The New York Census LineNEW YORK CITY · 5 BOROUGHS
Economy · the 4 line

The Lexington Express

NYC's median household income is $80,483, and 18% of New Yorkers live below the federal poverty line. Those citywide numbers hide big differences between neighborhoods, and the 4 train runs right through them.

The 4 runs from the Bronx, down Manhattan's East Side and into Brooklyn. Watch the income line as you ride.

4
Ride the 4 from the Bronx to Brooklyn and watch income rise and fall along the way.
Now arriving · Bedford Park (Bedford Park Blvd)
BEDFORD PARKMORRIS HEIGHTSHIGHBRIDGE & CONCOURSEMOTT HAVENEAST HARLEMUPPER EAST SIDEMIDTOWNFINANCIAL DISTRICTBROOKLYN HEIGHTSCROWN HEIGHTS
Median household income
$59,007$71,634$86,902$100,394
Quintiles of 55 neighborhoods
Ride the 4

Income and poverty, stop by stop

Two separate charts, one per measure, in the same stop order. The dashed line is NYC.

Median household income

$0$50,000$100,000$150,000$200,000NYC $80,483$44,354

Share of people below the poverty line

0%10%20%30%40%50%NYC 18%28%BEDFORD PARKMORRIS HEIGHTSHIGHBRIDGE & CONCOURSEMOTT HAVENEAST HARLEMUPPER EAST SIDEMIDTOWNFINANCIAL DISTRICTBROOKLYN HEIGHTSCROWN HEIGHTS
All 55 neighborhoods

Do richer neighborhoods ride the subway more?

Each dot is a neighborhood. Stops on the 4 are in green.

0%10%20%30%40%50%$50,000$100,000$150,000$200,000Median household income →Take the subway to work →
Bronx Brooklyn Manhattan Queens Staten Island On this linePearson r = -0.17 · n = 55
4%6%8%10%12%14%16%$50,000$100,000$150,000$200,000Median household income →Unemployment rate →
Bronx Brooklyn Manhattan Queens Staten Island On this linePearson r = -0.75 · n = 55
Over time

Median household income, adjusted for inflation

ACS 1-year estimates in 2024 dollars (CPI-U).

$20K$40K$60K$80K$100K$120K$140K2011201320152017201920222024no 2020 dataManhattanStaten IslandQueensNYCBrooklynBronx
Findings

What the 4 line tells us

Service notice01
3.7×

One stop, a different economy

Between East Harlem ($42,218) and Upper East Side ($154,152), just one stop apart on the 4, median household income changes 3.7×.

Census ACS 2020–2024 5-year, 55 PUMAs

Service notice02
5.8×

Richest vs. poorest neighborhood

Median household income ranges from $31,872 in Melrose (Bronx) to $183,457 in Financial District (Manhattan). NYC overall: $80,483.

Census ACS 2020–2024 5-year, 55 PUMAs

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r = -0.17

Who rides the subway to work?

33% of NYC workers commute mainly by subway. Across neighborhoods, subway commuting has almost no linear relationship with income. Highest share: Elmhurst (Queens) (51%); lowest: South Shore (Staten Island) (3%).

Census ACS 2020–2024 5-year, 55 PUMAs, table B08301 · Pearson correlation

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+18%

Real household income, 2011 → 2024

In 2024 dollars, NYC's median household income went from $68,976 to $81,228. The poverty rate moved from 20.9% to 18.0%.

Census ACS 1-year, 2011–2024 · CPI-U adjusted