With rent being due at the end of the week, new figures from the U.S. Census Bureau may help you feel better about handing over your hard earned loot. Contrary to what many New Yorkers might think, our rent is not the most expensive in the country. Alright, it is the sixth most, but that’s still reason to celebrate, or at the very least, not complain as much. The 2009 American Community Survey released this week shows rent to be the highest in San Jose, CA. San Francisco follows in second, and Washington D.C. comes in third. Just barely less expensive than the New York City area is Boston. From Crain’s:
The New York metro area, which includes northern New Jersey and Long Island, was sixth. Median gross rent was $1,125 a month. The median rent in the city alone was $1,086.
Numbers like that are intimidating. More interesting figures should come out when the 2010 Census, which counts how many people are jammed into this city, comes out in the next few months. If you’re really hurting for a new place, having worn out your welcome on your friend’s couch, and worried about a winter sleeping in McCarren Park, here is an idea for a cheap room in Greenpoint.