Brooklyn Renters Pay $1,200 More To Live In Top-Notch Area: Study

BROOKLYN, NY — It's more expensive to move to a high-end neighborhood in Brooklyn than anywhere else in the country, a new study shows. The average apartment in a "top-rated" Brooklyn location costs $1,229 more per month than a less tony neighborhood, according to the RentCafe study published Thursday.

That's about 12 times more than most renters are willing to pay to live in their ideal location, the study says.

The real estate website evaluated average rents in 50 U.S. cities and compared prices in neighborhoods considered desirable to those in less desirable areas. The location ratings came from the Yardi Matrix, which assigns a letter grade based on factors such as crime, access to jobs and amenities.

Brooklyn had the nation's biggest gap in terms of dollars and the fifth-biggest in terms of percentage. The average apartment in a top-notch location costs $3,558 a month, 52.8 percent more than the $2,329 average for a low-rated area.

But most renters across the U.S. couldn't afford such a pricy move. About 60 percent aren't willing to pay more than $100 above their current rent to live in their ideal location, a RentCafe survey found.

Manhattan, though, has the nation's ninth-smallest gap in terms of percentage. At $4,134 a month, average rent in a top location there costs $491, or 13.5 percent, more than a low-rated location.

That's because the borough's rents are high even in areas that aren't so great, RentCafe says.

New Yorkers tired of the steep prices could head south to Raleigh, North Carolina, where the difference between a good and bad location is just $2 a month. The average monthly rent in a top-notch area there costs $1,109, about a quarter of the Manhattan price.

See RentCafe's full study here.

(Lead image: Photo by BravoKiloVideo/Shutterstock)