There’s much to debate about what makes a real New Yorker.
Maybe it’s being born in the five boroughs. Or it could be knowing the subway routes without a map, being an all-weather Knicks fan, and braving the demoralizing walk to a laundromat in the rain.
But, really, the most typical NYC experience is being a 30-something with an above-average salary and an eye-watering rent bill. Business Insider looked at the data.
The average Big Apple resident is in their 30s
Often, to be a New Yorker is to be a millennial. Data from a NYC Planning analysis of the American Community Survey shows that the city’s median age is 38, just below the national median of 39. Sixty-five percent of residents fall between the ages of 18 and 64.
Brooklyn skews the youngest with a median age of 35, while Staten Island’s population is the oldest at 40.
Many NYC dwellers work in healthcare or education
NYC might be known for Wall Street and show business, but most residents work in the healthcare, education, or social service sectors. It’s on par with the rest of the US job market — healthcare and education roles have been one of the few corners of the market actively growing. Twenty-nine percent of New Yorkers have a job in this category.
More New Yorkers live in non-family households
The city is pretty evenly split between men and women. The majority of residents are white or Hispanic, with 21% identifying as Black and roughly 15% identifying as Asian. There are more single mother-led households than single father-led households, and about a third of New Yorkers are married — half of which have children under 18. The average household size is between two and three people.
Forty-one percent of New Yorkers live in non-family households, meaning they either live with roommates or alone. It’s slightly above the 2022 US average, which measured that 36% of Americans live in non-family households. NYC is leading a trend that’s been happening across the US in recent decades: More adults are living alone, with friends, or with roommates than in traditional nuclear families.
The five boroughs tend to be affluent
Household income in the Big Apple tends to be higher than in most other US cities, with a median of $79,700 a year based on NYC Planning’s analysis, which has since grown to $86,000 per a 2024 Census estimate, higher than the 2024 national median of $83,700.
While many residents are quite affluent — 16.8% of people have a household income at or over $200,000 a year — the cost of living is exceptionally high. A report from the mayor’s office found that it takes $159,000 annually to afford basics for a family in the city, with housing and childcare making up the bulk of the cost.
New Yorkers are overwhelmingly rent-burdened
With 70% of residents renting their homes, NYC far outpaces the national average. Less than a third of the overall American population are renters, Census data shows.
The NYC Planning analysis found that the median gross rent in NYC is about $1,779, though that number is much higher in desirable neighborhoods — especially in Manhattan and Brooklyn. The majority of New Yorkers spend more than 30% of their income on housing, the threshold economists define as unaffordable. The city’s robust subway and bus system, below-average household transportation spending, may soften the blow slightly. But being rent-burdened remains one of the most classic New York traits.
