Brooklyn’s High-Income Renter Households More Than Doubled in a Decade

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Manhattan remains NYC’s largest market for affluent renters, but Brooklyn accounted for more than half of the city’s growth between 2014 and 2024.

Using American Community Survey microdata accessed through IPUMS USA, this analysis examines renter households earning at least $200,000 annually in constant 2024 dollars. The equivalent threshold in 2014 was approximately $150,900. Estimates are household-weighted and compare 2014 with 2024.

The tiny island of Manhattan is home to many things: the most legal apartments under 300 square feet, the most $10 coffees per capita, and the most Patagonia sweater vests sold anywhere in the world, just to name a few. Unsurprisingly, it is also home to New York City’s largest population of high-income renters.

But Manhattan’s lead is narrowing. Between 2014 and 2024, Brooklyn’s number of high-income renter households more than doubled, accounting for more than half of the city’s total increase. Queens and the Bronx also recorded substantial gains, outpacing Manhattan’s growth over the decade.

Using a household income threshold of $200,000 in constant 2024 dollars, the findings show that affluent renting has expanded well beyond its traditional Manhattan stronghold. Manhattan still has the largest count, but Brooklyn is where the most growth has occurred.

Brooklyn Leads the Expansion

Brooklyn had approximately 92,400 renter households meeting the income threshold in 2024, up from 42,000 in 2014. That represents an increase of 120.1%, or approximately 50,400 households.

For context, NYC added approximately 97,100 high-income renter households over the same period. Brooklyn alone accounted for roughly 52% of that increase.

The borough’s gains also exceeded those of Manhattan and Queens combined. While those two boroughs each added approximately 20,000 high-income renter households, Brooklyn added more than 50,000.

Manhattan Remains the Largest Market

Manhattan’s high-income renter population increased from approximately 115,000 households in 2014 to 134,400 in 2024, a gain of 16.9%.

Its slower growth should be understood alongside its substantial existing concentration. Manhattan still had approximately 42,000 more high-income renter households than Brooklyn in 2024. A decade earlier, however, that gap was approximately 73,000.

The distinction is between where affluent renters are most numerous and where their numbers are expanding. Manhattan continues to lead the former; Brooklyn led the latter over the period examined.

Growth Reaches Queens and the Bronx

Queens recorded a 77.6% increase, with its high-income renter count rising from approximately 26,600 to 47,200. The addition of roughly 20,600 households was slightly larger than Manhattan’s gain in the point estimates.

In the Bronx, the count increased from approximately 5,800 to 10,900, up 88.3%. Its smaller survey sample produces greater uncertainty, but the estimated increase supports the broader finding that affluent renting has expanded beyond Manhattan and Brooklyn.

Across the New York metro area, high-income renter households increased from approximately 276,100 to 420,200, a gain of 52.2%. Brooklyn, Queens, and the Bronx all recorded faster growth than that regional benchmark in the point estimates.

Rising Incomes Meet a Rising Price of Ownership

Brooklyn’s expansion was accompanied by a change in housing tenure. Among households meeting the inflation-adjusted income threshold, the share renting increased from 42.1% in 2014 to 51.5% in 2024. High-income renter households grew faster than high-income homeowners.

Home values rose alongside that expansion. Zillow’s Home Value Index for Brooklyn averaged approximately $866,700 in 2024, compared with $541,200 in 2014—a 60.2% increase, or approximately 20.8% after inflation. Illustratively, for a buyer putting 20% down, the upfront payment at those values would have increased from approximately $108,200 to $173,300, before closing costs.

Higher home values raise both the savings needed upfront and the balance buyers must finance. Those hurdles may help explain why more high-income Brooklyn households are renting, although our data do not establish their individual reasons.

Bottom Line

The growth of high-income renting is visible across the four boroughs examined, but its scale differs considerably. Brooklyn’s expansion stands out in both absolute and percentage terms, while Queens and the Bronx also recorded substantial gains.

A high income does not automatically translate into homeownership, particularly where the price of entry has risen alongside earnings. Manhattan still has the largest population of high-income renters, but Brooklyn is driving New York City’s continued expansion.

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