# Is $500k Per Year Good Money In New York City? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 25, 2018, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-500k-per-year-good-money-in-new-york-city/816720 "2018-06-25T17:44:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![C3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/c3/32/3108_2.png) [@C3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/C3)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2018, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-500k-per-year-good-money-in-new-york-city/816720/21 "2018-06-27T23:14:19Z")
Out of that money, he’d also have a lot of business expenses he’d have to pay, like for an agent, accountant, travel, etc. ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2018, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-500k-per-year-good-money-in-new-york-city/816720/22 "2018-06-27T23:35:40Z")
> [@iiandyiiii](#): > > Even after taxes, and with a chunk for savings and investment, 500K would be more than enough for a young single entertainer to have a great lifestyle in Manhattan. That said, many entertainers never quite get over the urge to pinch pennies, because they can never be sure the when the next dry spell will hit. William Shatner for example has said that throughout his career he has never really felt 100% secure in the expectation that there would always be more work available to him. ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2018, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-500k-per-year-good-money-in-new-york-city/816720/23 "2018-06-27T23:51:48Z")
> [@Tom\_Tildrum](#): > > For a point of reference, first-year lawyers in the big NYC law firms make starting salaries of “only” $160-180,000, so even among white-collar professionals in Manhattan, $500,000 annual income is something that takes a lot of striving. $500k is Wall Street “working stiff” money. Flying first class and being comfortable…in 1987. I’m talking about liquid. Rich enough to have your own jet. Rich enough not to waste time. Fifty, a hundred million dollars buddy. A player! Or nothing! ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2018, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-500k-per-year-good-money-in-new-york-city/816720/24 "2018-06-27T23:57:00Z")
> [@HeyHomie](#): > > Nevertheless, [this article](https://www.celebritynetworth.com/richest-celebrities/richest-comedians/pete-davidson-net-worth/) says that _SN_L performers generally make around $315k- $500k per year. Of course, most of them also have side gigs, such as standup comedy, writing for other comedians, the odd movie/TV credit, and so on. But let’s not worry about all that. > > So if a young _SNL_ performer like, say, Pete Davidson, was bringing in $500k annually, is that enough to allow him to live a lifestyle free of having to worry about pinching pennies?\* Or is someone making half a million still going to have to cut corners in order to get by in The Big Apple? For the young _SNL_ performers who were members of the abominable Jean Doumanian S6 cast, I hope they continued to watch their pennies if only for their own sakes. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2018, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-500k-per-year-good-money-in-new-york-city/816720/25 "2018-06-28T00:35:23Z")
> [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](#): > > For the young _SNL_ performers who were members of the abominable Jean Doumanian S6 cast, I hope they continued to watch their pennies if only for their own sakes. [The youngest member of that season’s cast did all right for himself.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eddie_Murphy) 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Randolph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Randolph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Randolph)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2018, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-500k-per-year-good-money-in-new-york-city/816720/26 "2018-06-28T00:42:37Z")
And [the one singled out for stardom did not](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Rocket). (A notable word missing from that article is “[chainsaw](http://www.trackforum.com/forums/printthread.php?t=66853)”.) ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2018, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-500k-per-year-good-money-in-new-york-city/816720/27 "2018-06-28T18:03:25Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > [The youngest member of that season’s cast did all right for himself.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eddie_Murphy) 😃 The exception proves the rule, as they say. ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2018, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-500k-per-year-good-money-in-new-york-city/816720/28 "2018-06-28T18:12:43Z")
> [@Randolph](#): > > And [the one singled out for stardom did not](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Rocket). (A notable word missing from that article is “[chainsaw](http://www.trackforum.com/forums/printthread.php?t=66853)”.) Wow, I never knew that about Charles Rocket. Cut his own throat. ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2018, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-500k-per-year-good-money-in-new-york-city/816720/29 "2018-06-28T19:20:51Z")
FWIW, I moved to Manhattan in 2001 right out of business school making about $65k (about $90k in current money). I wasn’t that much older than Pete Davidson at the time. That was more than enough to live in a…serviceable…studio in the East Village and enjoy a relatively care-free social life without having to penny pinch that much. Of course much of that social life revolved around $1 draft night at some of the local bars. ---
**Author:** ![drad\_dog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@drad\_dog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drad_dog)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2018, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-500k-per-year-good-money-in-new-york-city/816720/30 "2018-06-28T19:37:01Z")
> [@msmith537](#): > > FWIW, I moved to Manhattan in 2001 right out of business school making about $65k (about $90k in current money). I wasn’t that much older than Pete Davidson at the time. That was more than enough to live in a…serviceable…studio in the East Village and enjoy a relatively care-free social life without having to penny pinch that much. Of course much of that social life revolved around $1 draft night at some of the local bars. That’s a big inflation isn’t it? ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2018, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-500k-per-year-good-money-in-new-york-city/816720/31 "2018-06-28T19:54:12Z")
> [@drad\_dog](#): > > That’s a big inflation isn’t it? I don’t know. Take it up with the BLS: [https://www.bls.gov/data/inflation\_calculator.htm](https://www.bls.gov/data/inflation_calculator.htm) ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2018, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-500k-per-year-good-money-in-new-york-city/816720/32 "2018-06-28T20:09:53Z")
> [@drad\_dog](#): > > That’s a big inflation isn’t it? That sounds about right to me. Over 17 years, that averages out to somewhere in the 2.5% per year ballpark. And that feels right to me comparing prices I remember from the early 2000s to now. ---
**Author:** ![TokyoBayer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tokyobayer/32/13989_2.png) [@TokyoBayer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TokyoBayer)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2018, 8:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-500k-per-year-good-money-in-new-york-city/816720/33 "2018-06-29T08:05:35Z")
I lived in Tokyo for more than 20 years, and while it’s obviously not New York, then I would suspect there may be similarities. It really depends on your lifestyle. Rent for some places are up to $25,000 per month and more. Choice one of those and you are going to need a side gig. Be willing to not live in a large designer apartment in the center of the city, and rent quickly becomes affordable. Eat in normal restaurants and don’t fly everywhere first class, you’ll get by. IIRC, when Diane and Charles were getting a divorce, one paper had broken down a jetsetter lifestyle at $750,000, which was going to be problematic for the land rich but income poor royal family. That was in the mid 90s, it it’s got to be more expensive now. ---
**Author:** ![TokyoBayer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tokyobayer/32/13989_2.png) [@TokyoBayer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TokyoBayer)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2018, 8:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-500k-per-year-good-money-in-new-york-city/816720/34 "2018-06-29T08:07:18Z")
I lived in Tokyo for more than 20 years, and while it’s obviously not New York, then I would suspect there may be similarities. It really depends on your lifestyle. Rent for some places are up to $25,000 per month and more. Choice one of those and you are going to need a side gig. Be willing to not live in a large designer apartment in the center of the city, and rent quickly becomes affordable. Eat in normal restaurants and don’t fly everywhere first class, you’ll get by. IIRC, when Diane and Charles were getting a divorce, one paper had broken down a jetsetter lifestyle at $750,000, which was going to be problematic for the land rich but income poor royal family. That was in the mid 90s, it it’s got to be more expensive now. ---
**Author:** ![Balthisar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/balthisar/32/2825_2.png) [@Balthisar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balthisar)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2018, 11:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-500k-per-year-good-money-in-new-york-city/816720/35 "2018-06-29T11:56:02Z")
> [@msmith537](#): > > That was more than enough to live in a…serviceable…studio in the East Village and enjoy a relatively care-free social life without having to penny pinch that much. What’s a “serviceable” studio? When I think “studio,” I think of Korben Dallas’ room in _The Fifth Element_. Although, I’ve visited a colleague’s real studio in Chicagoland once. The front door opened into a bedroom, with a small kitchen and a closet toilet. These are studios, right? ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2018, 11:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-500k-per-year-good-money-in-new-york-city/816720/36 "2018-07-02T11:54:02Z")
> [@Hari\_Seldon](#): > > I have thought of moving to NY (Brooklyn, likely) but with an income of US$125K, this is really marginal In California (Bay area) that would practically be considered [low income](http://fortune.com/2018/06/27/bay-area-six-figures-housing-hud/) (currently 83K annually for a family of four is considered low income for NYC by the federal government). ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2018, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-500k-per-year-good-money-in-new-york-city/816720/37 "2018-07-03T21:04:09Z")
> [@Balthisar](#): > > What’s a “serviceable” studio? When I think “studio,” I think of Korben Dallas’ room in _The Fifth Element_. Although, I’ve visited a colleague’s real studio in Chicagoland once. The front door opened into a bedroom, with a small kitchen and a closet toilet. > > These are studios, right? IIRC, his futuristic space apartment was a single room with a space kitchenette and a sort of space-Murphy-bed/space-futon thing to sleep on. So yes, that was technically a studio apartment. A studio is essentially a single room, usually with a separate bathroom and a kitchen area. Sometimes the bed might be in an alcove off the main room. I think mine was about 400 sq ft. It also had the standard Manhattan view of the building next door. Basically think of it like a big dorm room. It’s not terrible if you’re single and live by yourself. But you can’t really entertain guests and it can get a bit stifling if the weather is crappy for any length of time. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-500k-per-year-good-money-in-new-york-city/816720.md?page=1)