Daily Real Estate News  |  November 4, 2009  |   Single Life Rules in the Big Apple
The majority of Manhattan residents—50.3 percent—live alone, according to the latest U.S. Census Bureau statistics. New York first passed the 50 percent mark in 2007.

High-paying jobs, the expense of raising a family, longer-lived widows and widowers, and an appreciation of the single lifestyle are the factors making Manhattan a singles community, says William Helmreich, deputy chairman of City College's sociology department.

There were 376,916 single households in Manhattan in 2008, making studios and one-bedrooms the most popular rentals, says Stu Greenberg, owner of Fireside Realty in Manhattan.

But Manhattan is no singles paradise, particularly for women. There are 212,000 single female households compared with 165,000 single male households.

Source: New York Post, Chuck Bennett (10/30/2009)