What is Middle Class in Manhattan?
New York City is a home of transplants, of dreamers, of adventurers. It is known as a destination for many people, and Manhattan, especially, is a dream neighborhood for the most ambitious of people. This is a port city that is a beacon of life in America, and to live there is a symbol that a person has made it and is successful in America. But what exactly does middle class look like in Manhattan? The answer is, it doesn’t look anything like it does in any other city. People who make at least $60,000 a year and upwards of around $235,000 a year are considered middle class; in any other city in the country, these salaries would place that person in the upper-class bracket. So how does one know whether or not they’re considered middle class in Manhattan?
How Middle Class is Measured in Manhattan Salary determines whether or not a person lives in Manhattan, which houses over 1.6 million people, or in one of the other boroughs that make up New York City. Gothamist reported in 2013 that a person who makes $250,000 a year and lives in Manhattan is considered middle class; on the lower end, single people who live in the borough must make at least $70,000 in order to afford their life.
Housing Reigns Supreme According to the City Comptroller’s office and chief economist Frank Braconi, real estate is really what makes living in Manhattan expensive. In fact, most middle-class Manhattanites live in the area because their apartments are rent-controlled.