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By: Kevin Pryor  May. 07, 2018

A recent study found that homeowners with a mortgage in New York allocated 39.5 percent of their income towards housing costs compared to 30.9 percent at the national level. Specifically, homeowners with a mortgage had a median yearly housing cost of $24,240 in 2016, which is $6,408 more than the national value.

When the state’s median income of $62,909 is factored in, those with a mortgage had to spend over 1/3rd of their annual income on housing costs. Housing costs include homeowner expenses such as the sum of mortgage payments, real estate taxes, insurance, and utilities.

Gavop used data from the U.S. Census Bureau to put together this county level analysis to examine housing costs as a percentage of income for homeowners in New York. In this study, all the counties in state were ranked from the highest to the lowest values.

The following table shows New York’s cost figures compared to national values. After California, New York is ranked as having the second highest median percentage of income spent towards housing costs for homeowners with a mortgage.

Location	Housing Costs for Homeowners with a Mortgage as a % of Income	Annualized Housing Costs for Homeowners with a Mortgage	Median Income	Median Home Value
New York	39.5%	$24,240	$62,909	$302,400
United States	30.9%	$17,832	$57,617	$205,000

Four of the five top counties to have large housing costs are part of New York City. Residents living in Bronx County had the highest values in the state where homeowners allocated 73.8 percent of their income to housing costs. Kings County (Brooklyn) had the second highest proportion of income spent on housing costs at 59.0 percent followed by New York County (Manhattan) at 49.1 percent, Queens County at 46.8 percent, and Westchester County at 43.6 percent.

The Top 5 Counties with the Highest Housing Costs as a Percentage of Income

Rank By Homeowners costs as a % of Income (Highest to Lowest)	County	Housing Costs for Homeowners with a Mortgage as a % of Income	Housing Costs for Homeowners with a Mortgage	Median Income	Median Home Value	Number of Housing Units
1	Bronx	73.8%	$27,684	$37,525	$378,000	525788
2	Kings	59.0%	$32,520	$55,150	$667,000	1031125
3	New York	49.1`%	$38,052	$77,559	$1,003,400	875990
4	Queens	46.8%	$29,136	$62,207	$508,000	851576
5	Westchester	43.6%	$39.096	$89,709	$516,500	369652

Conversely, the counties with lower percentages we located more upstate in New York. Wayne County had the lowest value at 24.2 percent followed by St. Lawrence County at 24.3 percent, Cattaraugus County at 25.1 percent, Clinton County at 25.3 percent, and Cayuga County at 25.5 percent.

The 5 Counties with the Lowest Housing Costs as a Percentage of Income

Rank By Homeowners costs as a % of Income (Lowest to Highest)	Location	Housing Costs for Homeowners with a Mortgage as a % of Income	Housing Costs for Homeowners with a Mortgage	Median Income	Median Home Value	Number of Housing Units
1	Wayne	24.2%	$6,060	$59,538	$119,400	41545
2	St. Lawrence	24.4%	$5,040	$51,592	$87,700	52386
3	Cattaraugus	25.1%	$4,908	$46,842	$83,200	40931
4	Clinton	25.4%	$4,980	$55,316	$130,500	36025
5	Cayuga	25.5%	$6,132	$54,995	$127,000	36463

All Counties In New York From Highest to Lowest Housing Costs as a Percentage of Income

Location Name	Median Homeowners Costs as a % of Income for People with a Mortgage	Median Homeowner Costs without a Mortgage	Median Income	Median Home Value	Total Homes
Bronx County, New York	73.8%	$8,508	$37,525	$378,000	525788
Kings County, New York	59.0%	$9,912	$55,150	$667,000	1031125
New York County, New York	49.1%	$11,076	$77,559	$1,003,400	875990
Queens County, New York	46.8%	$9,828	$62,207	$508,000	851576
Westchester County, New York	43.6%	$16,284	$89,709	$516,500	369652
Rockland County, New York	40.3%	$15,912	$85,515	$431,600	105171
Richmond County, New York	37.5%	$9,816	$77,197	$477,100	179391
Sullivan County, New York	36.2%	$7,344	$50,652	$167,200	49896
Orange County, New York	35.9%	$11,076	$73,025	$258,800	141147
Ulster County, New York	35.3%	$8,136	$62,790	$224,800	83934
Dutchess County, New York	34.6%	$10,008	$74,115	$279,300	119291
Suffolk County, New York	34.4%	$13,644	$92,933	$386,400	570952
Nassau County, New York	34.4%	$15,420	$105,870	$471,900	466987
Tompkins County, New York	34.0%	$7,380	$56,349	$201,400	42445
Putnam County, New York	33.6%	$12,192	$96,992	$362,300	38328
Albany County, New York	31.7%	$7,296	$61,754	$221,500	139522
Jefferson County, New York	30.9%	$5,304	$45,624	$149,600	59116
Schenectady County, New York	30.7%	$6,756	$58,331	$168,100	68492
Niagara County, New York	29.4%	$5,892	$50,233	$122,900	99122
Ontario County, New York	29.2%	$6,720	$57,448	$154,300	50328
Monroe County, New York	28.8%	$6,900	$54,492	$143,100	326652
Warren County, New York	28.7%	$6,264	$58,061	$197,300	39384
Rensselaer County, New York	28.6%	$7,284	$65,965	$184,200	71946
Erie County, New York	27.8%	$6,012	$54,246	$146,400	422428
Broome County, New York	27.3%	$5,832	$50,463	$121,600	89618
Onondaga County, New York	27.0%	$6,324	$56,991	$139,800	205492
Chautauqua County, New York	27.0%	$5,100	$42,204	$87,000	66566
Livingston County, New York	26.8%	$6,012	$53,121	$126,800	27361
Oswego County, New York	26.6%	$5,568	$53,562	$101,100	53673
Oneida County, New York	26.5%	$6,024	$52,996	$125,000	103763
Madison County, New York	26.0%	$6,444	$60,630	$142,400	31804
Saratoga County, New York	26.0%	$6,876	$76,097	$250,400	104117
Chemung County, New York	25.8%	$5,340	$51,269	$111,600	38323
Steuben County, New York	25.6%	$5,724	$50,575	$100,700	48703
Cayuga County, New York	25.5%	$6,132	$54,995	$127,000	36463
Clinton County, New York	25.4%	$4,980	$55,316	$130,500	36025
Cattaraugus County, New York	25.1%	$4,908	$46,842	$83,200	40931
St. Lawrence County, New York	24.4%	$5,040	$51,592	$87,700	52386
Wayne County, New York	24.2%	$6,060	$59,538	$119,400	41545

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