Last updated: 05/06/2026
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In 2024, Lower East Side/Chinatown was the city’s 24th largest neighborhood by population out of 59 neighborhoods. It has the 37th largest proportion of nonwhite population, the 47th highest median income, and the 54th most expensive rents of the city’s 59 neighborhoods. From 2010 to 2025, the neighborhood added 5,994 new housing units, 3,957 units of which were market rate and 2,037 units of which were income restricted.
DEMOGRAPHICS
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| Indicator | 2000 | 2006 | 2010 | 2019 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Population | |||||||
| Born in New York State | 37.6% | 37.2% | 35.6% | 37.2% | 36.3% | ||
| Disabled population | 6.2% | 7.1% | 12.5% | 10.8% | |||
| Foreign-born population | 40.3% | 39.3% | 35.2% | 35.7% | 36.7% | 33.8% | |
| Population | 166,379 | 178,669 | 159,009 | 167,128 | 148,789 | 159,559 | |
| Population aged 65+ | 13.4% | 13.7% | 14.3% | 22.2% | 22.0% | 21.8% | |
| Households | |||||||
| Households with children under 18 years old | 22.1% | 18.3% | 16.3% | 12.3% | 11.4% | 13.2% | |
| Single-person households | 47.4% | 45.3% | 49.9% | 48.6% | 44.8% | ||
| Race and Ethnicity | |||||||
| Percent Asian | 34.8% | 34.8% | 34.7% | 32.8% | 29.8% | 27.9% | |
| Percent Black | 7.5% | 9.7% | 6.4% | 7.6% | 8.0% | 8.8% | |
| Percent Hispanic | 27.0% | 21.4% | 22.9% | 25.4% | 25.4% | 23.4% | |
| Percent white | 28.1% | 32.4% | 33.7% | 30.3% | 33.5% | 34.4% | |
| Racial diversity index | 0.72 | 0.72 | 0.71 | 0.73 | 0.73 | 0.74 | |
| Income, Poverty and Ownership | |||||||
| Income diversity ratio | 6.9 | 6.9 | 10.4 | 11.3 | 10.0 | ||
| Homeownership rate | 12.0% | 10.8% | 13.6% | 10.8% | 15.0% | 16.7% | |
| Median household income (2025$) | $56,610 | $57,770 | $60,700 | $51,300 | $58,460 | $53,970 | |
| Median household income, homeowners (2025$) | $98,900 | $131,970 | $118,820 | $112,000 | $123,240 | ||
| Median household income, renters (2025$) | $54,100 | $52,200 | $46,020 | $49,180 | $49,180 | ||
| Poverty rate | 28.4% | 25.1% | 22.2% | 24.0% | 24.8% | 27.1% | |
| Poverty rate, population aged 65+ | 38.2% | 25.2% | 30.8% | 40.2% | 30.0% | ||
| Poverty rate, population under 18 years old | 39.3% | 30.9% | 35.7% | 23.5% | 31.8% | ||
| Labor Market | |||||||
| Labor force participation rate | 60.1% | 61.2% | 56.6% | 59.1% | 58.7% | ||
| Population aged 25+ without a high school diploma | 28.9% | 26.6% | 28.8% | 24.9% | 22.3% | ||
| Unemployment rate | 9.4% | 7.5% | 10.1% | 5.2% | 7.9% | 5.9% | |
In 2024, there were an estimated 159,559 people in Lower East Side/Chinatown, of which 27.9% identified as Asian, 8.8% identified as Black, 23.4% identified as Hispanic, and 34.4% identified as White.
In 2024, the household income group with the largest share (25.5%) of households was $100,001 – $250,000. In 2000, the household income group with the largest share (21.0%) of households was $60,001 – $100,000.
Median household income in 2024 was $53,970, about 36% less than citywide median household income ($83,970). The poverty rate in Lower East Side/Chinatown was 27.1% in 2024 compared to 18.0% citywide.
Renters and Rental Conditions
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| Indicator | 2000 | 2006 | 2010 | 2019 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rental Stock and Conditions | |||||||
| Rental vacancy rate | 2.4% | 2.9% | 4.6% | 5.2% | |||
| Serious housing code violations (per 1,000 privately owned rental units) | 23.4 | 24.2 | 46.6 | 77.7 | 67.3 | 54.7 | |
| Severe crowding rate (% of renter households) | 4.0% | 3.8% | 3.2% | 2.7% | |||
| Total housing code violations (per 1,000 privately owned rental units) | 132.4 | 109.9 | 179.7 | 222.9 | 183.3 | 150.9 | |
| Median Rent | |||||||
| Median rent, studios and 1-bedrooms (2025$) | $1,310 | $1,490 | $1,740 | $1,700 | |||
| Median rent, 2- and 3-bedrooms (2025$) | $1,100 | $1,250 | $1,230 | $1,290 | |||
| Median rent, all (2025$) | $1,030 | $1,210 | $1,320 | $1,300 | $1,390 | $1,310 | |
| Median rent, recent movers (2025$) | $2,550 | $3,110 | $3,020 | $3,140 | |||
| Change in rent (2023-2024) | 5.3% | ||||||
| Affordability | |||||||
| Rental units affordable at 30% AMI (% of recently available units) | 4.4% | 7.2% | 8.8% | 7.1% | |||
| Rental units affordable at 80% AMI (% of recently available units) | 30.2% | 23.7% | 37.0% | 36.4% | |||
| Rental units affordable at 120% AMI (% of recently available units) | 57.2% | 55.3% | 65.5% | 66.9% | |||
| Rent Burden | |||||||
| Moderately rent-burdened households | 22.3% | 25.6% | 27.9% | 26.5% | 26.6% | ||
| Moderately rent-burdened households, low income | 28.3% | 31.5% | 29.8% | 27.4% | |||
| Moderately rent-burdened households, moderate income | 25.6% | 42.1% | 28.3% | 22.8% | |||
| Severely rent-burdened households | 19.9% | 24.3% | 23.8% | 23.9% | 25.2% | ||
| Severely rent-burdened households, low income | 35.7% | 35.9% | 36.9% | 36.6% | |||
| Severely rent-burdened households, moderate income | 10.8% | 5.1% | 4.5% | 5.4% | |||
| Rental Subsidy | |||||||
| Housing choice vouchers (% of occupied, privately owned rental units) | 3.3% | 2.3% | 2.8% | 3.1% | |||
Real median gross rent in Lower East Side/Chinatown increased from $1,210 in 2006 to $1,310 in 2024. This represents a 8.3% increase over the same period. The overall rental vacancy rate in Lower East Side/Chinatown was 5.2% in 2024.
The rent distribution shows the share of apartments by their size (according to the number of bedrooms), and then for each apartment size in the community district, the share of apartments according to their monthly gross rent. This distribution compares 5-year ACS figures from 2010 to 5-year ACS figures from 2024.
Between 2020-2024, the largest share of studios had gross rents <= $500 (20%), the largest share of one-bedrooms had rents between $1,000.00 – $1,500.00 (19%), the largest share of two-bedrooms had rents between $1,000.00 – $1,500.00 (22%), the largest share of three bedrooms had rents $500 – $1k (23%). (If you are viewing this page on a desktop, you can use the drop down menu below to switch between different apartment sizes)
As of 2024, the change in median gross rent outpaced the change in median household income by 17.4 percentage points. In 2024, 25.2% of renter households in Lower East Side/Chinatown were severely rent burdened (spent more than 50% of household income on rent). 36.4% of the rental units were affordable at 80% Area Median Income, 6 percentage points higher than the share in 2010.
HOUSING
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| Indicator | 2000 | 2006 | 2010 | 2019 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Housing Stock | |||||||
| Housing units | 79,337 | 77,816 | 83,942 | 81,524 | 83,895 | ||
| Finance – Distress | |||||||
| Notices of foreclosure rate (per 1,000 1-4 family and condo properties) | 1.5 | 0.8 | 3.9 | 0.9 | |||
| Notices of foreclosure, all residential properties | 6 | 5 | 24 | 5 | |||
| Notices of foreclosure, initial, 1-4 family and condo properties | 1 | 2 | 10 | 3 | |||
| Notices of foreclosure, repeat, 1-4 family and condo properties | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | |||
| Pre-foreclosure notice rate (per 1,000 1-4 family and condo properties) | 9.7 | 10.4 | |||||
| Pre-foreclosure notices, 1-4 family and condo properties | 45 | 52 | |||||
| Properties entering REO, 1-4 family | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||
| Finance – Lending | |||||||
| FHA/VA-backed home purchase loans (% of home purchase loans) | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | ||
| Higher-cost home purchase loans (% of home purchase loans) | 2.2% | 0.7% | 1.3% | 1.5% | 0.7% | ||
| Higher-cost refinance loans (% of refinance loans) | 11.0% | 0.3% | 0.6% | 9.1% | 0.0% | ||
| Home purchase loan rate (per 1,000 properties) | 28.6 | 14.6 | 16.9 | 10.1 | 7.6 | ||
| Home purchase loans in LMI tracts (% of home purchase loans) | 61.6% | 3.4% | 47.6% | 43.4% | 42.3% | ||
| Home purchase loans to LMI borrowers (% of home purchase loans) | 1.2% | 49.0% | 3.7% | 3.7% | 2.7% | ||
| Refinance loan rate (per 1,000 properties) | 10.5 | 18.3 | 8.6 | 1.1 | 1.2 | ||
| Sales – Volume | |||||||
| Sales volume, 1 family building | 1 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 0 |
| Sales volume, 2-4 family building | 2 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Sales volume, 5+ family building | 37 | 87 | 35 | 37 | 38 | 45 | 39 |
| Sales volume, condominium | 68 | 277 | 188 | 463 | 269 | 177 | 184 |
| Sales volume, all property types | 108 | 372 | 227 | 506 | 309 | 226 | 225 |
| Sales – Median Prices | |||||||
| Median sales price per unit, 1 family building (2025$) | $1,372,580 | $4,633,950 | $4,446,840 | $9,502,160 | $6,974,640 | $8,632,370 | |
| Median sales price per unit, 2-4 family building (2025$) | $425,970 | $1,016,550 | $896,540 | $1,133,430 | $1,305,510 | $689,210 | $1,537,500 |
| Median sales price per unit, 5+ family building (2025$) | $114,760 | $320,930 | $259,000 | $590,000 | $342,470 | $376,600 | $381,250 |
| Median sales price per unit, condominium (2025$) | $352,940 | $1,193,710 | $1,291,020 | $1,886,770 | $1,553,800 | $1,514,540 | $1,450,000 |
| Sales – Housing Price Index | |||||||
| Index of housing price appreciation, 1 family building | 100.0 | ||||||
| Index of housing price appreciation, 2-4 family building | 100.0 | 490.8 | 368.2 | 274.5 | 532.8 | 423.3 | |
| Index of housing price appreciation, 5+ family building | 100.0 | 234.7 | 255.9 | 796.1 | 498.1 | 1,055.6 | 554.4 |
| Index of housing price appreciation, condominium | 100.0 | 242.2 | 245.6 | 383.4 | 367.9 | 352.6 | 361.8 |
| Index of housing price appreciation, all property types | 100.0 | 255.4 | 270.3 | 458.3 | 411.5 | 451.7 | 417.8 |
In 2024, the homeownership rate in Lower East Side/Chinatown was 16.7%, which is lower than the citywide share of 32.7%. The homeownership rate in the neighborhood has increased by 3.1 percentage points since 2010. In 2024, the home purchase loan rate was 7.6 per 1,000 properties (owner-occupied 1-4 family buildings, condominiums, or cooperative apartments) and the refinance loan rate was 1.2 per 1,000 properties in the neighborhood. Out of all the first-time home purchase loans and refinance loans in Lower East Side/Chinatown, 0.7% and 0.0% were high cost loans, respectively. 5 properties had a filing of mortgage foreclosure in Lower East Side/Chinatown in 2022. There were 0.2 mortgage foreclosure actions initiated per 1,000 1-4 family properties and condominium units.
Among all residential properties, prices of residential properties have increased 63% in Lower East Side/Chinatown since 2009. Price appreciation by property type is only available if there are a minimum of 10 sales recorded in any given year for the specified period. (If you are viewing this page on a desktop, you can use the drop down menu below to switch to a different index year for longer term trends.)
DEVELOPMENT
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| Indicator | 2000 | 2006 | 2010 | 2019 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Development | |||||||
| Units authorized by new residential building permits | 229 | 0 | 78 | 133 | 83 | 90 | 191 |
| Units issued new certificates of occupancy | 667 | 640 | 447 | 415 | 518 | 300 | 343 |
| Affordable Units Completed (<=50% AMI) | 74 | 116 | 18 | ||||
| Affordable Units Completed per capita (<=50% AMI, adjusted by 100,000 people) | 45 | 71 | 11 | ||||
| Density | |||||||
| Population density (1,000 persons per square mile) | 102.4 | 91.1 | 95.8 | 85.3 | 91.4 | ||
Between 2010 and 2025, 5,994 units in 4+ unit buildings were built in Lower East Side/Chinatown. 66% were market rate, compared to 28% that were income-targeted. We use data from a variety of sources to count the number of income-restricted units targeted to households earning between 80% and 165% of AMI. However, due to restricted availability of granular data our calculations of income-restricted units should be read as conservative estimates. Read more about our methodology in the technical appendix of the 2021 Focus Report.
From 2010 and 2025, an estimated 28% units in 4+ unit buildings were built in Lower East Side/Chinatown for low-income households (<=80% AMI).
If you’re viewing a borough profile and don’t see an orange dotted line, it means there is no CD with 0% low-income unit shares in that borough.
The Department of Buildings issued new building permits to 191 residential units in new buildings in Lower East Side/Chinatown in 2025, 101 more than the number of units authorized in 2024.
The Department of Buildings issued new certificates of occupancy to 343 residential units in new buildings in Lower East Side/Chinatown in 2025, 43 more than the number of units certified in 2024.
SUBSIDIZED HOUSING
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| Indicator | 2000 | 2006 | 2010 | 2019 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Subsidized Properties | |||||||
| Total number of subsidized properties (properties) | 424 | ||||||
| HUD Financing or Insurance (properties) | 21 | ||||||
| HUD Financing or Insurance (units) | 1,806 | ||||||
| HUD Project-based Rental Assistance Program (properties) | 38 | ||||||
| HUD Project-based Rental Assistance Program (units) | 3,465 | ||||||
| Low Income Housing Tax Credit (properties) | 56 | ||||||
| Low Income Housing Tax Credit (units) | 5,553 | ||||||
| Public Housing (properties) | 36 | ||||||
| Public Housing (units) | 14,870 | ||||||
| Public housing (% of rental units) | 22.1% | ||||||
| Mitchell-Lama (properties) | 13 | ||||||
| Mitchell-Lama (units) | 5,247 | ||||||
| 421-a Tax Exemption (properties) | 32 | ||||||
| 421-a Tax Exemption (units) | 3,981 | ||||||
| 420-c Tax Exemption (properties) | 71 | ||||||
| 420-c Tax Exemption (units) | 2,712 | ||||||
| NYC Housing Production Programs and Zoning Incentives or Requirements (properties) | 174 | ||||||
| Expirations | |||||||
| Eligible to expire from housing programs between 2026 and 2031 (properties) | 19 | ||||||
| Eligible to expire from housing programs between 2026 and 2031 (units) | 956 | ||||||
| Eligible to expire from housing programs between 2032 and 2041 (properties) | 34 | ||||||
| Eligible to expire from housing programs between 2032 and 2041 (units) | 3,465 | ||||||
| Eligible to expire from housing programs in 2042 and later (properties) | 36 | ||||||
| Eligible to expire from housing programs in 2042 and later (units) | 3,407 | ||||||
22.1% of the rental units were public housing rental units, as of 2025.
Lower East Side/Chinatown has 424 properties with subsidized units as of 2025 through programs like HUD assistance, Low Income Housing Tax Credits, 421a, and others. 19 properties have subsidies due to expire between 2026 and 2031, 34 properties have subsidies due to expire between 2032 and 2041, and 36 properties have subsidies expiring after 2041. For more comprehensive subsidized housing information in New York City, please visit Furman Center’s CoreData.nyc.
NEIGHBORHOOD SERVICES AND CONDITIONS
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| Indicator | 2000 | 2006 | 2010 | 2019 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Commute | |||||||
| Car-free commute (% of commuters) | 86.0% | 86.1% | 90.7% | 92.8% | 91.2% | 86.5% | |
| Mean travel time to work (minutes) | 30.9 | 30.3 | 29.3 | 30.1 | 29.4 | 30.1 | |
| Crime and Incarceration | |||||||
| Serious crime rate (per 1,000 residents) | 15.2 | 13.8 | 14.9 | 19.5 | 16.0 | 14.2 | |
| Serious crime rate, property (per 1,000 residents) | 10.6 | 9.4 | 10.3 | 14.2 | 10.8 | 9.6 | |
| Serious crime rate, violent (per 1,000 residents) | 4.6 | 4.4 | 4.6 | 5.3 | 5.2 | 4.6 | |
| Schools | |||||||
| Students performing at grade level in English language arts, 4th grade | 64.2% | 64.2% | 64.8% | 69.8% | |||
| Students performing at grade level in math, 4th grade | 62.5% | 62.6% | 69.3% | 69.5% | |||
The serious crime rate, including property and violent crime types, was 14.2 serious crimes per 1,000 residents in 2025, compared to 12.3 serious crimes per 1,000 residents citywide.
