# Manhattan Asks $17,100 a Year More Than Renters Budget

> Leaseswap NYC Renter Demand Snapshot, Fall 2026. Frozen on 2026-09-14. The HTML report is canonical: https://leaseswap.nyc/research/nyc-renter-demand-fall-2026

## Key findings

- **Active apartment alerts:** 3,238
- **Median maximum budget across active alerts:** $3,000/month
- **Most-requested apartment size:** 1 bedroom (1,303 alerts; 40.2%)
- **Manhattan 1-bedroom annual budget-to-asking-rent gap:** $17,100

## One-bedroom budgets vs. asking rents

| Borough | Alerts in comparison | Median maximum budget | Median asking rent | Monthly gap | Annual gap | Listing observations |
|---|---:|---:|---:|---:|---:|---:|
| Manhattan | 214 | $3,000 | $4,425 | $1,425 | $17,100 | 41,723 |
| Brooklyn | 175 | $2,500 | $2,900 | $400 | $4,800 | 34,492 |
| Queens | 39 | $2,300 | $2,400 | $100 | $1,200 | 15,202 |
| Bronx | 20 | $2,000 | $2,114 | $114 | $1,368 | 2,166 |

## Active alerts by bedroom count

| Apartment size | Active alerts | Share of all active alerts |
|---|---:|---:|
| 1 bedroom | 1,303 | 40.2% |
| 2 bedrooms | 813 | 25.1% |
| Studio | 475 | 14.7% |
| Not specified | 409 | 12.6% |
| 3 bedrooms | 200 | 6.2% |
| 4 bedrooms | 38 | 1.2% |

## Explicit search priorities

- **Rent-stabilized claims:** 403 active alerts — Listings described as rent stabilized
- **In-unit laundry:** 258 active alerts — A convenience renters can price instantly
- **Lease takeovers:** 183 active alerts — A path around the standard listing funnel
- **Commute filters:** 117 active alerts — Searches anchored to a point of interest

## Most-selected neighborhoods

1. **Williamsburg:** selected in 573 active alerts
2. **West Village:** selected in 533 active alerts
3. **East Village:** selected in 525 active alerts
4. **Chelsea:** selected in 512 active alerts
5. **Upper East Side:** selected in 487 active alerts
6. **Upper West Side:** selected in 484 active alerts
7. **Greenpoint:** selected in 459 active alerts
8. **Tribeca:** selected in 456 active alerts
9. **Greenwich Village:** selected in 454 active alerts
10. **Lower East Side:** selected in 452 active alerts

Neighborhood counts are selections, not unique renters. One alert can include multiple neighborhoods.

## Methodology and limitations

This is a frozen snapshot of 3,238 active, non-admin Leaseswap apartment alerts on September 14, 2026. The analysis uses aggregate search criteria only; it publishes no names, email addresses, or individual searches.

Bedroom and feature counts include every active alert. Budget medians exclude alerts without a maximum price. Borough comparisons include only one-bedroom alerts that explicitly identify that borough. Asking rents come from the September 14 Leaseswap rent-data snapshot and are medians of neighborhood medians.

This is descriptive demand data, not a representative survey of every NYC renter. Alert criteria may overlap. Cite this edition as “Leaseswap NYC Renter Demand Snapshot, Fall 2026.”