Here’s an only-in-New York situation that combines the city’s most-complained-about aspects: high rents and the subway system.
In the midst of a downward-trending rental market in early 2021, when a number of New Yorkers scored deals for upgraded units, median rents for one-bedrooms still managed to increase near 35 stops in the city’s subway system, which has a total of 472 stations. So far this year, as rents continued their rapid rise amid much higher demand for city living — most recently forcing prospective tenants into bidding wars, which have only driven prices higher — median one-bedroom rents have risen along a total of 438 stops, or more than 90% of stations around town.
The findings come in a report released this week by listings portal RentHop. That’s a year-over-year increase of 403 subway stations, and the latest sign — especially when considering that living near public transit hubs has traditionally cost more money — that New York is back. To a degree, that is. It also comes at a time when, though trains are noticeably more full, ridership remains down from the days before COVID. The latest MTA numbers show a total estimated ridership of 3,358,137 on May 3, or some 60% of pre-pandemic levels — up from 2,730,743 the day before, or about 48% of pre-COVID levels. Still, the rise in prices alone additionally indicates that New Yorkers rely on the subway for getting around.
Despite rents soaring, subway ridership remains below pre-COVID levels. Universal Images Group via GettyRentHop added many of the stations that saw the most dramatic year-over-year changes stand in areas with large rental buildings that previously offered sweet COVID-era concessions — such as months free on longer leases — whose perks have since reeled back.
Among those subway stops, the 72nd Street 1, 2, 3 station on Manhattan’s Upper West Side, where the nearby median one-bedroom price climbed 34.4% year-over-year to $3,495 per month. Farther up the 1 line, at 103rd Street, the median price rose 34.3% to $3,350 year-over-year.
Elsewhere around town, the one-bedroom median around Brooklyn’s High Street station jumped 33.9% year-over-year to $3,750. At Manhattan’s West Fourth Street stop — home to lines including the A, B, C and F — they edged up 24.2% to $3,875.
The boosted rent figures show that New Yorkers still rely on the subway system to get around. Corbis via Getty ImagesTo reach these findings, RentHop surveyed data for unfurnished one-bedroom units between Jan. 1 and March 31, 2021 and 2022. The team then looked at more than 50 non-duplicated listings within a half mile of a subway stop to find the median rent. If there were fewer than 50, they increased the search radius to more than 1 mile — at least 20 city blocks — from stops to find a greater number of unique listings.
The study wasn’t solely limited to Manhattan and Brooklyn. In Queens, the Queensboro Plaza station area — including the 7 and N lines — saw prices rise by 28.6% year-over-year to $3,390. The Bronx, meanwhile, saw median prices around Cypress Avenue jump 19.4% in the same time span to $2,269.
However, certain stops in The Bronx and Queens saw prices lower. In the former, for instance, median one-bedroom rents near the Bedford Park 4 saw prices slip 2.9% year-over-year to $1,700. In the latter, at the Elmhurst Avenue E, M, R stop, they decreased by 2.1% year-over-year to $1,763.





