These NYC Neighborhoods Are Among Nation's Most Gentrified

NEW YORK, NY — Coffee shops and boutique stores aren't the only signs of gentrifiation. Seven Manhattan and Brooklyn ZIP codes have seen huge demographic changes in the past 16 years, placing them among the 20 most gentrified neighborhoods in the United States, a new study published Tuesday shows.

The real estate website RentCafe evaluated U.S. Census data to determine which areas saw the biggest changes in median home value, median income and the proportion of residents with at least a bachelor's degree from 2000 to 2016.

Those changes have been especially pronounced in Harlem, which took two spots on RentCafe's top 20. The 10039 ZIP code covering a northern portion of the neighborhood ranked fifth overall and saw home values increase 356 percent to $408,654 — the third-largest spike in the U.S. The area's share of residents with at least a bachelor's degree rose 168 percent in that 16-year period, the nation's eighth-largest increase.

Harlem's 10026 ZIP code just north of Central Park, where the median home value has spiked 219 percent, ranked 15th overall. Such big increases in home prices can make it harder for longtime residents to stay in the neighborhood, RentCafe says.

The biggest changes in Brooklyn happened in Williamsburg — the 11211 ZIP code ranked seventh on RentCafe's list. Nearby Greenpoint's 11222 ZIP code ranked ninth.

The median home value in that part of Williamsburg has increased 167 percent since the trendy neighborhood became an industrial destination for artists in the early aughts. Median income has risen 79 percent — the seventh-largest increase in the nation — and the share of residents with at least a bachelor's degree has nearly doubled, the study shows.

The 11216 ZIP code encompassing parts of Bedford-Stuyvesant and Crown Heights has seen its median home value increase 194 percent, the biggest spike among Brooklyn neighborhoods. The area ranked 10th in the nation overall.

Parts of Bushwick have also gentrified quickly, the study shows. The 11237 and 11221 ZIP codes ranked 14th and 17th, respectively, as their collective portion of highly educated residents more than doubled.

The pace of gentrification in these neighborhoods pales in comparison to Downtown Los Angeles, which topped RentCafe's list. The median home value in the 90014 ZIP code there skyrocketed 707 percent to $421,731 from 2000 to 2016. But the majority of residents still live in poverty despite the median income rising 95 percent, RentCafe found.

Below is the list of the New York City areas that RentCafe calls the most gentrified. Check out RentCafe's full study to see what other neighborhoods made the top 20.

No. 5 — Harlem (10039)
No. 7 — Williamsburg/East Williamsburg (11211)
No. 9 — Greenpoint (11222)
No. 10 — Bed-Stuy/Crown Heights (11216)
No. 14 — Bushwick (11237)
No. 15 — Harlem (10026)
No. 17 — Bushwick (11221)

(Lead image: The Apollo Theater is seen in Harlem in January 2018. Two of the neighborhood's ZIP codes are among the 20 most gentrified areas in the U.S. Photo by Roy Rochlin/Getty Images for BMI)