Downtown Newark, New Jersey and Passaic River.
A new report ranks the worst cities for renters in the U.S., and shockingly New York City wasn't tops on the list — but another tri-state city was.
That dubious dishonor goes to Newark, according to the study by Forbes, which found that more than half of residents (56%) in New Jersey's largest city spend more than 30% of their income on rent. The average rent for a one-bedroom in Newark is approximately $1,350, Forbes found, and the average size of units was smaller compared to many other cities.
For those looking to see where NYC was ranked, it wasn't even in the top five. Hialeah, Florida; San Bernardino, California; Anchorage, Alaska; and Los Angeles rounded out the top five spots.
The five boroughs doesn't have much to brag about, however, as it was ranked sixth-worst. The average price for a 1-bedroom apartment in the city was said to be $2,101, according to Forbes, with almost 52% of renters considered "rent-burdened" — meaning they spend more than 30% of income on rent.
Data shows the rent situation in NYC is far from ideal, as a new survey found that a third of tenants spent at least half of their income on rent, making them "severely rent-burdened," according to the nonprofit Community Service Society.
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The group's report stated that the median renter household earned about $60,000 (the annual median income for rent-regulated units is $13,800 less than that) while the median rent is around $3,500 a month.
It also comes as prices in one borough actually went down in September, but not by much. A new report from realtors Miller Samuel and Douglas Elliman stated the median rent on new Manhattan leases last month was $4,350. That represents a 1% dip from July, when a record-high was set.
Despite that, the vacancy rate is now the highest it's been since Aug. 2021, with the number of available listings up about 40% from a year ago. While both of those are good signs for tenants, rent is still about 8% higher than it was in Oct. 2022, and nearly 25% higher than it was pre-pandemic, the realtors' report found.
