Are you a fan of the iconic American TV show “F.R.I.E.N.D.S”? I am. Many of us are! It’s a staple in American TV culture and pop culture. Not to mention, it’s a cult-like show for New Yorkers who get to live in the same place where “FRIENDS” was filmed.

But doesn’t it bug you that Monica Geller was able to afford a spacious apartment in a prime NYC location on a chef’s salary? I’m a banker, and this question has been bugging me for years! Also, there’s no way Monica could afford this living situation right now, in 2021. Or could she?

I decided to run the numbers to answer these questions. Buckle up! And take out your calculators.

Read my prediction about Carrie Bradshaw’s financial situation here:

Renting Back in the 1990s

The tv show started airing at the beginning of the 90s, and it ended in 2004. It’s safe to use the average rent for NYC in the 1900s, which according to MillerSamuel.com, was $3,200 per month. Is it accurate? I decided to use another source and fished out a New York Times article from 1994, which had the following to say about the apartment cost on the West Side:

Their survey of 800 apartments on the West Side, for example, showed that two-bedroom apartments with a dining room or a convertible third bedroom in a prewar doorman building now rented for from $2,900 to $3,400 a month, compared with from $2,600 to $3,000 last August. In a postwar doorman building, the figures are $2,600 to $3,100 now, against $2,400 to $2,900 in August.

Monica lived in Greenwich Village, one of the most experience neighbourhoods in NYC apart from Tribeca and Soho. I would expect the rent to be even higher than that, but let’s imagine she snugged a deal and ended up paying $3,200 monthly. After all, I would expect her to get a discount considering the colour of those walls:

How much did Monica earn though? The US Department of Labour has a lot of interesting online resources, and according to their Occupational Handbook referencing 1991–1992, chefs didn’t make a lot of money:

I’m skeptical about using the hourly wage of $7.50 as a baseline, since Monica lived in NYC and worked for a posh restaurant in Manhattan. She didn’t become the execute chef until later in the series though. I would assume that $30,000 yearly would be a middle ground, don’t you think? But even after taxes, that was probably just over $2,000 monthly.

If the monthly rent cost was $3,200 per month, there’s no way Monica could have afforded to live in her apartment while earning barely more than $2,000. The math doesn’t add up.

Even when she sublet a bedroom to Rachel and her rent got slashed by a half, Monica still wouldn’t be able to pay $1,800 per month. It would leave her with almost no cash after the rent got paid. Not to mention, Rachel probably didn’t contribute 50% of the rent anyway, considering how little waitresses made back then.

The verdict is: no, there was no chance Monica Geller could live in her Greenwich Village apartment in the early 1990s. The only option she had was to “rent” the couch in the living room for $1,000 or so. And even then, she would end up spending around half of her earnings on rent.

What About Now?

Could Monica afford to live in a 2-bedroom Greenwich apartment right now, in 2021? Let’s see what the numbers tell us.

As per Zumper, the average cost of a 2-bedroom apartment in NYC in 2021 is $5,648 if you wish to live specifically in Greenwich Village:

Glassdoor informs us that a chef’s salary is $55,000 on average in New York:

The marvellous Talent.com calculates the post-tax salary to be $42,787 per year or $3,565 per month:

So, the verdict is:

1. There’s no chance Monica would afford a $5,648 apartment with a $3,565 monthly salary of a chef.
2. Even with Rachel footing half of the cost, Monica would still struggle to cover $2,824 in rent. And again, Rachel’s waitress salary would not be enough to pay that either.
3. Renting a couch for $1,500–1,800 in the living room, which should be a reasonable rent for such an arrangement, would still be Monica’s best option.

Was There Another Way?

How much do you know about rent regulations and laws of New York City? There is a way to avoid paying the draconian rent prices and pay a much lower amount instead, thanks to the rent control and stabilization laws in NYC. It only applies to building built before 1947, and the tenant (or a legal successor) would have to be living in the unit since 1971.

There are forums dedicated to “FRIENDS,” and some fans believe Monica’s apartment could be a part of the rent-stabilized apartment complexes in the city. The theory is, Monica could have taken over the lease after her grandmother, which is why she could afford to rent the otherwise expensive Manhattan apartment. It would also explain how Rachel could live with her, too — Monica probably charged her fair rent, only a half of what she was paying.

Conclusion

I wish we knew more about “FRIENDS” and their lives. This tv show is timeless, and our grandchildren and probably even grand-grandchildren will be watching this show one day.

It brings me a lot of joy to read facts about Monica, Rachel and others. Their financial situation was one of the topics I’m curious about, and rent affordability has always been a hot topic in the Big Apple.

Did Monica really live in a rent-controlled apartment? Or was there a different reason she could afford Manhattan rent? Maybe, one day the show producers will answer all our questions.