Find Cheap, Safe Neighborhoods to Live in New York City

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Moving to New York City is a dream for many people. The “Center of the Known Universe,” NYC is the heart of the nation’s entertainment, trade, and financial engines. Thousands of new professionals and dreamers come to the city every year to prove themselves and to find their destinies on the streets of the Five Boroughs.

This influx, however, has made New York City among the most expensive cities to live in. Three of the city’s five boroughs—Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Queens—are among the fifteen most expensive cities in the United States in which to find housing in 2021. New York City can also be a dangerous place to live. While not as crime-ridden as it was in the 1980s and 1990s, the city saw a 59% jump in crime in 2022 from the year before. Property crimes are leading this increase, with auto theft jumping 105%, and grand larceny up 79%.

There are pockets of the city that are relatively cheap to find housing in and have a lower crime rate. While the average rent in NYC is just over $3,500 a month for a one-bedroom apartment—more than twice the national average of $1,450—not all boroughs are the same. Manhattan drives up the average with an average monthly rent of $4,140, per RentCafé. Brooklyn comes in at $3,080 per month, Queens at $2,683, the Bronx at $1,628, and Staten Island at $1,400. Even the most expensive boroughs have enclaves where you can find a good deal on your lease without sacrificing your safety and well-being.

With the help of the NYC Crime Map and Niche, here are the cheapest safe neighborhoods in New York City.

Staten Island

Staten Island is the cheapest borough to live in New York City in part because it is the most removed from Manhattan. Accessible only by one bridge or by ferries from the rest of NYC, Staten Island has the feel of being more akin to New Jersey than New York. Almost all of Staten Island’s neighborhoods top the list of the cheapest places to live in the city.

  • Annadale: Median rent: $486/month; Crime: 90% decile safest neighborhoods in NYC
  • Bay Terrace: Median rent: $835/month; Crime: 80% decile safest neighborhoods in NYC
  • Great Kills: Median rent: $1,147/month; Crime: 90% decile safest neighborhood in NYC
  • Prince’s Bay: Median rent: $1,213/month; Crime: 90% decile safest neighborhood in NYC

The Bronx

The only part of New York City that is connected to the New York State mainland, the Bronx tends to be an overlooked part of the city. North of Harlem, the borough was known for being the home of most of the city’s ethnic communities. This gave the borough a multicultural flair and flavor that exists nowhere else in the city. While gentrification has threatened this in much of the borough, there are still pockets that survived the push, like the following.

  • City Island: Median rent: $1,022/month; Crime: 80% decile safest neighborhood in NYC
  • Country Club: Median rent: $933/month; Crime: 70% decile safest neighborhood in NYC
  • Morris Park: Median rent: $1,238/month; Crime: 50% decile safest neighborhood in NYC
  • Throgs Neck: Median rent: $1,202/month; Crime: 60% decile safest neighborhood in NYC

Queens

The easternmost and largest borough, Queens is diverse, hosting both newly-arriving young professionals and families with deep community roots. With the borough having a feel that is, in part, closer to its neighboring Long Island communities than Manhattan, the borough offers a reprise from the buzz and rush of the city without having to leave New York City.

  • Astoria: Median rent: $1,339/month; Crime: 50% decile safest neighborhood in NYC
  • Jackson Heights: Median rent: $1,379/month; Crime: 40% decile safest neighborhood in NYC
  • Laurelton: Median rent: $986/month; Crime: 70% decile safest neighborhood in NYC
  • Ridgewood: Median rent: $1,317/month; Crime: 70% decile safest neighborhood in NYC

Brooklyn

Brooklyn is different now, compared to just 20 years ago. Due to gentrification, many of the borough’s historic neighborhoods—mostly home to Black and Latino communities—have been taken over by the influx of new residents that found the high rents of Manhattan untenable. The borough’s proximity to Manhattan has largely turned the city’s second-largest borough into a sleeper community. Despite this, Brooklyn remains colorful, loud, and proud.

  • Bath Beach: Median rent: $1,189/month; Crime: 80% decile safest neighborhood in NYC
  • Bay Ridge: Median rent: $1,392/month; Crime: 70% decile safest neighborhood in NYC
  • Bedford-Stuyvesant: Median rent: $1,194/month; Crime: 30% decile safest neighborhood in NYC
  • Kensington: Median rent: $1,335/month; Crime: 80% decile safest neighborhood in NYC

Manhattan

Known as Downtown by most New Yorkers, Manhattan is the beating heart of the city. The home of the city’s government offices, many of the nation’s banks and major stock exchanges, and a large assortment of national and international corporations, the borough is one of the wealthiest communities in the world. With only Miami being more expensive to live in, Manhattan presents a uniquely expensive challenge that many home seekers avoid by targeting the other boroughs. But for those interested in living near the middle of everything, Manhattan offers relatively cheap and safe enclaves like the following.

  • East Village: Median rent: $1,538/month; Crime: 40% decile safest neighborhood in NYC
  • Harlem: Median rent: $1,000/month; Crime: 30% decile safest neighborhood in NYC
  • Lower East Side: Median rent: $1,065/month; Crime: 30% decile safest neighborhood in NYC
  • Upper East Side: Median rent: $1,968/month; Crime: 70% decile safest neighborhood in NYC

Are You Ready to Move Yet?

New York City earned its reputation as an expensive place to live. Everything about NYC—from transportation to food, utility costs, and rent—is pricier than the national average. Moving there, however, does not mean you have to break the bank. With research and a little luck, you can find your perfect home in the Big Apple.

And when you’re ready to make your move, visit Dolly.com to help make it a breeze.