Cost of Living in Stony Brook University, NY has an overall index of 112, 12% above the U.S. baseline of 100. A committed home-value estimate is unavailable; typical monthly rent is $2,689 (HUD FY2027 2-bedroom FMR, Suffolk County FMR area); and Committed household-income data is unavailable.
Cost index: committed city housing/rent inputs and BEA 2024 state nonmetro price parities. Home value: unavailable in the committed city snapshot. Rent: HUD FY2027 2-bedroom FMR (40th-percentile recent-mover gross rent), Suffolk County FMR area. A place-level signal, not a personal affordability decision or financial recommendation.
Cost vs U.S.12% aboveModeled index 112 · HUD FY2027 2-bedroom FMR / ACS 2024 / BEA 2024
Typical rent$2,689/moHUD FY2027 2-bedroom FMR · Suffolk County FMR area
Typical home valueN/ACensus ACS · 2024
Median household incomeN/ACensus ACS · 2024 place estimate
Market PressureLower
Rent and home prices are comparatively balanced with local income. This describes the local market, not your household.
Rent pressure
Threshold only
Typical annual rent divided by local median household income.
Buy pressure
Ratio unavailable
Exact home value or income is unavailable or top-coded.
Common questions
What living in Stony Brook University costs, and what the data does and does not explain.
Four questions readers ask most, answered from the committed sources below. Every figure keeps its source, vintage, and limitation; none of it is personal financial advice.
Cost outside housing
How do non-housing costs here compare with the nation?
Day-to-day non-housing costs here run about 5% below the U.S. baseline.
Non-housing index95100 = U.S. baseline
Goods9620% weight
Services9820% weight
Utilities8810% weight
The index weights goods 96 (20%), services 98 (20%), and utilities 88 (10%) over the non-housing half of the model, where utilities show the widest gap below the national baseline at 88. It excludes rent and home prices, so it is not the overall Regional Price Parity and not the overall cost index. Source: BEA 2024 national nonmetropolitan proxy (one shared value set for every unmatched place in this snapshot, so it is not state- or city-specific).
Housing vs state and nation
Is housing here above or below the state and the country?
Typical home valueNot statedCensus ACS
Typical rent$2,689/moHUD FMR
No committed home value estimate is available for Stony Brook University in this snapshot.
The typical monthly rent is $2,689 (HUD FY2027 2-bedroom FMR, Suffolk County FMR area (40th-percentile recent-mover gross rent)). It is level with the $2,689 median across New York cities in this dataset, and 99% above the committed $1,348 U.S. baseline used site-wide (Census ACS 2019–2023).
The New York median is a cross-city statistic over the 348 committed city home values and 354 committed city rents (Zillow Aug 2026, HUD FY2027, or Census ACS 2024 as matched per place). It is not a statewide household median and it is not appraised market data. U.S. baselines are Census ACS 2019–2023 5-Year national medians used across this site ($303,400 home value; $1,348 monthly gross rent), and have not been refreshed to the ACS 2024 city vintage or the Zillow Aug 2026 vintage. Any city-to-national gap therefore mixes vintages.
Why the numbers look like this
Which local signals explain the difference?
The committed figures are broadly in line with their baselines, so no signal stands out here.
Rent-to-income ratioNot stated
Not stated · The rent-to-income ratio is not stated because a committed rent or household-income value is missing or top-coded.
Baseline: 21% implied by Census ACS 2019–2023 5-Year national medians
Price-to-income ratioNot stated
Not stated · The price-to-income ratio is not stated because a committed home value or household-income value is missing or top-coded.
Baseline: 3.9x implied by Census ACS 2019–2023 5-Year national medians
Vacancy rateNot stated
Not stated · No committed vacancy rate is available for this place.
Baseline: about 8% committed city-sample mean
Owner shareNot stated
Not stated · No committed owner-occupancy share is available for this place.
Baseline: 64.6% committed national owner-occupied share
These are associations inside one committed snapshot, not causal evidence. The dataset has no current listings, pending sales, sale timelines, or construction, migration, income-growth, and unit-mix fields, so nothing here proves or disproves a housing shortage: a low vacancy rate or a high rent-to-income ratio can have several explanations. Treat the figures as context for your own search, not as a cause.
Monthly budget by household size
What might a family of five spend per month here?
Estimated monthly cost for a household of five in Stony Brook University: $7,739, of which $2,689 is the exact typical rent and $5,050 is modeled non-housing spending. Everyday non-housing costs here are 5% below the U.S. baseline.
For five people the estimate is housing $2,689 + non-housing $5,050 = $7,739 per month, or about $1,548 per person before taxes and debt.
Estimated monthly cost, before income tax, debt payments, and savings
Household size
Housing (typical rent)
Non-housing
Estimated total
Per person
1 person
$2,689
$1,637
$4,326
$4,326
2 people
$2,689
$2,659
$5,348
$2,674
3 people
$2,689
$3,532
$6,221
$2,074
4 people
$2,689
$4,320
$7,009
$1,752
5 people (example)
$2,689
$5,050
$7,739
$1,548
6 people
$2,689
$5,738
$8,427
$1,405
Formula: Monthly estimate = housing base + ($3,272 × (household size ÷ 2.5)^0.7 × (non-housing index ÷ 100)). The housing base is this city's exact typical monthly rent; $3,272 is the Census ACS 2019–2023 5-Year national medians median household income ÷ 12 × the model's 50% non-housing basket share.
Inputs: housing base $2,689 (HUD FY2027 2-bedroom FMR, Suffolk County FMR area); non-housing index 95 (BEA goods/services/utilities); national median household income $78,538 (Census ACS 2019–2023 5-Year national medians).
Assumptions and limitations behind this table
Model assumptions
The Census ACS 2019–2023 5-Year national medians median household income is treated as a 2.5-person reference household whose non-housing share of the basket is 50% (goods 20% + services 20% + utilities 10%).
Household size is scaled with an economy-of-scale exponent of 0.7. That exponent is a modeling assumption, not a measured equivalence scale.
Housing is held at the same exact typical rent for every household size. Larger households often rent larger units, which this estimate does not model.
The non-housing index is applied as a price level only; it does not change how much a household consumes.
Limitations
This is a modeled planning estimate, not a measured household budget, a quote, or personal financial advice.
It excludes income tax, sales tax, property tax, debt payments (including student loans and car payments), retirement saving, and one-time moving costs.
Zillow, HUD FMR (a 2-bedroom program benchmark for the 40th-percentile recent-mover gross rent, not a market median), and Census values are place- or area-level estimates with sampling error and top-coding, not exact local prices.
BEA price parities are metro-area values, or one national nonmetropolitan proxy shared by every unmatched place — never city- or state-specific.
The income baseline is one committed national value (Census ACS 2019–2023 5-Year national medians) and does not vary by city or by household composition (adults versus children).
Housing and rent: Census ACS 2024 place estimate home value; HUD FY2027 2-bedroom FMR, Suffolk County FMR area rent. Top-coded ACS values stay thresholds, never exact medians. Non-housing: BEA 2024 goods, services, and utilities price parities (national nonmetropolitan proxy). Why: rent HUD FY2027 2-bedroom FMR, Suffolk County FMR area, home value Census ACS 2024 place estimate, plus Census ACS 2024 income, vacancy, and owner-occupancy fields. National baselines: Census ACS 2019–2023 5-Year national medians (not refreshed to ACS 2024 or Zillow Aug 2026), so city-to-national gaps mix vintages. Budget: modeled from the committed national median household income and this city's exact rent and BEA non-housing index; assumptions and exclusions are listed with the table. Budget is not produced when rent is top-coded.
Your Household Fit
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Compare cities
Compare Stony Brook University with another place.
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City details
Inspect the numbers when you need them.
Overall cost index112100 = U.S. baseline
Goods964% below baseline
Services982% below baseline
Utilities8812% below baseline
Alternatives worth comparing
Other New York cities with a useful tradeoff.
Recommendations require usable housing and income data and exclude very small places for a city of this scale.
Frequently asked questions about Stony Brook University
Mortgage benchmark baseline 2026-09-24 is past its weekly update cadence; a newer official vintage exists but is not reflected.
Living in Stony Brook University
Is Stony Brook University, NY an expensive place to live?+
Yes — Stony Brook University is about 12% more expensive than the national average, with an overall Cost Index of 112. Housing is the biggest factor: the typical home here is unavailable in the committed city snapshot, and monthly rents average roughly $2,689. Day-to-day costs like groceries and utilities tend to run closer to the national norm.
How does Stony Brook University fit a household housing budget?+
Start with housing. Typical monthly rent is $2,689, while local median household income is unavailable. Rent-burden varies by household and unit choice. Use that as a planning signal for whether the place looks manageable under your own household assumptions.
How much are taxes in Stony Brook University, NY?+
New York uses a progressive model; 10.9% is top marginal-rate context. The state-level effective owner-occupied property-tax proxy is 1.3%; it is not a city, county, parcel, or individual tax bill. State plus average local sales-tax context is around 8.54%.
How much does it cost to rent in Stony Brook University, NY?+
The typical monthly rent in Stony Brook University is around $2,689. That's about 99% higher than the $1,348 national median.
Are groceries and utilities expensive in Stony Brook University?+
Grocery prices in Stony Brook University are about average compared to the rest of the US (index: 96, where 100 is the national average). Utility bills (electricity, gas, water) are below average (index: 88). Overall, these everyday costs shouldn't cause major surprises if you're moving from another similarly-sized US city.
What is Stony Brook University, NY like to live in?+
Stony Brook University is a small town with a population of about 9,530. The median age of residents is 19.8, skewing younger — often a sign of a college town or fast-growing area.
