Operating Expense Benchmarks
What new NYC condos budget per unit for staffing, insurance, management, elevators and every other operating expense, from the first-year budget (Schedule B) in 518 offering plans accepted Oct 20, 2021–Aug 24, 2026.
$8,836 per unit a year
Average total first-year operating expenses per residential unit (median $6,223). By category, the average among buildings whose budget has that line:
| Category | Average per unit / year | Buildings |
|---|---|---|
| StaffingSuperintendent, doorman, concierge, porters and cleaning, whether on the building's payroll (wages, payroll taxes, benefits, the resident manager's unit) or through a service company | $3,558 | 23545% |
| Amenities & groundsGym, pool and other amenity operations, landscaping, snow and refuse removal | $2,287 | 82% |
| Service contracts (not itemized)A single service contracts line that doesn't say what it covers | $1,720 | 24247% |
| InsuranceProperty, liability and other building policies | $1,345 | 517100% |
| Management feeThe managing agent's fee | $1,315 | 25148% |
| Electricity, gas & heatCommon area electricity, gas, heating, cooling and hot water | $968 | 50698% |
| Water & sewerWater charges and sewer rents | $957 | 51499% |
| Repairs & suppliesRepairs, maintenance and supplies (budgets usually group them in one line) | $822 | 51399% |
| Reserve fundContributions to the reserve for future repairs and replacements | $753 | 42883% |
| OtherLines that fit none of the above | $725 | 469% |
| Legal & auditLegal, audit, accounting and other professional fees | $588 | 516100% |
| ElevatorElevator maintenance contract and inspections | $534 | 418% |
| Fire safetyFire alarm and its monitoring, sprinklers, standpipes, extinguishers | $344 | 10420% |
| ContingencyContingency allowance | $329 | 33164% |
| Franchise & income taxesThe condominium's own franchise and income taxes | $163 | 8817% |
| Pest controlExterminating | $144 | 183% |
| Admin, phone & officeAdministration, office, telephone and monitored lines, bank charges, violation monitoring | $141 | 24347% |
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Choose a building to compare it with similar buildings, or explore any group. See which buildings budget above or below the group average, category by category.
Example
$6,625/unit a year · 5% below the average of similar buildings
Compared with 111 buildings: Brooklyn · 1–10 units · Rehab · no front desk named.
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Explore benchmarks
| Per unit / year | Manhattan58 buildings | Brooklyn405 buildings | Queens53 buildings | Bronx1 building | Staten Island1 building |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total expenses | $25,35658 bldgs | $6,884405 bldgs | $5,80053 bldgs | —1 bldg | —1 bldg |
| Staffing | $14,10037 bldgs | $1,686162 bldgs | $1,15435 bldgs | —1 bldg | — |
| Amenities & grounds | —4 bldgs | —4 bldgs | — | — | — |
| Service contracts (not itemized) | $4,61133 bldgs | $1,320186 bldgs | $82422 bldgs | — | —1 bldg |
| Insurance | $2,64958 bldgs | $1,212405 bldgs | $92952 bldgs | —1 bldg | —1 bldg |
| Management fee | $1,82444 bldgs | $1,315166 bldgs | $77640 bldgs | — | —1 bldg |
| Electricity, gas & heat | $3,57156 bldgs | $635396 bldgs | $69252 bldgs | —1 bldg | —1 bldg |
| Water & sewer | $1,10157 bldgs | $955403 bldgs | $83052 bldgs | —1 bldg | —1 bldg |
| Repairs & supplies | $1,97958 bldgs | $683402 bldgs | $61551 bldgs | —1 bldg | —1 bldg |
| Reserve fund | $1,30644 bldgs | $702344 bldgs | $58339 bldgs | — | —1 bldg |
| Other | $1,26319 bldgs | $22822 bldgs | $8715 bldgs | — | — |
| Legal & audit | $67857 bldgs | $605405 bldgs | $37252 bldgs | —1 bldg | —1 bldg |
| Elevator | —3 bldgs | $52133 bldgs | $3905 bldgs | — | — |
| Fire safety | $4169 bldgs | $34193 bldgs | —2 bldgs | — | — |
| Contingency | $69239 bldgs | $287259 bldgs | $22833 bldgs | — | — |
| Franchise & income taxes | $4716 bldgs | $14475 bldgs | $1126 bldgs | —1 bldg | — |
| Pest control | —3 bldgs | $17014 bldgs | —1 bldg | — | — |
| Admin, phone & office | $35631 bldgs | $108196 bldgs | $12916 bldgs | — | — |
| Per unit / year | 1–10 units396 buildings | 11–25 units71 buildings | 26–50 units29 buildings | 51 or more units22 buildings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total expenses | $7,079396 bldgs | $13,42771 bldgs | $16,93829 bldgs | $14,95222 bldgs |
| Staffing | $1,186135 bldgs | $6,25054 bldgs | $8,35827 bldgs | $5,93819 bldgs |
| Amenities & grounds | —3 bldgs | —2 bldgs | —1 bldg | —2 bldgs |
| Service contracts (not itemized) | $1,721182 bldgs | $1,98631 bldgs | $1,13615 bldgs | $1,74914 bldgs |
| Insurance | $1,288396 bldgs | $1,52771 bldgs | $1,62029 bldgs | $1,44421 bldgs |
| Management fee | $1,507145 bldgs | $1,14659 bldgs | $1,06928 bldgs | $73419 bldgs |
| Electricity, gas & heat | $615387 bldgs | $1,63170 bldgs | $2,68029 bldgs | $3,00420 bldgs |
| Water & sewer | $973394 bldgs | $91671 bldgs | $85829 bldgs | $93420 bldgs |
| Repairs & supplies | $751393 bldgs | $1,06471 bldgs | $1,01628 bldgs | $1,07521 bldgs |
| Reserve fund | $738330 bldgs | $93055 bldgs | $62023 bldgs | $65720 bldgs |
| Other | $32314 bldgs | $6669 bldgs | $32611 bldgs | $1,60412 bldgs |
| Legal & audit | $686396 bldgs | $33071 bldgs | $18929 bldgs | $15920 bldgs |
| Elevator | $80020 bldgs | $34812 bldgs | $1417 bldgs | —2 bldgs |
| Fire safety | $38984 bldgs | $17211 bldgs | $1248 bldgs | —1 bldg |
| Contingency | $327253 bldgs | $34945 bldgs | $37618 bldgs | $24615 bldgs |
| Franchise & income taxes | $17268 bldgs | $16316 bldgs | —4 bldgs | — |
| Pest control | $20310 bldgs | —3 bldgs | —4 bldgs | —1 bldg |
| Admin, phone & office | $106187 bldgs | $28532 bldgs | $25414 bldgs | $17510 bldgs |
| Per unit / year | Front desk37 buildings | No front desk named481 buildings |
|---|---|---|
| Total expenses | $32,69437 bldgs | $7,000481 bldgs |
| Staffing | $17,15334 bldgs | $1,258201 bldgs |
| Amenities & grounds | —3 bldgs | $1275 bldgs |
| Service contracts (not itemized) | $2,80824 bldgs | $1,601218 bldgs |
| Insurance | $3,14636 bldgs | $1,211481 bldgs |
| Management fee | $1,48635 bldgs | $1,287216 bldgs |
| Electricity, gas & heat | $4,48536 bldgs | $699470 bldgs |
| Water & sewer | $1,08936 bldgs | $947478 bldgs |
| Repairs & supplies | $2,24536 bldgs | $715477 bldgs |
| Reserve fund | $1,48527 bldgs | $704401 bldgs |
| Other | $61319 bldgs | $80427 bldgs |
| Legal & audit | $36636 bldgs | $605480 bldgs |
| Elevator | —2 bldgs | $55339 bldgs |
| Fire safety | —2 bldgs | $346102 bldgs |
| Contingency | $64728 bldgs | $300303 bldgs |
| Franchise & income taxes | —2 bldgs | $14586 bldgs |
| Pest control | —2 bldgs | $15616 bldgs |
| Admin, phone & office | $52517 bldgs | $112226 bldgs |
A dash: fewer than 5 buildings in the group budget that category, too few for an average.
Methodology
Source. The first-year budget (Schedule B) in each offering plan: the expense lines as the sponsor printed them. These are the sponsor's projections for the first year of operation, not actual costs, and later years usually cost more.
Buildings. The same 518 buildings as the common charges benchmarks: NYC condominium plans accepted Oct 20, 2021–Aug 24, 2026 with a single first-year budget and a Schedule A unit table. Each building counts once.
Per unit. A line's yearly amount, times the residential units' share of the budget (when the building also has commercial, parking or storage units), divided by the residential units. The total is the whole budget the same way, so it matches the common charges page (×12).
Categories. Each of the 5,101 expense lines goes into one category by its name. Budgets group items differently: when a budget folds the elevator contract or exterminating into one "service contracts" line, that amount counts under Service contracts (not itemized), not under Elevator or Pest control. A building counts toward a category's average only if its budget has a line for it with an amount, so the average says what buildings that budget the item spend; the Buildings column says how many do.
Front desk. A building has a front desk when its budget lines or budget notes name a doorman, concierge, front desk or lobby attendant. A virtual or remote doorman doesn't count. A budget that doesn't mention its staff is read as no front desk, so a few staffed buildings may be missed.
Averages. Means across buildings, shown from 5 buildings up. One unusual budget can move a small group's average; the Pro comparison also shows the median.
- Staffing
- Superintendent, doorman, concierge, porters and cleaning, whether on the building's payroll (wages, payroll taxes, benefits, the resident manager's unit) or through a service company.
- Management fee
- The managing agent's fee.
- Insurance
- Property, liability and other building policies.
- Repairs & supplies
- Repairs, maintenance and supplies (budgets usually group them in one line).
- Elevator
- Elevator maintenance contract and inspections.
- Fire safety
- Fire alarm and its monitoring, sprinklers, standpipes, extinguishers.
- Pest control
- Exterminating.
- Electricity, gas & heat
- Common area electricity, gas, heating, cooling and hot water.
- Water & sewer
- Water charges and sewer rents.
- Service contracts (not itemized)
- A single service contracts line that doesn't say what it covers.
- Legal & audit
- Legal, audit, accounting and other professional fees.
- Admin, phone & office
- Administration, office, telephone and monitored lines, bank charges, violation monitoring.
- Amenities & grounds
- Gym, pool and other amenity operations, landscaping, snow and refuse removal.
- Franchise & income taxes
- The condominium's own franchise and income taxes.
- Reserve fund
- Contributions to the reserve for future repairs and replacements.
- Contingency
- Contingency allowance.
- Other
- Lines that fit none of the above.