study in New York
The densest concentration of employers in the United States and its most expensive city — with state and city income tax on top.
New York is the maximum version of the American trade: the deepest professional network in the country against the highest cost of living in it. Finance, law, media, fashion, publishing and an increasingly large technology sector all sit within one transit system.
For a student it is also unusually navigable without money. The subway runs constantly, no car is needed, and a large share of the city's cultural life is free or cheap. New York also has one of the largest Nepali populations in the United States, concentrated in Queens — Jackson Heights and Woodside are functioning Nepali neighbourhoods.
The cost, though, is severe and compounding: the highest rents in the country, plus New York State income tax, plus a separate New York City income tax that almost no other American city levies.
A very large sector — public, private and specialist. Confirm any institution is SEVP-certified and can issue an I-20 before you pay anything.
New York University
Large, private and spread through Manhattan; business, law, film, computer science and public policy.Columbia University
Ivy League, in upper Manhattan; engineering, journalism, business, medicine and international affairs.City University of New York (CUNY)
The public system — many colleges across the boroughs, at markedly lower tuition than the private universities.Fordham University
Private, with Bronx and Manhattan campuses; business, law and social sciences.Stevens Institute of Technology
Across the river in Hoboken, New Jersey; engineering, computer science and financial engineering.New York is the most expensive city on this page by a wide margin, and the tax position compounds it: New York State income tax plus a separate New York City income tax, which few other US cities levy. Both reduce what an OPT salary is actually worth.
Against the other cities we cover in the United States, New York is one of the more expensive. That is our reading of this country’s own spread, not a published index.
The United States publishes no national student living-cost figure. The number your visa evidence must satisfy is the cost of attendance printed on your Form I-20.
The practical texture of the place — what a week actually looks like.
Climate
Cold snowy winters and hot humid summers. A real winter coat is necessary; air conditioning matters in July.
Getting around
A 24-hour subway and bus system on one MetroCard or OMNY tap. No car needed anywhere in the city — a genuine saving.
Housing
The largest cost and the hardest problem. Shared apartments in Queens, Brooklyn or New Jersey rather than Manhattan; commutes of 45 minutes are normal.
Working
20 hours a week on campus during term on an F-1. Off-campus work requires CPT or OPT authorisation — working without it ends your status.
Community
One of the largest Nepali populations in the US, centred on Jackson Heights and Woodside in Queens. Restaurants, grocers, temples and community organisations.
Tax
State income tax plus a city income tax. Budget for a meaningfully smaller take-home figure than the same salary would give in Texas or Washington.
Optional Practical Training gives 12 months, with a 24-month STEM extension — the same in New York as anywhere else in the United States. No city, state or university improves it.
What New York does change is who you can reach. The concentration of employers who routinely sponsor work visas is the strongest in the country, and internships during study are physically accessible in a way they are not from a rural campus. That is the real argument for paying New York prices — not any immigration advantage, because there is none.
New York is one of 5 cities we cover in the United States. Tap any pin to compare — the city you pick moves your total cost more than almost any other choice you make.