A report from Apartments.com found New York City to be the most unaffordable city in the United States during the second quarter of 2026, based on its Rent Affordability Calculator.
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New York City was the most unaffordable city for renters in the United States during the second quarter of 2026, retaining the title from the previous quarter, according to a report by Apartments.com.
The median household income in New York City was $71,116 in the second quarter of 2026. Based on the Apartments.com’s Rent Affordability Calculator, the average rent for one-bedroom apartments across the city was $4,188 a month, meaning that $50,256 of the annual household income is spent on rent. This equates to a 70.6% rent-to-income ratio, which is a 1.3% increase from the 69.3% ratio in the first quarter of 2026.
Queens, Brooklyn and the Bronx were the New York City boroughs included among the cities in the report. They all recorded a median household income of $71,116 this quarter, matching that of the city as a whole.
In Queens, the average rent of a one-bedroom apartment was $3,592 in the second quarter, which was the largest among the boroughs. The rent-to-income ratio was 60.6%.
Brooklyn’s average rent for one-bedroom apartments was $3,064. Despite not having the most expensive average rent, Brooklyn had the largest rent-to-income ratio among the boroughs, at 51.7%.
The Bronx had an average rent of $1,646. Thanks to its low rent in comparison to other parts of New York City, this borough’s rent-to-income ratio was just 27.8%.
On a national level, the median household income was $84,906 in the second quarter of 2026. The United States had an average rent of $1,662 for one-bedroom apartments. The rent-to-income ratio was 23.5% in the quarter, lower than each New York City borough included in the study.