How much does a sublet cost in NYC?
The price of a New York sublet is set by five things: whether it is a private room or a whole apartment, the neighbourhood, how long the stay is, the season, and what is included (furniture, utilities, internet). Rather than quote a figure that goes stale, this guide points at the live numbers: every neighbourhood page shows the current median asking price by type with the number of listings behind it, and the NYC Sublet Price Index freezes the same medians once a month by borough and neighbourhood.
Reviewed October 28, 2026 by the SubletNY team against the sources listed at the end.
What moves the price
Type is the biggest step: a private room in a shared apartment typically asks a fraction of what a whole apartment in the same building asks. Neighbourhood is next, in the pattern everyone knows: downtown and west-side Manhattan highest, north Brooklyn and Long Island City close behind, outer neighbourhoods on a direct line lower. Length matters because a one-month stay carries the lister's turnover cost; a three-month stay often gets a lower monthly rate. Season: summer and September bring the most renters, and asking prices for those windows post higher. Inclusions: utilities, fast internet, linens and a cleaning at the end are worth real money and should be in the price, not added later.
Where to look up the current numbers
Open the neighbourhood page for the area you want: the "at a glance" block shows the median monthly asking price for rooms and for whole apartments, with the sample size (n) and a note where fewer than five listings carry a price. For a citywide and borough view with history, open the NYC Sublet Price Index; each monthly edition keeps its own page and a CSV. Both exclude imported listings from price figures, because their prices were parsed rather than entered by the lister.
Is an asking price fair?
Compare it with the median for the same type in the same neighbourhood. An asking price well above the median needs a reason you can see: a larger place, a doorman building, everything included, a prime block. An asking price well below the median is either a lister in a hurry or a scam; apply the three checks in the scam guide before paying.
For listers: how to price
Start at the median for your type and neighbourhood, adjust for what you include and for the length you accept, and expect to lower the price if you have no messages after a week. A rent-stabilized tenant may not charge more than the legal rent plus 10 percent for a furnished sublet, whatever the market says.
