Do NYC Apartments Near the Subway Cost More?

Citywide, yes: NYC apartments under a quarter mile from a subway entrance asked a median $4,423, against $3,200 for apartments 0.75 mile or more away. But inside the same ZIP code and size, the gap mostly disappears: apartments 0.25 to 0.5 mile out asked a median 1.1% less.

Published October 15, 2026. Data: 24,366 NYC apartments in Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens and the Bronx that we first collected September 12 to October 13, 2026, one listing each, measured against the MTA's official list of subway stations and entrances.

Key numbers

• 66.5% of the 24,366 apartments were under 0.25 mile in a straight line from a subway entrance (about a 5-minute walk at 3 miles an hour, before streets and crossings), and 90.8% were under 0.5 mile.
• $4,423 vs $3,200: citywide median ask under 0.25 mile (16,206 apartments) and at 0.75 mile or more (1,333 apartments), a gap of 27.7%.
• 1.1% less in the same ZIP code and size for 0.25 to 0.5 mile, across 203 ZIP code and size groups (95% range 3.2% less to 0.9% more).
• 2.5% less for 0.2 to 0.3 mile compared with under 0.1 mile, same ZIP code and size (155 groups, range 0.8% to 3.9% less).
• Queens was the one borough with a clear same-ZIP gap: 5.4% less at 0.25 to 0.5 mile (42 groups, range 3.0% to 8.0% less).

The short version: Apartments far from the subway were cheaper mostly because they sit in cheaper parts of the city. Compared with apartments of the same size in the same ZIP code, a longer walk went with a small difference in asking rent, a few percent at most, and past half a mile we had too few comparable groups to give a clear answer. These are measured differences between groups of apartments, not the effect of the walk itself.

How much more do apartments near the subway cost in NYC?

Across the city, the median ask fell with each step away from the subway: $4,423 under 0.25 mile, $4,125 at 0.25 to 0.5 mile, $3,750 at 0.5 to 0.75 mile and $3,200 at 0.75 mile or more. That is 6.7%, 15.2% and 27.7% less than the closest band.

Those citywide medians mix the walk with the neighborhood. So for each ZIP code and apartment size (studio, 1, 2 or 3+ bedrooms), we compared the median ask in each distance band with the median ask under 0.25 mile. A group counts when it has at least 5 apartments on each side.

For the two farthest bands the ranges include zero and rest on 38 and 11 groups, so the data do not show a clear gap either way. Only 474 of the 915 apartments at 0.5 to 0.75 mile, and 210 of the 1,333 at 0.75 mile or more, sit in a ZIP code and size group with enough close-in apartments to compare.

How far are NYC apartments from the subway?

66.5% of listed apartments were under 0.25 mile from a subway entrance in a straight line, and 90.8% were under 0.5 mile. The median distance was 0.18 mile. It varied by borough: 0.14 mile in Manhattan, 0.18 in Brooklyn, 0.27 in the Bronx and 0.32 in Queens.

• Manhattan: 78.8% under 0.25 mile and no apartments in the sample at 0.75 mile or more.
• Brooklyn: 66.7% under 0.25 mile and 1.7% at 0.75 mile or more.
• Queens: 41.7% under 0.25 mile and 27.4% at 0.75 mile or more.
• Bronx: 45.1% under 0.25 mile and 5.7% at 0.75 mile or more.

The median ask in this sample was $5,200 in Manhattan, $3,950 in Brooklyn, $3,490 in Queens and $3,234 in the Bronx. The farthest band is mostly Queens apartments, which is a large part of why its citywide median is lower.

Does each extra block to the subway lower the rent?

Only a little, and not in every step. Here we cut the walk into 0.1 mile steps (about two north-south Manhattan blocks) and compared each step with apartments under 0.1 mile, again in the same ZIP code and size.

The 0.2 to 0.3 mile figure held in every check we ran (1.4% to 3.2% less). The 0.3 to 0.4 mile figure did not: with at least 10 apartments on each side it was 0.9% less. The 0.5 mile or more figure rests on 21 groups and compares with the very closest apartments, so it is not the same comparison as the 0.5 to 0.75 mile row in the table above.

Is it cheaper to live farther from the subway in Queens, Brooklyn or the Bronx?

In the same ZIP code and size, the 0.25 to 0.5 mile band compared with under 0.25 mile:

In Queens, the farther apartments asked less in 76.2% of the groups. In the Bronx, the farther apartments asked more, but that rests on 10 groups. In Manhattan, apartments 0.5 to 0.75 mile out asked 10.3% less than under 0.25 mile, on 12 groups with a range from 19.5% less to 0.1% more. Staten Island has no subway (its railway is not counted here), so its 238 apartments are not in the comparison.

What does a shorter walk to the subway cost where you are looking?

Pick a borough and a size to see the median ask in each distance band and the same-ZIP gap. Type a rent to see what that gap is in dollars on that rent.

The dollar figure is simple arithmetic: your rent times the group's median gap. One apartment can sit far from that median in either direction.

Do apartments near more subway lines cost more?

Citywide, yes: apartments with 5 or more different subway lines within half a mile asked a median $5,159, against $3,650 with 1 or 2 lines. In the same ZIP code and size, the gap was 2.6% more (58 groups, range 0.8% less to 6.3% more).

• None within 0.5 mile: 9.2% of apartments, median $3,400.
• 1 or 2 lines: 26.1%, median $3,650.
• 3 or 4 lines: 24.3%, median $3,900; same ZIP and size, 0.5% more than 1 or 2 lines (128 groups).
• 5 or more lines: 40.3%, median $5,159.

As with distance, the citywide figures mix the line count with location.

Which NYC neighborhoods are farthest from the subway?

Among neighborhoods with 30 or more listed apartments, the farthest from a subway entrance were Rosedale (median 3.74 miles), Laurelton (3.37), Bayside (3.12), Springfield Gardens (2.84) and Oakland Gardens (2.70), all in Queens. Several of them are served by the Long Island Rail Road, which is not counted here. The closest were NoHo and Fulton/Seaport (0.04 mile) and Midtown (0.06 mile).

Each neighborhood name links to its rent page, which shows rents by bedroom count. For the full NYC list, see average rents by neighborhood.

What this means when you search for an NYC apartment

• Compare inside a neighborhood, not across the city. A far-out listing can look cheap because of where it is, not because of the walk. In the same ZIP code and size, the difference was small.
• A few extra minutes can widen your search. In Queens, apartments 0.25 to 0.5 mile out asked 5.4% less than closer ones in the same ZIP code and size. If your budget is tight, look a few blocks past the station.
• Check the real walk. Our distances are straight lines to the nearest entrance. Walk the route at the hour you commute, and check that the entrance is open and has the lines you need.
• Count the commute, not only the rent. Our commute vs rent formula puts a dollar value on travel time, and what $3,000 rents in each NYC neighborhood shows where a budget goes furthest. For comparison, building age showed a larger gap: in the same ZIP code and size, prewar apartments asked 21.4% less than new buildings.

RentReboot sends new listings that match your budget, size and neighborhoods, including the subway lines you pick. Always confirm details with the landlord before you pay anything. More data on NYC rents and all our reports are on the rent data hub.

More reports from the same fall 2026 listings: how big the average NYC apartment is and how many NYC apartments are pet friendly. For London, see how much London rent drops with each Tube zone.

How we measured distance to the subway and rent

Sample. NYC listings that we first collected between September 12 and October 13, 2026, with a five-borough ZIP code (New Jersey listings left out), not a room share, not furnished, and an asking rent from $1,000 to $25,000. Classified-board posts were left out, as in our $3,000 report, because their addresses are often unverified. We kept one row per apartment, using the latest listing for the price and size: 28,880 apartments. Staten Island (238 apartments) was left out because it has no subway, which left 28,642. The window starts after a change in the set of sites we collect from on September 11, 2026, so we do not compare it with earlier months.

Location. We used the latitude and longitude of each apartment's address. 1,831 apartments had no usable point. 2,237 (7.8%) sat on a point shared by three or more different streets, which means the point is an area center, not the building, so we left them out. 95 more were over 2 miles from the middle of their own ZIP code. That left 24,479 apartments (85.5%), and 24,366 of them had a bedroom count. The apartments we left out asked more (median $4,600, against $4,200 for those we kept).

Distance. We measured the straight-line distance from each apartment to the nearest subway entrance where entry is allowed, or to the station itself when that was closer, using the MTA's Subway Entrances and Exits and Subway Stations files on data.ny.gov (downloaded October 15, 2026: 475 stations and 2,006 entrances; the 21 Staten Island Railway stations not counted). A real walk is longer than the straight line. For 9,929 apartments our records also held a nearest-station list measured to station points; our station-point distance was within 0.05 mile of it for 78.4% of them and gave the same band for 90.2%. Lines within 0.5 mile count the different daytime routes at every station with an entrance within 0.5 mile.

The comparison. For each distance band and each ZIP code and size group with at least 5 apartments on each side, we divided the band's median ask by the median ask under 0.25 mile. We report the median of those ratios, a 95% range from 2,000 resamples of the groups, and the share of groups where the farther apartments asked less. Checks for the 0.25 to 0.5 mile gap (1.1% less): at least 10 apartments on each side, 0.4% less; at least 3, 0.6% less; a stricter location rule (no point shared by two streets), 0.9% less; with classified-board posts, 0.0%; neighborhoods instead of ZIP codes, 1.4% less; distance to station points only, 1.7% less. A straight-line fit inside each ZIP code and size group gave 0.13% less per 0.1 mile (range 0.67% less to 0.37% more).

Limits. These are asking rents in listings, not signed leases. Distance to the subway comes with other differences between apartments, such as building age and size, noise, views and the street, so the gaps are measured differences, not the effect of the walk. Large buildings count once per apartment, so one big building can weigh on a small band: the 0.75 mile or more band had 1,333 apartments on 807 distinct building points. The analysis queries and the full results are kept with the report for reproduction.

NYC subway distance and rent FAQ

Do apartments near the subway cost more in NYC? Citywide, yes: apartments under 0.25 mile from a subway entrance asked a median $4,423, against $3,200 at 0.75 mile or more, across 24,366 NYC apartments listed September 12 to October 13, 2026. In the same ZIP code and size, apartments 0.25 to 0.5 mile out asked only 1.1% less (203 groups).

How much cheaper is an apartment far from the subway in NYC? It depends on what you compare. Citywide, apartments 0.75 mile or more from an entrance asked 27.7% less than those under 0.25 mile. In the same ZIP code and size, the gap for 0.25 to 0.5 mile was 1.1% less, and for 0.2 to 0.3 mile it was 2.5% less than under 0.1 mile (155 groups).

How far is a 5-minute walk to the subway? About a quarter mile in a straight line at 3 miles an hour; the real walk is often longer because of streets and crossings. 66.5% of the 24,366 NYC apartments in our sample were under 0.25 mile from a subway entrance in a straight line, and 90.8% were under 0.5 mile.

Which NYC neighborhoods are farthest from the subway? Among neighborhoods with 30 or more listed apartments, Rosedale (median 3.74 miles to an entrance), Laurelton (3.37), Bayside (3.12), Springfield Gardens (2.84) and Oakland Gardens (2.70), all in Queens. In Queens overall, 27.4% of listed apartments were 0.75 mile or more from the subway, against none in Manhattan.

Is it cheaper to live farther from the subway in Queens? In our data, yes, by a few percent. In the same ZIP code and size, Queens apartments 0.25 to 0.5 mile from an entrance asked a median 5.4% less than those under 0.25 mile (42 groups, range 3.0% to 8.0% less). Brooklyn and Manhattan showed no clear gap.

Do apartments near more subway lines cost more in NYC? Citywide, apartments with 5 or more subway lines within half a mile asked a median $5,159, against $3,650 with 1 or 2 lines. In the same ZIP code and size, the gap was 2.6% more (58 groups, range 0.8% less to 6.3% more), so most of the citywide gap goes with location.

How do I check how far an apartment is from the subway? Find the nearest entrance on the MTA's subway map or the MTA entrance file on data.ny.gov, then walk the route at the hour you will commute. Straight-line distances, like the ones on this page, are shorter than real walks. In our sample, the median NYC apartment was 0.18 mile from an entrance in a straight line.

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