The 10 Cheapest New York, NY Neighborhoods To Live In For 2024


The cheapest New York City neighborhoods are Howland Hook and Ardon Heights for 2024 based on Saturday Night Science.

By: Chris Kolmar | About HomeSnacks
Last Updated: January 27, 2024
Worst Neighborhoods In New York City
Source: None

Everything else equal, we can all agree that living in a cheaper place is better than living in a more expensive place.

I’d much rather pay $500/mo in rent than $1,000. And I’d rather pay $2 for coffee than $5.

And while every neighbhorhood in New York City might be more expensive than living in rural New York, there are certain neighborhoods that are definitely cheaper.

What exactly are those New York City neighborhoods where your dollar goes a little further — you can get that one bedroom instead of the studio?

Instead of relying on public opinion and speculation, we wanted to get the facts straight and determine which neighborhoods in New York City are the cheapest using Saturday Night Science.

The Cheapest Neighborhoods In New York City For 2024

  1. Howland Hook
  2. Ardon Heights
  3. Mariners Harbor
  4. Bloomfield-Chelsea-Travis
  5. The Rockaways
  6. Tottensville
  7. Ettingville
  8. Steinway
  9. Annandale
  10. Westerleigh-Castleton

What’s the cheapest neighborhood to live in New York City for 2024? According to the most recent census data, Howland Hook looks to be the cheapest New York City neighborhood to live in.

At this point, we should make it clear that you do get what you pay for — some of these neighborhoods might not be the best places to live in New York City. You could be sacrificing location or crime rates for more space and cheaper groceries.

Read on to see how we determined the places around New York City that deserve a little bragging rights, or maybe you’re interested in the worst neighborhoods in New York City.

For more New York reading, check out:

Table Of Contents: Top Ten | Methodology | Summary | Table

The 10 Cheapest Neighborhoods To Live In New York City For 2024

1. Howland Hook

Overall SnackAbility

8
/10

Population: 3,871
Cost Of Living Index: 100 (cheapest)
Home Value To Income Ratio: 2.5 (2nd cheapest)
Rent To Income Ratio: 0.009 (3rd cheapest)
More on Howland Hook: Real Estate

2. Ardon Heights

Overall SnackAbility

9.5
/10

Population: 23,582
Cost Of Living Index: 127 (2cheapest)
Home Value To Income Ratio: 4.7 (8th cheapest)
Rent To Income Ratio: 0.005 (cheapest)
More on Ardon Heights: Real Estate

3. Mariners Harbor

Overall SnackAbility

9.5
/10

Population: 33,993
Cost Of Living Index: 123 (18th cheapest)
Home Value To Income Ratio: 4.5 (7th cheapest)
Rent To Income Ratio: 0.015 (19th cheapest)
More on Mariners Harbor: Real Estate

4. Bloomfield-Chelsea-Travis

Overall SnackAbility

8.5
/10

Population: 10,884
Cost Of Living Index: 128 (25th cheapest)
Home Value To Income Ratio: 4.9 (11th cheapest)
Rent To Income Ratio: 0.013 (9th cheapest)
More on Bloomfield-Chelsea-Travis: Real Estate

5. The Rockaways

Overall SnackAbility

9
/10

Population: 119,512
Cost Of Living Index: 131 (30th cheapest)
Home Value To Income Ratio: 4.7 (9th cheapest)
Rent To Income Ratio: 0.012 (8th cheapest)
More on The Rockaways: Real Estate

6. Tottensville

Tottensville New York, NY

Source: Wikipedia User | GFDL
Overall SnackAbility

9
/10

Population: 15,609
Cost Of Living Index: 128 (25th cheapest)
Home Value To Income Ratio: 5.1 (17th cheapest)
Rent To Income Ratio: 0.011 (5th cheapest)
More on Tottensville: Real Estate

7. Ettingville

Overall SnackAbility

9.5
/10

Population: 34,729
Cost Of Living Index: 136 (36th cheapest)
Home Value To Income Ratio: 5.2 (2cheapest)
Rent To Income Ratio: 0.009 (4th cheapest)
More on Ettingville: Real Estate

8. Steinway

Overall SnackAbility

8
/10

Population: 55
Cost Of Living Index: 135 (34th cheapest)
Home Value To Income Ratio: 5.4 (23rd cheapest)
Rent To Income Ratio: 0.011 (6th cheapest)
More on Steinway: Real Estate

9. Annandale

Overall SnackAbility

9.5
/10

Population: 9,989
Cost Of Living Index: 141 (46th cheapest)
Home Value To Income Ratio: 5.5 (25th cheapest)
Rent To Income Ratio: 0.005 (2nd cheapest)
More on Annandale: Real Estate

10. Westerleigh-Castleton

Westerleigh-Castleton New York, NY

Source: Wikipedia User | CC BY-SA 4.0
Overall SnackAbility

10
/10

Population: 29,688
Cost Of Living Index: 138 (39th cheapest)
Home Value To Income Ratio: 5.3 (22nd cheapest)
Rent To Income Ratio: 0.013 (12th cheapest)
More on Westerleigh-Castleton: Real Estate

Methodology: How We Determined The Cheapest New York City Hoods In 2024

To rank the cheapest places to live in New York City, we had to determine what criteria define “cheap” and then apply Saturday Night Science.

Using Census and extrapolated BLS data, we arrived at the following set of criteria:

  • Overall Cost Of Living
  • Rent To Income Ratio
  • Median Home Value To Income Ratio

We then ranked each neighborhood with scores from 1 to 123 in each category, where 1 was the cheapest.

Next, we averaged the rankings for each neighborhood to create a cheap neighborhood index.

And finally, we crowned the neighborhood with the lowest cheapest neighborhood index, the “Cheapest City Neighborhood In New York City.” We’re lookin’ at you, Howland Hook.

We updated this article for 2024. This is our fourth time ranking the cheapest neighborhoods to live in New York City. Skip to the end to see the list of all the neighborhoods in the city, from cheapest to most expensive.

Summary: Lowest Cost Places To Live In New York City

If you’re measuring the neighborhoods in New York City where prices are low, and it’s cheap to live, this is an accurate list.

The most affordable neighborhoods in New York City are Howland Hook, Ardon Heights, Mariners Harbor, Bloomfield-Chelsea-Travis, The Rockaways, Tottensville, Ettingville, Steinway, Annandale, and Westerleigh-Castleton.

As mentioned earlier, the neighborhoods in New York City aren’t all cheap. Borough Park takes the title of the most expensive neighborhood to live in New York City.

The most expensive neighborhoods in New York City are Borough Park, Little Italy, Sunset Park, Bensonhurst, and College Point.

We ranked the neighborhoods from cheapest to most expensive in the chart below.

For more New York reading, check out:

Detailed List Of The Cheapest Neighborhoods To Live In New York City For 2024

Rank Neighborhood Cost Of Living Index
1 Howland Hook 100
2 Ardon Heights 127
3 Mariners Harbor 123
4 Bloomfield-Chelsea-Travis 128
5 The Rockaways 131
6 Tottensville 128
7 Ettingville 136
8 Steinway 135
9 Annandale 141
10 Westerleigh-Castleton 138
11 Spuyten Duyvil 145
12 Great Kills 133
13 Woodlawn-Nordwood 128
14 Port Richmond 122
15 South Beach 146
16 Eastchester 132
17 Riverdale 143
18 Laurelton 144
19 Oakwood 128
20 Kings Bridge 116
21 Richmondtown 143
22 Saintalbans 146
23 Country Club 127
24 Todt Hill 153
25 Baychester 151
26 City Island 154
27 Parkchester 127
28 Queens Village 148
29 Bedford Park 108
30 Union Port 132
31 Douglastown-Little Neck 158
32 Nkew Gardens 145
33 North Sutton Area 195
34 Woodrow 146
35 Midland Beach 144
36 Charlestown-Richmond Valley 153
37 Springfield Gardens 138
38 Rosebank 150
39 New Brighton 137
40 Clearview 164
41 Williams Bridge 128
42 Inwood 122
43 Gramercy 168
44 Forest Hills 155
45 Clifton 139
46 Huguenot 155
47 Rossville 143
48 Wakefield-Williamsbridge 139
49 East Village 141
50 Throggs Neck 142
51 Sunny Side 151
52 Morris Park 140
53 Yorkville 138
54 Prince’s Bay 151
55 Washington Heights 111
56 Glendale 152
57 Canarsie 152
58 Battery Park 203
59 Jamaica 143
60 Astoria-Long Island City 148
61 Flatbush 129
62 Financial District 221
63 Murray Hill 187
64 Jackson Heights 148
65 Tribeca 281
66 Hunts Point 105
67 Greenwich Village 220
68 West Village 209
69 Upper East Side 213
70 Middle Village 163
71 Soundview 122
72 Carnegie Hill 307
73 University Heights 107
74 Hamilton Heights 113
75 Gravesend-Sheepshead Bay 163
76 Chelsea 205
77 Woodhaven-Richmond Hill 156
78 Park Slope 217
79 Utopia 160
80 East Brooklyn 141
81 Harlem 136
82 Ridgewood 151
83 Morris Heights 107
84 Morningside Heights 155
85 Tremont 110
86 Downtown 195
87 Fordham 108
88 Greenwood 174
89 Woodside 151
90 Carroll Gardens 228
91 Bay Ridge 175
92 High Bridge 104
93 Lower East Side 124
94 Mott Haven 104
95 Cobble Hill 252
96 Queensboro Hill 162
97 Maspeth 163
98 Upper West Side 199
99 Fort Green 180
100 Clinton 158
101 Midtown 193
102 South Bronx 113
103 East Harlem 121
104 Soho 234
105 Brownsville 131
106 Bushwick 141
107 Boerum Hill 219
108 Whitestone 208
109 Central Park 218
110 Bedford-Stuyvesant 154
111 Mapleton-Flatlands 171
112 Williamsburg 143
113 Garment District 167
114 Dyker Heights 184
115 Flushing 149
116 Auburndale 169
117 Chinatown 156
118 Corona 162
119 College Point 167
120 Bensonhurst 169
121 Sunset Park 168
122 Little Italy 200
123 Borough Park 183
About Chris Kolmar

Chris Kolmar has been in the real estate business for almost ten years now. He originally worked for Movoto Real Estate as the director of marketing before founding HomeSnacks.

He believes the key to finding the right place to live comes down to looking at the data, reading about things to do, and, most importantly, checking it out yourself before you move.

If you've been looking for a place to live in the past several years, you've probably stumbled upon his writing already.

You can find out more about him on LinkedIn or his website.

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