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A $77,000 salary may sound highly reasonable and worthy of some level of comfort even in New York City. However, recent data shows that this salary is hardly enough to afford a measly 275 square feet of living space within Manhattan, similar to the size of a meager hotel room. This analysis uses the baseline of affordable housing, which is defined to be 30% of your annual income. Correct, $23,100 a year is hardly enough for more than a modest hotel room's worth of space. Although it's neighboring boroughs offer more space, it is only a slight difference: Queens offers 441 square feet of space for it's inhabitants, whereas Brooklyn offers 379 square feet, numbers dwarfed compared to throughout the country.

You may think spending 30% of your income on rent is still reasonable, but this is rarely the case. The typical rent level have ballooned far beyond 30% of the median individual's income, with the median rent level reaching as high as $3,491 monthly in 2025. This is a leviathan 55% of the standard household income, a percentage almost twice as high as what is counted as affordable housing. Unsurprisingly, Manhattan has it the worst of all of its peers, averaging a median monthly rent of $4,569, averaging a 3.3% increase year-over-year.

The effects of this affordable housing crisis is real, and affect countless who once found stability in New York City. The distant dream of a stable home has been replaced by households being forced to coop up in unreasonably cramped spaces and youth who once had vibrant dreams enduring nights in minuscule studios as they worry about next month's rent. New York City renters pay on average almost double what is considered affordable housing, leaving almost no room for healthy food, health, and funds for leisure or retirement.

As an advocate for affordable housing, Gravity Foundation will strive to do our best by pointing out these disparities and targeting systematic change. We offer legitimate pathways for underserved communities to afford housing and stay in the beloved place they once called home. Affordable housing should not be a privilege; it should be a natural condition that all individuals can access.