May. 22, 2024 By Ethan Marshall
Among the five boroughs in New York City, Queens is found to have the most ‘up-and-coming’ neighborhoods for roommates, according to a report by the roommate finding site SpareRoom.
This conclusion was reached based on an analysis SpareRoom conducted of over 15 million roommate searches on their site from 2021 to 2023. Of the ten New York City neighborhoods to see the largest search increases over this span, eight were in Queens.
Queens Village has the largest ranking increase, climbing up 21 spots from where it was in 2021. Sunnyside placed second, moving up 18 spots in the ranking. Far Rockaway was third, having moved up 16 spots. The other Queens neighborhoods to rank in the top ten included Woodside in fourth with a ten-spot jump, Jackson Heights in sixth with a seven-spot boost, Ridgewood in eighth with a five-spot climb and Long Island City and Flushing each with a boost of four spots.
The other two neighborhoods on the top ten list with the largest search increase are Bensonhurst and Bedford-Stuyvesant, both located in Brooklyn.
“Rents have hit all-time highs in most major metro areas over the past year, and renters are feeling the financial squeeze, so it’s no wonder people are looking around for cheaper options,” SpareRoom spokesperson Matt Hutchinson said. “Roommate rents in Queens are, on average, $184 per month cheaper than Brooklyn, and a massive $585 cheaper per month than Manhattan. That can add up to serious money over the course of a year.”
In addition to having a large presence among New York City neighborhoods to climb the most spots in the rankings for searches, Queens was also heavily represented among the neighborhoods to garner the most searches in general. Astoria took the top spot as the most searched New York City neighborhood. After moving up four spots, Long Island City ended up as the sixth-most searched neighborhood in the city. Jamaica also appeared among the top ten, ranking eighth.