What is the average salary in New York City?

1 min readLast updated December 22, 2023by Rachel Carey

New Yorkers are some of the highest earners in America, but when it comes to wages, age, experience level, gender, and profession, they are all factors that determine what a good salary is in New York City.

Summary 

  • New York is one of the highest-paying cities globally. 

  • The average salary in NYC is impacted by neighborhood, age, gender, and education level. 

  • A good salary in New York City is at least $5,000 per month or $80,000 a year. 

  • Based on minimum wage, the average starting salary in New York City is $3,240 per month. 

  • An SEC-regulated, fiduciary financial advisor can help you develop a financial plan to keep your finances on track. 

What is the average salary in New York City by neighborhood? 

New York City is a large state and highly populated metro that features 339 neighborhoods in total. Each neighborhood has its own unique median salary to consider. Here are five of the most popular neighborhoods, along with their respective average monthly salary amounts: 

  • Bronx: $4,716 p/m or $27 p/h 

  • Brooklyn: $4,339 p/m or $27.93 p/h  

  • Manhattan: $6,607 pm or $38.12 p/h 

  • Queens: $4,320 p/m or $27 p/h 

  • Staten Island: $4,227 p/m or $26.42  

Neighborhood or location-based salary medians provide an overall perspective on income averages. However, they don’t represent what every person in the neighborhood makes.  

These results are urban-focused, meaning they are based on research that only takes one main factor into account: location. To gain a more accurate understanding of the average salary in New York City, other factors must be taken into account.  

What is the average salary in New York City by age? 

The amount of money that people make is often determined by their age. Age denotes experience and skill level, which means that many worker’s salaries start out low and increase over time.  

In New York City, this approach to wage distribution is the same. Let’s take a look at the average annual earnings of New Yorker householders based on age: 

  • Under 25: $39,366 

  • 25-44: $85,570 

  • 45-64: $88,827 

  • Over 65: $51,837  

These stats tell us that the highest-earning age demographic in New York City is the gap between 45 and 64. This is because people in that age group tend to have the most established careers, allowing them to easily earn the salary required to live in New York City’s nicer neighborhoods. 

What is a good salary in New York City? 

Top earners in NYC are among the highest earners in the world. To live well in this expensive, financially competitive city, you’ll need at least $5,000 per month or $80,000 per year.  

Earning anything below $5,000 a month can make it difficult to balance rent, food, travel, and entertainment in NYC. But by meeting this standard, you can not only live comfortably but also well.  

Furthermore, when it comes to living well in New York City, being a dual-income household can be a major advantage; when both halves of a couple work, earning a salary to live in New York City is far more attainable. A “good” salary for a dual-income household is at least $60,000 to $80,000 annually per partner, whereas a “good” salary for a single adult is $90,000 to $150,000 annually. 

What are the highest paying jobs in New York City? 

New York has a thriving business and economic scene that rivals some of the greatest cities in the world. The financial, professional services, healthcare, and technology industries are among the strongest in the state, allowing many New Yorkers to earn competitive, world-class salaries.  

The highest-paying jobs in New York in 2023 include: 

OccupationAnnual average salary
Finance manager $96,455
Financial advisor $101,105
Attorney $107,578
Physician assistant $124,172
Pediatrician $131,073
Data scientist $140,080

What is the average salary in New York City by hour? 

The current New York minimum wage is between $14 and $15 per hour, depending on which part of the state a person is working in.  

However, a New York salary calculator reveals that the average amount of money a person will make per hour in NYC is $31. The latter is a median statistic based on finding the average of all working citizens in New York City.  

What is the average salary in New York City by education level? 

The more educated you are, the more likely you are to have a higher salary – this much is true all over the world, New York City included. Here’s a breakdown of the average annual salary in New York City based on education level:  

  • Doctorate/professional degree: $124,900  

  • Bachelor's degree: $91,900  

  • Undergraduate: $90,036  

  • High school diploma: $32,856  

What is the average salary in New York City by gender? 

Like most cities in the US and beyond, New York has a gender-based wage gap. In the Big Apple, the average salary for a man is $51,791, while the average salary for a woman doing the same job is $49,355. The pay gap between genders in NYC is $0.05 to the dollar, which is an improvement from the national average of $0.80 across other states.  

What is a good starting salary in New York City? 

A good starting salary in New York City depends on your neighborhood, age, education level, profession, and gender. But all those things considered, the average starting salary is $3,240 per month. However, this amount is largely based on minimum wage, which only represents about 68,000 people within the overall working force in New York City.  

Speak to a financial advisor 

If you would like to learn more about managing personal finances and navigating the world of salaries, savings, or investments, Unbiased can match you with a financial advisor. The more you understand about money, the easier it is to nurture and grow it for yourself. Get matched now

Senior Content Writer

Rachel Carey

Rachel is a Senior Content Writer at Unbiased. She has nearly a decade of experience writing and producing content across a range of different sectors.