AnswerIn New York, the median household income is $79,713. To rank in the top 20%, you need to earn more than $179,550. Top 5%: $541,000.
Median: $79,713 · Top 20%: $179,550 · Top 5%: $541,000
Source: US Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2023 5-Year Estimates
New York income percentile [2026]
Where New York, New Yorkhouseholds rank by income — sourced from the US Census Bureau's American Community Survey 2023 5-year estimates, covering roughly 8,516,202 residents.
In New York, NY, the median household income is $79,713. The bottom 20% earns under $26,035; the top 20% threshold is $179,550; the top 5% starts at $541,000. Median rent is $1,779/month and the median home value is $751,700. A $100,000 household income ranks at roughly the 58th percentile locally.
Key stats for New York
Income percentile breakpoints
- 20th percentile (bottom quintile)
- $26,035
- 40th percentile
- $59,698
- Median (≈ 50th–60th percentile)
- $103,431
- 80th percentile (top 20%)
- $179,550
- 95th percentile (top 5%) — estimated
- $541,000
Source: US Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2023 5-Year Estimates. City-level p60 is used as the “median-ish” row because ACS quintile upper limits bracket the household median near p60 for most big US cities. The Census Bureau top-codes its top-5% figure at $250,001 for high-income cities, so the 95th-percentile value here is estimated by fitting a Pareto tail to New York's lower (un-top-coded) quintile breakpoints. Treat it as a modeled upper-tail benchmark, not a published ACS figure.
Local economic context
New York's income distribution is a two-humped beast: a finance and legal stratum anchored by Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup, and BlackRock that pushes the top 1% threshold past $800K, and a vast service and healthcare economy where Mount Sinai, NYU Langone, Northwell, and Con Edison employ hundreds of thousands at wages that haven't kept pace with rent. Tech has filled in the middle since the Hudson Yards Google build-out and Meta's lease on Farley Post Office, but headcount is a fraction of Bay Area density. Housing is the variable that dominates every other calculation. A 2BR in Park Slope or the Upper East Side clears $6,500 a month, and the post-2022 rent reset never really happened here the way it did in Austin or San Francisco. Commute reality is the MTA: the 4/5/6 Lexington line hits capacity crush every morning, and signal problems on the L or a sick passenger on the A can turn a 35-minute trip into 90. New Jersey and Westchester commuters pay Metro-North or NJ Transit fares that run $350-$500 monthly on top of everything else. The cost-of-living caveat is brutal: BEA Regional Price Parities peg NYC at roughly 123% of the national average, and Manhattan alone runs near 130%. A $200K household income here buys less house, less childcare, and less disposable income than $130K in Dallas or Phoenix. Raw percentile rankings flatter NYC earners; purchasing-power-adjusted rankings humble them.
What this income feels like
Top 20% in New York means you can afford a doorman studio in Murray Hill or a walk-up 1BR in Astoria without roommates, but you're still watching the grocery tape at Whole Foods and doing mental math on every $22 cocktail. Childcare at a reasonable daycare runs $2,800-$3,500 a month per kid, which vaporizes any bonus. You take the subway because a UES-to-FiDi Uber is $40 and 50 minutes in traffic. Brunch, a gym membership, and a summer share on the North Fork are plausible; buying a 2BR within 45 minutes of Midtown is not, unless a parent helps with the down payment.
Top 20% reality check
- You can cover rent on a Williamsburg 1BR solo, but friends who bought a co-op in 2014 at half your salary now have 3x your net worth and a fixed housing cost.
- A $250K household income puts you in the top 20% citywide but feels middle-class in Tribeca or the West Village, where $5M condos are the neighborhood baseline.
- You're paying NYC's 3.876% local income tax on top of New York State's 6.85-10.9%, so your effective marginal rate quietly crosses 45% before federal even shows up.
Cost-of-living reality
The median gross rent in New York is $1,779/month, or roughly 26.8% of the median household income on an annualized basis. The national rent-burden average is about 30%, and anything north of that is treated as rent-burdened by HUD. New York's median home value is $751,700, a price-to-income ratio of 9.4× — healthy markets run 3–4×, expensive coastal markets routinely exceed 6×. Mean one-way commute is 40.6 minutes, which compounds the real cost of living here for anyone not working remote.
Nearby cities
New York community discussions
Local subreddits where cost-of-living and income questions get answered by residents. External links, open in a new tab.
Frequently asked questions
What is a good income in New York?
In New York, NY, the median household income is $79,713. Earning above $103,431 puts you in the top 40%, and clearing $179,550 places you in the top 20%. A "good" income depends on household size and housing choice, but $179,550 is a useful upper-middle-class threshold for this city.
How does New York's median income compare to the US?
New York's median household income of $79,713 is about 1.5% higher than the US median of $78,538 (ACS 2023 5-year, matched to the city vintage). Raw comparisons understate local cost-of-living; New York's median rent of $1,779 and median home value of $751,700 are the relevant offsets.
What percentile is $100K in New York?
A household income of $100,000 ranks at roughly the 58th percentile in New York. That is interpolated from the local ACS quintile breakpoints: p20 $26,035, p40 $59,698, p60 $103,431, p80 $179,550, p95 $541,000.
Is New York expensive to live in?
Median gross rent in New York is $1,779/month, which is 26.8% of the median household income on an annualized basis — compared to the national rent-burden average of about 30%. The median home value is $751,700, a price-to-income ratio of 9.4× (healthy markets run 3-4×, expensive markets 6×+).
How is this calculated?
Figures come from the US Census Bureau's American Community Survey (ACS) 2023 5-year estimates for New York, New York. Income percentiles are city-level approximations derived from ACS B19080 household income quintile upper limits, interpolated from the local median and distribution. Rent burden uses B25071 (median gross rent as % of household income) and mean commute uses B08303.
Methodology & data sources
Calculations on this page use published benchmarks from US federal statistical agencies. Percentile breakpoints are interpolated linearly between published cells. Figures are in current-year USD unless noted. Numbers are educational estimates, not personalized financial advice.