Measuring Two Centuries of Housing Affordability in New York City

Jason Barr, Rutgers University - Newark
Ronan Lyons, Trinity College Dublin
Rowena Gray, University of California Merced

Little work has explored the long-run trajectories of housing affordability in New York City. We have collected large data sets on housing rents across the five boroughs and wages for several occupations since 1835 to see how relative wages and rents have moved over time. We have created rent indexes, wages indexes, and rents-to-wages indexes to see when New York was relatively affordable for the working classes. We find that New York experienced a secular improvement in affordability until about 1970, after which affordability has worsened. The mapping of our rent data also allows us to track how New York has expanded its housing stock over the long and how the housing supply has affected affordability.

No extended abstract or paper available

 Presented in Session 107. Inequality and Segregation in US Cities