60% Of NYC Gen Z Allocate A Third Of Their Income On Rent
Are you between the ages of 18 – 25 and tired of paying crazy high rents? You’re not alone! Two in three Gen Z renters are being rent-burdened in NYC, explains a new study from StreetEasy. Moreover, New York specifically is currently facing one of the most unaffordable rental markets in the nation.
An upsetting statistic from a Zillow and StreetEasy study shows that asking rent prices are rising 1.5x faster than wages since 2019. Asking rental prices rose 7.4x more than wages over the last year in New York City alone.
So though wages have increased due to the labor market recovery following the pandemic, Gen Z renters are having a difficult time keeping up with the astronomical rents.
What does it mean to be rent-burdened?
Two in three Gen Z are “rent-burdened” in NYC, three in five for the U.S. as a whole. This is determined by renters who dedicate more than 30% of their gross income to housing, according to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. That means about 60% of Gen Z spends over 30% of their income on rent.
And though New York City just experienced the largest gap between asking rent prices and wages in the U.S., rent burdens are a nationwide problem for Gen Z. In fact, 73.4% of Gen Z renters in San Diego and 71.7% in Los Angeles are rent-burdened, making those two cities home to the greatest amount of burdened young renters in the country. New York City is eighth on that list for having the most rent-burdened Gen Z adults (65.6%).
How much of Gen Z is renting?
In 2022, Gen Z renters maintained 7.9 million households, according to a New York Times article.
Why are Millennials and Gen Z renting instead of buying?
“High rent burdens exacerbate housing instability and make it challenging to build wealth for long-term financial goals,” wrote StreetEasy. This only adds to the difficulty of home buying in what’s already an overwhelming process.
You can explore the full study on StreetEasy for more in-depth findings.
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