New York has long been one of the most expensive places in the country to rent. In 2024, the city’s median rent was 68% higher than the national median and ate up 39.8% of the average household’s income. Last year, New York ranked among the least affordable U.S. cities for people living on one income. And now, New Yorkers have paid more than ever to sign a lease this summer, while the cost of buying a home remained far out of reach.
The median asking rent in the city reached a record high of $3,785 in the third quarter, up $162, or 4.5%, from a year earlier, according to the Realtor.com 2026 Q3 NYC Rental Report released Tuesday. That is the highest level since the site began tracking the data in the second quarter of 2019, and $816, or 27.5%, above where rents stood before the pandemic.
