” New York City's residents have more wealth-in excess of $3 trillion-than those of any other metro in the world. New York has almost 350,000 millionaires, which is the most of any city and up 48% from a decade ago, according to a global ranking of the wealthiest cities. That means about one in every 24 of its 8.26 million residents has a seven-figure net worth, compared with about one in 36 in 2013. New York still has a large share of the ultra-rich, too: the report found that it has 60 billionaires and 744 people with investable wealth of more than $100 million. ”Story (might need subscription)
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Enjoy visiting too. The sensationalist media is doing its best to deter visitors. Tourism is down compared to pre-Covid. Afraid this will eventually impact the quality of live performances and other culturally rich assets the city is renowned for.
A$50K retirement income would need a $1.2M portfolio (at a 4% SWR). One would need a $3.6M portfolio to fund the $150K (a 4% SWR) retirement income to pay your bills in NYC.
cost-of-living/index
Housing is a biggy.
Median 2-bedroom apartment rent = $5,743
Median home price (3BR, 2BA) = $2,743,333
Also welcome to extremes..some have...many have not. 25% are millionaire and 20% are below the poverty line.
Average salary per person
$31,417
Unemployment rate
9.00%
Percent below poverty
19.40%
Public schools get low grade so if you are considering private schools:
Estimated average private high school tuition
$34,987 / year
source:
cost-of-living-calculator/city-life/new-york-manhattan-ny
Green Acres is the place to be.
Farm livin' is the life for me.
Land spreadin' out so far and wide
Keep Manhattan, just give me that countryside.
New York is where I'd rather stay.
I get allergic smelling hay.
I just adore a penthouse view.
Dah-ling I love you but give me Park Avenue.
...The chores.
...The stores.
...Fresh air.
...Times Square
You are my wife.
Good bye, city life.
Green Acres we are there.
source: https://lyricsondemand.com/tvthemes/greenacreslyrics.html
https://www.i24news.tv/en/news/israel/economy/1663172527-israel-nearly-1-in-10-tel-aviv-residents-is-a-millionaire-study
But seriously, my 1200 sq ft house in western Washington is zillowed at $650K. The house I grew up in the Mississippi Delta, a bit larger, of similar age and condition, is zillowed at $16K. Since I own my house outright, I could sell it and move "home" and be half-way to being a millionaire before you factor in my pensions, SS, and savings. Indeed, a moderately middle-class existence could, overnight, be converted to privileged just by a move to the land of my origins.
And for that matter it also matters where "here" is - Manhattan's population is less than 20% of NYC's; Manhattan's land area is under 8% of NYC's.
According to the same calculator, one would need "only" $87K to live in Queens (another part of NYC) - where 40% more people live than in Manhattan. While that's far from inexpensive, it helps to look at where "real" people live. Queens has the reputation of being NYC's bedroom borough. This NerdWallet site is similarly confused about NYC. The URL and the drop down city selector say "Manhattan", and its top line figure, "median salary in New York (Manhattan), NY is:$51,270. Yet in the detail data, it gives the population as 8M (all of NYC) and the average salary per person as $31,417. Hard to tell what "average" means, though I'm guessing it is calculated across the whole city, not just the 1/5 of people living in Manhattan.
Here are some "alternative facts". Directly from the US Census Bureau, the per capita income in NYC (8M people) is $48,066. Since not everyone works, that makes the mean (not median) salary higher than $48K. Another page (SmartAsset) claims that "According to the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2020 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, the average individual income in New York City is $107,000."
The level of poverty in NYC is not good, though it is lower than cities such as Detroit, Laredo, Cincinnati, Memphis, Baton Rouge (all above 25%), Richmond, Miami, Tuscon, Atlanta, Dallas, Columbus (all above 20%). The whole country needs to do better.
100 largest US cities ranked by poverty level (sourced from US Census Bureau)
US metro areas w/highest and lowest poverty rates - Madison Trust Co. analysis of Census Bureau data - percentage of households w/income under $35K (noting that HHS defines poverty line as $30K income).
That last source gives Albany, GA as the 6th poorest metropolitan area. I mention this because that is the baseline area used by CNN/Money (see above) for how far $50K would go in other areas. FD makes a different apples-to-oranges error. Consistent source (Henley and Partners) cited, but different years. The i24 News piece references the 2022 study which reported 42,400 millionaires in Tel Aviv (detailed data is in Middle East top 5), while the current study reports "only" 24,300. Over a 40% decline.
https://www.henleyglobal.com/publications/wealthiest-cities-2024