3,500 a month at the beginning of 2020, goes for $2,400 now.
The City is kind of desolate now. Before the pandemic you needed $125k a year plus $50k bonus to live a decent single life. Now, you can do it just for the salary, kind of, without the bonus. The entertainment options are limited. Good luck to all.