We all know that the Empire State is one of most expensive states in the country, so trust us when we say that the cities on this list are mind-bogglingly pricey.
But where are these extra-expensive cities in New York?
We used Saturday Night Science to narrow our search to only New York cities with a population of at least 5,000, leaving us with 166 cities to rank. We then used data from the American Community Survey to find out where the cost of living is the highest.
It should come as no shock that one of the most expensive cities in America, New York City, is featured on this list. Equally unsurprising is the inclusion of Long Island’s bastions of “old money” on the North Shore, like Manorhaven and Glen Cove. Most places on this list are within spitting distance of NYC.
$250,001 median income · $2,157,586 median home · #2 home prices in New York
Located in
Westchester County, New York
Scarsdale is a town and village in Westchester County, New York. The Town of Scarsdale is coextensive with the Village of Scarsdale, but the community has opted to operate solely with a village government, one of several villages in the state that have a similar governmental situation. As of the 2010 census, Scarsdale’s population was 17,166.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$250,001 median income · $1,751,159 median home · #4 home prices in New York
Located in
Nassau County, New York
East Hills is a village in Nassau County, New York on the North Shore of Long Island. It is considered part of the Greater Roslyn area, which is anchored by the Village of Roslyn. As of the United States 2010 Census, the village population was 6,955.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$239,815 median income · $2,180,592 median home · #1 home prices in New York
Located in
Westchester County, New York
Rye is a city in Westchester County, New York, United States. It is separate from the town of Rye, which has more land area than the city. Rye city, formerly the village of Rye, was part of the town until it received its charter as a city in 1942. The population was 15,720 at the 2010 census. Rye is the youngest city in New York state. No other city has been chartered anywhere in New York state since 1942.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$173,315 median income · $1,472,340 median home · #7 home prices in New York
Located in
Nassau County, New York
North Hills is a village in Nassau County, New York in the United States. The population was 5,075 at the 2010 census.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$215,815 median income · $1,450,321 median home · #9 home prices in New York
Located in
Westchester County, New York
Bronxville is a village in Westchester County, New York, located about 15 miles north of midtown Manhattan. It is part of the town of Eastchester. The village comprises 1 square mile of land in its entirety, approximately 20% of the town of Eastchester. As of the 2010 U.S. census, Bronxville had a population of 6,323. As of 2016, Bronxville was rated the number one most expensive suburb around America’s ten largest cities by CNBC with a median home value of $2.33 million. In 2017 it was ranked 8th in Bloomberg’s “America’s 100 Richest Places”.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$167,536 median income · $1,661,377 median home · #5 home prices in New York
Located in
Westchester County, New York
Larchmont is a village located within the Town of Mamaroneck in Westchester County, New York, approximately 18 miles northeast of Midtown Manhattan. The population of the village was 5,864 at the 2010 census.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$26,848 median income · $1,050,815 median home · #20 home prices in New York
Coordinates: 4107N 7404W 41.117; -74.067
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$244,152 median income · $1,338,517 median home · #11 home prices in New York
Garden City is an incorporated village in Nassau County, New York, United States, in the town of Hempstead. It was founded by multi-millionaire Alexander Turney Stewart in 1869, and is on Long Island, to the east of New York City, 18.5 miles from midtown Manhattan. The village is located mostly in the Town of Hempstead with a small portion in the Town of North Hempstead.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$170,000 median income · $2,123,230 median home · #3 home prices in New York
Located in
Nassau County, New York
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$164,250 median income · $1,211,014 median home · #15 home prices in New York
Located in
Westchester County, New York
Harrison is a village and town located in Westchester County, New York, approximately 22 miles northeast of Manhattan. The population was 27,472 at the 2010 census. Harrison was ranked sixth in the list of the top 10 places to live in New York State for 2014 according to the national online real estate brokerage Movoto.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
The receipts
Compare the top ten
Pick a metric. The bars rescale. The red line is New York’s statewide median.
New York statewide median: $507,794
New York statewide median: $85,974
On the map
Mapping the most expensive places in New York
Saturday Night Science
Methodology: How We Determined The Most Expensive Places To Live In The Empire State For 2026
The two most important things to think about when it comes to being able to afford a city in New York are how much money you make and how much you have to spend to live there.
You need to understand your costs in the context of how much money you make.
For example, if the median household earns $100,000 and spends $40,000 on housing, it’s actually cheaper to live there than a place with a median income of $50,000 and housing costs of $21,000. You might spend more on housing, but you have more money overall to play with.
With that example in mind, we derived several statistics from the latest Census American Community Survey 2020-2024 around incomes and costs. They are:
- Overall Cost Of Living Index
- Median Home Price / Median Income (lower is better)
- Median Income / Median Rent (Higher is better)
- Median Home Price
You can then compare these metrics in each of the places in New York to figure out which is the most expensive.
You are left with a “Cost of Living Index” by taking the average rank of each of these metrics for each city.
So we used that cost of living index to rank all of the 166 places in New York that have more than 5,000 people.
The place with the highest cost of living in New York according to the data is Scarsdale. We updated this article for 2026. This article is our eleventh time ranking the most expensive places to live in New York.
The full plate
Most Expensive Cities In New York
Click any column to sort. Search by city name.
| Rank | City | Cost Of Living | Population | Median Income | Average Home Price | Home/Income Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Scarsdale | 280 | 18,010 | $250,001 | $2,157,586 | 8.6x |
| 2 | East Hills | 270 | 7,257 | $250,001 | $1,751,159 | 7.0x |
| 3 | Rye | 267 | 16,428 | $239,815 | $2,180,592 | 9.1x |
| 4 | North Hills | 250 | 5,415 | $173,315 | $1,472,340 | 8.5x |
| 5 | Bronxville | 235 | 6,510 | $215,815 | $1,450,321 | 6.7x |
| 6 | Larchmont | 234 | 6,567 | $167,536 | $1,661,377 | 9.9x |
| 7 | Kaser | 214 | 5,694 | $26,848 | $1,050,815 | 39.1x |
| 8 | Garden City | 206 | 22,941 | $244,152 | $1,338,517 | 5.5x |
| 9 | Lawrence | 205 | 6,778 | $170,000 | $2,123,230 | 12.5x |
| 10 | Harrison | 201 | 29,961 | $164,250 | $1,211,014 | 7.4x |
| 11 | Pelham Manor | 196 | 5,644 | $250,001 | $1,309,985 | 5.2x |
| 12 | Great Neck | 190 | 11,087 | $137,981 | $1,455,883 | 10.6x |
| 13 | Rye Brook | 188 | 9,900 | $246,944 | $1,236,848 | 5.0x |
| 14 | Wesley Hills | 187 | 6,196 | $209,345 | $1,123,610 | 5.4x |
| 15 | Sea Cliff | 187 | 5,033 | $193,590 | $1,099,757 | 5.7x |
| 16 | New York | 180 | 8,483,844 | $80,483 | $812,861 | 10.1x |
| 17 | Briarcliff Manor | 178 | 7,519 | $229,732 | $1,094,016 | 4.8x |
| 18 | Pleasantville | 178 | 7,371 | $136,406 | $987,582 | 7.2x |
| 19 | Pelham | 175 | 7,305 | $184,375 | $1,360,404 | 7.4x |
| 20 | Dobbs Ferry | 173 | 11,443 | $165,417 | $975,067 | 5.9x |
| 21 | Irvington | 173 | 6,531 | $173,248 | $1,222,448 | 7.1x |
| 22 | Rockville Centre | 172 | 25,765 | $151,938 | $965,150 | 6.4x |
| 23 | Hastings-on-Hudson | 172 | 8,434 | $193,621 | $1,036,677 | 5.4x |
| 24 | Sleepy Hollow | 171 | 10,887 | $104,313 | $1,010,737 | 9.7x |
| 25 | Mamaroneck | 165 | 19,826 | $120,000 | $859,344 | 7.2x |
| 26 | Floral Park | 165 | 16,169 | $150,084 | $858,496 | 5.7x |
| 27 | Northport | 165 | 7,322 | $146,921 | $850,559 | 5.8x |
| 28 | New Hempstead | 165 | 5,472 | $126,165 | $978,445 | 7.8x |
| 29 | Long Beach | 163 | 34,756 | $140,739 | $805,359 | 5.7x |
| 30 | New Hyde Park | 163 | 10,220 | $142,927 | $974,068 | 6.8x |
| 31 | Manorhaven | 163 | 6,958 | $105,486 | $823,279 | 7.8x |
| 32 | Croton-on-Hudson | 162 | 8,202 | $191,678 | $812,905 | 4.2x |
| 33 | Williston Park | 161 | 7,542 | $156,382 | $927,596 | 5.9x |
| 34 | Cedarhurst | 161 | 7,320 | $101,572 | $1,206,385 | 11.9x |
| 35 | New Rochelle | 160 | 82,769 | $109,167 | $917,531 | 8.4x |
| 36 | Bayville | 160 | 6,744 | $149,191 | $841,959 | 5.6x |
| 37 | White Plains | 159 | 60,666 | $110,763 | $770,309 | 7.0x |
| 38 | Massapequa Park | 158 | 16,963 | $171,953 | $792,452 | 4.6x |
| 39 | Airmont | 158 | 10,205 | $94,972 | $963,994 | 10.2x |
| 40 | Port Jefferson | 158 | 8,091 | $144,912 | $756,205 | 5.2x |
| 41 | Glen Cove | 157 | 28,112 | $92,064 | $810,612 | 8.8x |
| 42 | Mineola | 155 | 21,211 | $137,739 | $815,487 | 5.9x |
| 43 | Nyack | 155 | 7,393 | $116,649 | $748,480 | 6.4x |
| 44 | New Square | 154 | 9,803 | $31,443 | $793,683 | 25.2x |
| 45 | Babylon | 153 | 12,185 | $140,820 | $720,476 | 5.1x |
| 46 | Chestnut Ridge | 153 | 10,557 | $111,725 | $862,819 | 7.7x |
| 47 | East Rockaway | 153 | 10,077 | $124,929 | $735,012 | 5.9x |
| 48 | Kiryas Joel | 152 | 38,916 | $50,032 | $909,189 | 18.2x |
| 49 | Westbury | 152 | 15,808 | $145,185 | $768,992 | 5.3x |
| 50 | Tuckahoe | 152 | 6,973 | $104,375 | $815,213 | 7.8x |
| 51 | Lynbrook | 151 | 20,325 | $136,696 | $745,362 | 5.5x |
| 52 | Malverne | 151 | 8,477 | $149,489 | $801,814 | 5.4x |
| 53 | Port Chester | 148 | 31,102 | $92,222 | $725,361 | 7.9x |
| 54 | Elmsford | 147 | 5,186 | $120,179 | $678,626 | 5.6x |
| 55 | Lake Grove | 145 | 11,061 | $118,311 | $713,790 | 6.0x |
| 56 | Yonkers | 142 | 209,978 | $83,549 | $680,218 | 8.1x |
| 57 | Valley Stream | 142 | 40,315 | $133,190 | $756,941 | 5.7x |
| 58 | Mount Kisco | 142 | 10,737 | $96,534 | $688,450 | 7.1x |
| 59 | Farmingdale | 141 | 8,474 | $122,980 | $717,477 | 5.8x |
| 60 | Great Neck Plaza | 140 | 7,593 | $92,474 | $498,568 | 5.4x |
| 61 | Lindenhurst | 139 | 27,142 | $130,128 | $600,910 | 4.6x |
| 62 | Amityville | 139 | 9,588 | $106,285 | $587,036 | 5.5x |
| 63 | Ossining | 137 | 26,950 | $103,573 | $538,109 | 5.2x |
| 64 | Freeport | 135 | 44,088 | $120,625 | $652,866 | 5.4x |
| 65 | Saratoga Springs | 135 | 28,631 | $105,944 | $633,902 | 6.0x |
| 66 | Hempstead | 133 | 58,801 | $90,420 | $627,531 | 6.9x |
| 67 | Woodbury | 133 | 11,334 | $121,221 | $1,478,907 | 12.2x |
| 68 | Monroe | 133 | 9,515 | $109,851 | $530,517 | 4.8x |
| 69 | Mount Vernon | 132 | 72,427 | $78,779 | $568,431 | 7.2x |
| 70 | Patchogue | 132 | 12,396 | $107,306 | $586,013 | 5.5x |
| 71 | Warwick | 129 | 6,585 | $89,609 | $566,347 | 6.3x |
| 72 | Suffern | 128 | 11,441 | $104,607 | $576,040 | 5.5x |
| 73 | Spring Valley | 127 | 33,192 | $57,196 | $871,487 | 15.2x |
| 74 | Goshen | 126 | 5,773 | $104,643 | $558,034 | 5.3x |
| 75 | Peekskill | 124 | 25,625 | $85,954 | $500,840 | 5.8x |
| 76 | New Paltz | 124 | 8,314 | $52,774 | $496,651 | 9.4x |
| 77 | Beacon | 122 | 14,834 | $107,859 | $538,601 | 5.0x |
| 78 | West Haverstraw | 122 | 10,711 | $86,301 | $425,897 | 4.9x |
| 79 | Haverstraw | 119 | 12,325 | $75,167 | $444,473 | 5.9x |
| 80 | Colonie | 118 | 7,702 | $103,983 | $341,964 | 3.3x |
| 81 | Washingtonville | 118 | 5,707 | $95,313 | $516,964 | 5.4x |
| 82 | Walden | 117 | 6,868 | $87,487 | $412,020 | 4.7x |
| 83 | Wappingers Falls | 116 | 5,761 | $65,040 | $486,033 | 7.5x |
| 84 | Ithaca | 115 | 32,814 | $48,784 | $410,621 | 8.4x |
| 85 | Ballston Spa | 115 | 5,027 | $101,667 | $422,527 | 4.2x |
| 86 | East Aurora | 114 | 5,993 | $103,949 | $431,047 | 4.1x |
| 87 | Poughkeepsie | 113 | 31,958 | $60,741 | $339,927 | 5.6x |
| 88 | Williamsville | 113 | 5,469 | $98,850 | $410,876 | 4.2x |
| 89 | Middletown | 111 | 30,289 | $79,346 | $402,620 | 5.1x |
| 90 | Hudson | 111 | 5,865 | $54,139 | $436,090 | 8.1x |
| 91 | Fairport | 111 | 5,403 | $107,009 | $396,821 | 3.7x |
| 92 | Albany | 110 | 100,492 | $61,986 | $320,506 | 5.2x |
| 93 | Kingston | 107 | 23,911 | $68,186 | $378,030 | 5.5x |
| 94 | Webster | 107 | 5,718 | $70,495 | $386,505 | 5.5x |
| 95 | Geneseo | 106 | 7,701 | $46,589 | $271,031 | 5.8x |
| 96 | Hilton | 106 | 5,968 | $87,377 | $300,281 | 3.4x |
| 97 | Kenmore | 105 | 15,044 | $77,639 | $249,943 | 3.2x |
| 98 | Troy | 104 | 51,033 | $58,477 | $286,799 | 4.9x |
| 99 | Newburgh | 104 | 28,519 | $56,960 | $392,141 | 6.9x |
| 100 | Cohoes | 104 | 18,159 | $61,145 | $330,326 | 5.4x |
Source: U.S. Census ACS 2020-2024, Zillow research. 166 places with more than 5,000 residents.
Summary
Summary: Taking A Chunk Out Of Your Paycheck In New York For 2026
Well, there you have it, the places in New York that have the highest cost of living, with Scarsdale ranking as the most expensive city in the Empire State.
The most expensive cities in New York are Scarsdale, East Hills, Rye, North Hills, Bronxville, Larchmont, Kaser, Garden City, Lawrence, and Harrison.
