What the 'Average' Manhattan Rental Actually Looks Like

We turn to the rental market reports each month or each quarter to give us a sense of how the hard-to-track rental market is doing, particularly given the ups and downs of the past three years. But averaged-by-calculator rental numbers on a chart can only tell us so much. What does an average-priced Manhattan rental actually look like? We took the most recent numbers from Citi Habitats and headed to StreetEasy and Craigslist to find out.

Average studio rent: $1,989

A search of both Craigslist and StreetEasy turns up just one $1,989/month studio, apparently a 500-square-footer in an elevator building on Third Avenue in Midtown.

Average 1BR rent: $2,690

Our poster child for the average 1BR is an apartment at Yorkville's 345 East 94th Street. It was recently RentChopped from its starting ask of $2,750/month. Sometimes it's good to be average!

Average 2BR rent: $3,715
We struck out in our search for a two-bedroom priced at $3,715. The closest we came is an apartment in the building at left, 245 East 93rd Street, for $3,700. Commenters, got anything closer to the average? (There's also a Craigslisted FiDi 3BR for that price. Bargain!)

Average 3BR rent: $4,971

Again, no exact matches for the price, but we did turn up two Craigslisted 3BRs for $4,975, one purporting to be in Midtown West and another (shown above)in Chelsea.

Average Manhattan rent: $3,341

A couple of rental buildings we know well have listings clocking in right around the average Manhattan price of $3,341, including 505 West 37th Street(above) and 180 Riverside Boulevard. There are a few on Craigslist, too, including an unidentified West Village 1BR and a 2BR in Flatiron.