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Do you know many households in NYC making under $30,000, I don't. In 1999 the per capita income for NYC was ~$23,000. This includes ~20% of adults who do not work by choice and an unemployment rate of 5.5%. The average salary for employed adults in 1999 was over $30,000. I can't find a source for figures since 1999, but I would guesstimate it is about $36,000 now.
This is based on jobs that people I know have. My cousin is a struggling actor who bar tends and waits tables in between commercials and theater work, I do his taxes and he reports slightly more than $30k. He is by far the poorest, employed, person who lives in NYC that I know. My sister never graduated high school and is a clerk for the city library and she makes $40. My brother is a freelance film maker and works on whatever films are in town. He makes well over $50 a year. I also have friends who are investment bankers and lawyers making $200,000 plus.
I work in a mid size law firm and we pay our mail-room clerks $35,000. My secretary makes $45,000. NYC teachers start at $36 and are making $50 in 5 years. NYC social workers start at $32 and are making $45 in five years. NYPD starts at $35,000 and after overtime you clear $55,000. NYFD is very close to that. The MTA (city trains and buses) just posted 1500 jobs at $18 per hour and up. $18 per hour is about $35,000 per year. These are traditionally the lower earning jobs. If you want to make it in this town, it takes a little work, but it is done by millions every day.
By the way, I listed rents for 2BD. You can get a studio in Staten Island next to the ferry for $800. You can get a studio in Bay Ridge for $900. You can get a studio in the Bronx by the subway for $600. You can get a basement 1BD in Queens for less than $1000. You can get a studio in the upper east side for $1,100. You can get a great 1 BD in Harlem for $1,200. If you want to live alone, that is how you tough it out. I listed the rates for 2BD because many young single people get roommates and share rent. This can help get you through the first three - five years at a job where you make only $35. Once you start to clear $45 - 50, it is easier to get your own place.
I would not relocate to a city with rent that high unless you are making a substantial amount of money. But for those of us who live here, it is fine. We get by very nicely and are quite happy. I come from a union working family. My granddad was a meat packer and my other grandpa dug tunnels for the subways and later for the aqueduct. My mom is a nurse. My aunts are teachers or secretaries. I am the first one in my family to go to college, but yet we all have lived in NYC our whole lives and all all happy.
Unemployment in NYC is low compared to other cities, like San Fran, Portland Or, Seattle, Chicago, Atlanta and Boston.
I got by on $26,000 when I graduated about ten years ago. It was not easy, I had a roommate. It got me through a few years. If you don't want to pay a premium, move out a little farther. A 30 minute train ride to Yonkers will cut your rent by 50%. A 45 minute train ride to NJ will cut rent by 50%. If you want to live in the city, which I think is well worth the high rent, you pay for it.
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