New York, NY Homes For Rent

Homes for Rent in New York, NY: Everything You Need to Know

New York City, home to 8.3 million people, is America’s most populous city. The Big Apple is a financial and artistic powerhouse heralded in pop culture as the “center of the universe.”

Local Job Opportunities

The GDP of New York City alone is $937 billion while the GDP of New York State is $1.5 trillion, comparable to Canada’s GDP. New York’s leading industries (financial and professional services, health care) are also the key drivers behind the American economy. The city’s top employers include JPMorgan Chase & Co., Citigroup, Pfizer, Philip Morris, and PricewaterhouseCoopers.

The Cost of Living in NYC

Moving to the Big Apple? Brace yourself – it’s America’s most expensive city. The median gross rent is $1,396 while the median rent for a two-bedroom apartment is $5,102. NYC’s cost of living rate, food, and housing costs are 80.4%, 6.7%, and 53.9% higher than the national average, respectively. Taxes in the Empire State are equally steep. You’ll be paying 4%-8.82% in state income tax and 8.875% in sales tax. NYC levies an additional 3.078%-3.876% on income tax.

Know Your Neighborhoods

The city is composed of five boroughs: Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, Bronx, and Staten Island. The majority (67%) of residents rent. Manhattan is the most expensive borough, while Staten Island is generally considered the cheapest. Rent-control and rent-stabilization laws protecting renters cover about one million apartments. Rent control applies only to longtime tenants. Rent stabilization, which sets a maximum legal rent, generally applies to apartments in buildings with six or more units constructed before 1974. Unless you can find a rent-stabilized apartment, you may be better off living in New Jersey suburbs with access to mass transportation such as Edgewater, Secaucus, Fort Lee, and Weehawken.

Things to Do in NYC

The Statue of Liberty, located on Liberty Island, has come to symbolize freedom throughout the world. France gave the 305-foot-tall statue as a gift on America’s 100th birthday. Between 1892 and 1954, the statue greeted about 12 million immigrants who were processed on nearby Ellis Island. Today both islands are major tourist destinations. The Empire State Building is one of the world’s most recognizable landmarks, thanks to movies such as “An Affair to Remember,” “King Kong,” and “Sleepless in Seattle.” The 102-story building displays classic Art Deco architecture and offers the best view of the city.

New York’s Sports Scene

NYC is a sports fan’s paradise with at least one team in every major sport. The New York Yankees is arguably the greatest baseball team in history with the most World Series titles at 27. It produced legends such as Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Joe DiMaggio, and Mickey Mantle. Other popular NYC teams to root for: Mets (MLB), Knicks (NBA), Liberty (WNBA), Rangers and Islanders (NHL), NYCFC (MLS), and Giants and Jets (NFL).