How Much House You Get in Every State for the Cost of a New York Apartment

Despite what television shows would have you believe — looking at you, “Sex and the City,” “Seinfeld” and “Friends” — a typical New York apartment is neither spacious nor cheap. In fact, the median monthly rent price for a one-bedroom apartment in the Empire State is $2,450 — and that only gets you a measly 652 square feet.

To figure out the amount of house New Yorkers could be getting elsewhere in the U.S. for the same price, GOBankingRates used July 2019 housing data from Zillow, dividing the rent of a New York apartment by the price per square foot of single-family residences in each state. The states were then ranked from the smallest amount of square footage one can get for the price of a New York apartment to the largest amount.

Now, you might be thinking, “But who would give up living in New York? The hustle and bustle! The excitement!” And you’re right; you really can’t put a price on the sound of the 7 train jarring you awake each morning. There’s no numerical value for the overgrown rat that periodically emerges from the sewers to fight your chihuahua. And what about your bi-weekly run-in with old Pickpocket Steve? Sure, he’s attempted to steal your identity multiple times, but that’s part of the charm of the Big Apple, right?

Well, considering the fact that 47 of the 49 states on this list offer homes with 1,200 square feet or more of enviable space for about $2.5K a month, you might just consider leaving Steve behind. Or, heck, bring him with you. There’s enough space.

49. Massachusetts

• Median rent list price per square foot: $2.70
• What you can get for the cost of a New York apartment: 906.43 square feet

48. Hawaii

• Median rent list price per square foot: $2.46
• What you can get for the cost of a New York apartment: 994.63 square feet

47. California

• Median rent list price per square foot: $2.04
• What you can get for the cost of a New York apartment: 1,201.22 square feet

46. Rhode Island

• Median rent list price per square foot: $1.56
• What you can get for the cost of a New York apartment: 1,575.52 square feet

45. Colorado

• Median rent list price per square foot: $1.55
• What you can get for the cost of a New York apartment: 1,578.19 square feet

44. New Jersey

• Median rent list price per square foot: $1.52
• What you can get for the cost of a New York apartment: 1,614.06 square feet

43. Maine

• Median rent list price per square foot: $1.43
• What you can get for the cost of a New York apartment: 1,715.00 square feet

42. Washington

• Median rent list price per square foot: $1.41
• What you can get for the cost of a New York apartment: 1,742.22 square feet

41. Connecticut

• Median rent list price per square foot: $1.41
• What you can get for the cost of a New York apartment: 1,742.77 square feet

40. New Hampshire

• Median rent list price per square foot: $1.40
• What you can get for the cost of a New York apartment: 1,751.15 square feet

39. Vermont

• Median rent list price per square foot: $1.37
• What you can get for the cost of a New York apartment: 1,788.92 square feet

38. Florida

• Median rent list price per square foot: $1.36
• What you can get for the cost of a New York apartment: 1,807.30 square feet

37. Maryland

• Median rent list price per square foot: $1.34
• What you can get for the cost of a New York apartment: 1,832.73 square feet

36. Illinois

• Median rent list price per square foot: $1.31
• What you can get for the cost of a New York apartment: 1,864.94 square feet

35. Oregon

• Median rent list price per square foot: $1.27
• What you can get for the cost of a New York apartment: 1,932.73 square feet

34. Minnesota

• Median rent list price per square foot: $1.27
• What you can get for the cost of a New York apartment: 1,935.42 square feet

33. Alaska

• Median rent list price per square foot: $1.22
• What you can get for the cost of a New York apartment: 2,004.55 square feet

32. Virginia

• Median rent list price per square foot: $1.17
• What you can get for the cost of a New York apartment: 2,100.10 square feet

31. Montana

• Median rent list price per square foot: $1.13
• What you can get for the cost of a New York apartment: 2,163.84 square feet

30. Pennsylvania

• Median rent list price per square foot: $1.10
• What you can get for the cost of a New York apartment: 2,227.27 square feet

29. Utah

• Median rent list price per square foot: $1.09
• What you can get for the cost of a New York apartment: 2,245.83 square feet

28. Nebraska

• Median rent list price per square foot: $1.05
• What you can get for the cost of a New York apartment: 2,330.31 square feet

27. Arizona

• Median rent list price per square foot: $1.03
• What you can get for the cost of a New York apartment: 2,372.42 square feet

26. Wyoming

• Median rent list price per square foot: $1.02
• What you can get for the cost of a New York apartment: 2,398.27 square feet

25. Nevada

• Median rent list price per square foot: $1.01
• What you can get for the cost of a New York apartment: 2,415.75 square feet

24. Idaho

• Median rent list price per square foot: $1.01
• What you can get for the cost of a New York apartment: 2,423.46 square feet

23. Michigan

• Median rent list price per square foot: $1.01
• What you can get for the cost of a New York apartment: 2,431.89 square feet

22. Wisconsin

• Median rent list price per square foot: $1.00
• What you can get for the cost of a New York apartment: 2,438.24 square feet

21. Iowa

• Median rent list price per square foot: $0.99
• What you can get for the cost of a New York apartment: 2,463.69 square feet

20. North Dakota

• Median rent list price per square foot: $0.98
• What you can get for the cost of a New York apartment: 2,487.85 square feet

19. Texas

• Median rent list price per square foot: $0.96
• What you can get for the cost of a New York apartment: 2,539.36 square feet

18. Delaware

• Median rent list price per square foot: $0.96
• What you can get for the cost of a New York apartment: 2,558.89 square feet

17. South Dakota

• Median rent list price per square foot: $0.96
• What you can get for the cost of a New York apartment: 2,558.89 square feet

16. South Carolina

• Median rent list price per square foot: $0.95
• What you can get for the cost of a New York apartment: 2,587.20 square feet

15. Louisiana

• Median rent list price per square foot: $0.93
• What you can get for the cost of a New York apartment: 2,638.15 square feet

14. Tennessee

• Median rent list price per square foot: $0.92
• What you can get for the cost of a New York apartment: 2,658.25 square feet

13. Missouri

• Median rent list price per square foot: $0.91
• What you can get for the cost of a New York apartment: 2,689.41 square feet

12. New Mexico

• Median rent list price per square foot: $0.91
• What you can get for the cost of a New York apartment: 2,693.53 square feet

11. Ohio

• Median rent list price per square foot: $0.90
• What you can get for the cost of a New York apartment: 2,713.20 square feet

10. Kentucky

• Median rent list price per square foot: $0.90
• What you can get for the cost of a New York apartment: 2,718.21 square feet

9. Kansas

• Median rent list price per square foot: $0.89
• What you can get for the cost of a New York apartment: 2,751.64 square feet

8. North Carolina

• Median rent list price per square foot: $0.87
• What you can get for the cost of a New York apartment: 2,810.81 square feet

7. Georgia

• Median rent list price per square foot: $0.86
• What you can get for the cost of a New York apartment: 2,861.69 square feet

6. Indiana

• Median rent list price per square foot: $0.82
• What you can get for the cost of a New York apartment: 2,980.52 square feet

5. Oklahoma

• Median rent list price per square foot: $0.81
• What you can get for the cost of a New York apartment: 3,006.45 square feet

4. Mississippi

• Median rent list price per square foot: $0.79
• What you can get for the cost of a New York apartment: 3,090.34 square feet

3. West Virginia

• Median rent list price per square foot: $0.79
• What you can get for the cost of a New York apartment: 3,097.55 square feet

2. Arkansas

• Median rent list price per square foot: $0.78
• What you can get for the cost of a New York apartment: 3,142.77 square feet

1. Alabama

• Median rent list price per square foot: $0.74
• What you can get for the cost of a New York apartment: 3,316.50 square feet

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Methodology: GOBankingRates used July 2019 housing data from Zillow to determine how much house you get in every U.S. state for the cost of a New York apartment. First, GOBankingRates found the (1) median monthly rent for a New York City apartment in July 2019 ($2,450) from Zillow’s city 1-bedroom median rent data. GOBankingRates then found each state’s (2) median rent per square foot for a single-family residence, condo, and co-op from Zillow. Factor one was then divided by factor two to calculate (3) the amount of square footage an individual can get for the price of monthly rent for a New York City apartment. All data was collected and is up to date as of Aug. 26, 2019.

About the Author

Erica Corbin

Erica joined GOBankingRates in 2018. Previously, she worked as an editor at Nasdaq’s wire service GlobeNewswire. She’s had the pleasure of creating content for several products, companies and outlets over the years, primarily lifestyle- and entertainment-related. If asked, she would say the highlight of her career thus far has probably been interviewing some immensely talented people — Glenn Close, Bill Hader, Mary J. Blige and Michael Ironside are personal favorites.

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