How much does a New York minute cost? The answer seems to be between $33 and $56 per month. That’s how much more it costs New Yorkers in rent, on average, to live one minute closer to Manhattan’s main business district.

Using StreetEasy’s database of real estate listings, StreetEasy analyzed more than 175,000 New York City rentals and found that New Yorkers pay $33-$56 more per month to save one minute in commuting time. Homes sell for a median of $22,172 more for each minute shorter the subway ride is to Midtown.

To calculate these numbers, John Wiley, data scientist at StreetEasy, calculated the amount of time it would take to get to Midtown from each MTA subway station. He then looked at rental prices near those stations and determined how much money was being spent on rent, in comparison to how long it took residents to travel to the largest central business district in the world.

FiveThirtyEight’s analysts used the same set of listings, but accounted for travel to Lower Manhattan and Midtown, which changed the results. Using that method, FiveThirtyEight determined New Yorkers will pay $56 each month to trim a minute off their commute.

So where are the best bargains?

  • In Manhattan the best locations for bargain rentals with a commute of less than 30 minutes is the 145th Street stop on the 3 line, where homes have a median asking rent of $1,850.
  • In Brooklyn, living near Sterling Street and taking the 2 or 5 trains offers a 28-minute commute to 42nd Street with a median asking rent of $2,100.
  • Queens 33rd Street Rawson station offers one of the best deals in NYC. It takes 11 minutes to get to 42nd Street and the median asking rent is $1,800 – a true steal in a city as expensive as NYC.
  • From the Bronx, the Jackson Avenue station is a subway rider’s best bet, with a 25-minute commute and median asking rent of $1,050. (Source)

Read the full articles from StreetEasy and FiveThirtyEight.

Cover Image: relux. (CC BY-SA 2.0)