Downtown Manhattan is where the borough got its start and is the engine that keeps it going. Rife with diversity and culture, everything below 14th street is an adventure waiting to happen. Whether you're new to the city or a long time resident, Downtown has a little something for everyone.
The best way to describe Downtown Manhattan would be an eclectic mix. The area is packed with NYU students, finance professionals, savvy shoppers, and culinary enthusiasts. There’s a ton of diversity in this area, and that diversity is widely celebrated with annual cultural events, museums, and historic sights.
Downtown Manhattan has a variety of energy from the fast paced Financial District to the fashionable Tribeca. The artistic spirit of Greenwich village is a stone's throw from the cultural hotbed of Chinatown. The atmosphere of Downtown is difficult to describe, and that’s because this part of Manhattan has a little bit of everything.
Transportation can be a bit tricky once you get below 14th street. The grid system slowly starts to disappear once you pass 1st street and from there, travel can be a bit hectic. That said, there are so many train stations that you never have far to walk before you reach the line or connection you need. With decent sized stations at Union Square (4, 5, 6, L, N, Q, R, and W trains) and West 4th Street (A, B, C, D, E, F, and M trains), Downtown Manhattan is pretty accessible to the rest of the city, especially Brooklyn.
Due to the growing population of students and young professionals, biking is growing much more popular in these Downtown areas. Many bike lanes have popped up on the streets, and more are being added every year. There’s also a high number for Citi Bike docking stations.
While parking can be a bit sparse Downtown, it’s still mostly a good area for cars with the exception of SoHo, Little Italy, and parts of Chinatown. There’s easy access to FDR and the West Side Highway, so zipping uptown is usually a piece of cake.
NYC is extremely safe, and Downtown Manhattan is no exception. Violent crime is extremely rare and petty crime is also on the decline. The area is very well lit and has a busy nightlife, so everyone can feel safe walking the streets no matter what time of day it is.
Hospitals in the area are a bit more spread out than in other parts of Manhattan. However, each one is of a high caliber, and the convenient access to the rest of the island means you can reach your preferred hospital pretty easily whether it’s Uptown or Downtown.
One of the oldest parts of the city, Downtown Manhattan was the original sight of New Amsterdam, a Dutch colony that was soon kicked out by the British. Once the English took over in 1664, the colony was renamed New York, though it was still largely farmland in the beginning. The city quickly grew in size and scale, with Columbia University originally being located here. The British maintained control of the Island until the end of the Revolution.
Until the 1800’s, Downtown Manhattan had a fire safety issue, in that the city would burn to the ground every few years or so. It was then that cast iron buildings were introduced, marking a precursor for the steel framed skyscrapers that mark the city today. Many of these cast iron buildings can still be found in SoHo.
Additionally in the 1800’s, New York became an economic powerhouse thanks to immigration and the efforts of Alexander Hamilton. This led to New York creating its famous grid system in 1811, which paved the way to expand the city into the rest of the island.
By the 1900’s, Manhattan started to build skyscrapers where they could and made Downtown Manhattan into a financial and cultural hotspot. Downtown Manhattan was the location of the Stonewall Riots which led to the LGBTQ+ liberation movement. Today, Downtown Manhattan is still a cultural and financial powerhouse.
Bedrooms | Rent | Rent / sqft |
---|---|---|
Studio | $3,518 | $7.45 |
1 BR | $4,595 | $7.15 |
2 BR | $5,250 | $7.29 |
3 BR | $5,995 | $7.21 |
4+ BR | $8,300 | $8.75 |
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Downtown Manhattan is located within New York County, New York. This area currently has 1,634,989 residents in 753,385 households. Out of the total population, 40.12% of the residents speak another language at home instead of English. The majority of the inhabitants in this county are currently unmarried and have a median age of 37.
When looking at residents older than 25, around 12.55% have graduated from high school, 31.80% have a bachelor's degree, and 28.64% have obtained their master's degree or above. Employment rate is typically around 62.9% and the median income in this county is $75,513.
At least 76.86% of those living in this county are renting their homes. Most residents will commute to work by public transportation with an average commute time of 31 minutes.
Geographically, New York County, New York is a part of the New York - Newark, NY - NJ - CT Urban Area. This county is currently home to 18,812,161 residents, or 6,707,347 households with a median income of $68,319. the New York - Newark, NY - NJ - CT Urban Area residents have a median age of 38 and 50.07% are currently renting their homes in the area.