Living alone in New York City still requires a very Carrie Bradshaw-sized fantasy funds — or, more realistically, a six-figure wage.
A solo renter in New York would need to earn $153,600 a 12 months before taxes to comfortably afford the metropolis’s typical studio, according to The Economist’s newest “Carrie Bradshaw Index,” named for the “Sex and the City” heroine well-known for dwelling alone in Manhattan on a columnist’s wage.
The typical studio cost in New York is $3,840 a month, according to the index, which assumes renters should spend no more than 30% of their gross income on housing.
The index is named after Carrie Bradshaw and her famously enviable Manhattan house. HBO
Solo renting is getting simpler — nearly in every single place else
There is higher information for renters nationally.
The quantity of America’s 100 greatest cities that the index considers unaffordable for an average earner has fallen to 30 — the lowest since The Economist started the index three years in the past.
Nationwide, renters who need to stay alone now need to earn about $150 less per month than they did a 12 months in the past.
A surge of newly accomplished flats has helped ease the squeeze. The US added 695,000 flats in 2024 — a 40-year document — adopted by another 531,000 in 2025, according to The Economist.
At the same time, softer demand has helped gradual rent growth and prompted landlords to dangle incentives such as free months or waived charges.
An apartment-building growth has helped ease the strain on renters in many US cities. Savvapanf Photo ̩ Рstock.adobe.com
Just 30 of America’s 100 largest cities are unaffordable for solo renters. Studio Romantic – stock.adobe.com
The enchancment has been significantly noticeable in some smaller and less costly markets. Cities including Oklahoma City and Lexington, Ky., posted some of the greatest affordability good points, while 11 cities crossed into reasonably priced territory.
New York, however, stays at the reverse excessive.
Carrie’s house stays a New York fantasy
That makes the index’s namesake particularly becoming.
Carrie Bradshaw famously lived by herself in a rent-controlled Upper East Side house despite working primarily as a newspaper columnist — a life-style that has long raised questions about how she really paid for it.
An inside look at Carrie Bradshaw’s studio house. Kate Glicksberg/Airbnb
New York stays the priciest metropolis with a typical studio costing about $3,840 a month. J-L Fl̩mal РBE Рstock.adobe.com
And the national rental reprieve may show short-term. The Economist notes that new construction begins have fallen sharply from their 2022 stage and are now at their lowest quarterly whole since 2011, doubtlessly limiting future provide.
For now, solo renters across much of America are finally catching a break.
New Yorkers hoping to commerce in their roommates for their own Carrie Bradshaw house? Not so much.
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