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New York is the most rent-burdened metro area in the US, according to a new report from Moody’s Analytics.
A middle-income household in the Big Apple would have to pay almost 69% of income to rent an apartment there at the median price, the rating agency’s research department found.
Families who spend 30% or more of their income on housing are typically classified by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development as “rent-heavy” and “may struggle to get basic necessities like food, clothing, transportation and medical care afford to”.
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To avoid being considered rent-burdened in an average apartment in New York, a household would need to earn $177,000 or more a year, said Lu Chen and Mary Le, economists at Moody’s Analytics.
Rents can be disproportionately higher than incomes when “the location is highly desirable from a lifestyle or future income perspective,” Chen and Le wrote in an email. “Both are true in a place like New York City.”
Keeping rent below 30% is ‘increasingly unachievable’
For decades, people have been advised not to spend more than 30% of their gross income on housing, said Allia Mohamed, co-founder and CEO of Openigloo, which allows renters to inspect buildings and landlords across the US
However, according to Mohamed, “this parameter has become increasingly unattainable, especially in high-rent cities.”
Recognizing this issue, the Biden administration last month released a draft renter’s charter aimed at adding protections to new tenants and curbing exorbitant rent hikes in certain properties.
According to the White House, more than 44 million households, or about 35% of the US population, live in rented apartments.
“Renters should have access to safe, decent and affordable housing and should pay no more than 30% of household income for housing costs,” the blueprint reads.