Student Summer Housing in NYC: How Students and Interns Find It

If you're coming to New York for a summer internship or classes, I recommend starting your housing search in January. For budgeting, a furnished private room on Ohana typically costs about $1,950 per month for stays beginning in 2025 and 2026.

The main options are university residence halls, intern housing buildings and furnished sublets. Below, I compare the costs and explain how I'd choose a neighborhood and plan the search. The Ohana figures come from our booking and listing data; each comparison includes its date.

Key takeaways:

• Start in January or February. For June 2026 move-ins, Ohana saw about 1.5 interns searching per new home in January and February. By May it was 5.5, and by June it was 12 (Ohana intern housing data, as of November 2026).
• On Ohana stays in New York City moving in during 2025 and 2026, a private room typically cost $1,950 per month. A studio was $3,200 and a one-bedroom $3,550, service fee included (Ohana).
• NYU opens its summer residence halls to non-NYU residents. For May 24 to August 8, 2026 it charges $5,005 to $8,459, plus a $2,002 meal plan in traditional halls (NYU Housing).

Where to find student summer housing

Students and interns find summer housing in three places: university residence halls, intern housing buildings, and furnished sublets from New Yorkers who leave for the summer. I'd compare all three against your dates, budget and commute.

• University residence halls. NYU opens summer rooms to non-NYU students.
  • Deadline: none, but halls fill. NYU usually stops taking new reservations about two weeks before check-in (NYU Housing).
  • Upsides: a known building and a fixed price.
  • Downsides: no kitchen in the traditional halls, and you may get three roommates.
• Intern housing buildings. Furnished and built for the summer crowd.
  • Price: compare the full cost with your housing stipend, if you have one, and ask whether your employer has negotiated a rate.
  • Ask your employer first. One intern on Reddit heard from their hiring manager that the company had set up a group to share housing other interns had used (r/internships).
• Sublets. I co-founded Ohana to help people find them, so this is the option I know best and have a stake in.
  • Why people offer them: students and other New Yorkers leaving for the summer want someone to cover the rent while they're away.
  • What you'll find: furnished rooms and apartments available for part of the summer.
  • The catch: availability varies, and you'll need to check the listing and the person offering it. One commenter on r/NYCapartments put it plainly to an intern: a sublet is doable on an intern budget, lots of people sublet for the summer, be careful of scams (r/NYCapartments). At Ohana, we arrange a video call with the host before booking so you can see the place and ask questions.

If you want a furnished room for exact summer dates, Ohana lists rooms and apartments from people who live in NYC. Every stay is 30 days or longer, and you meet the host on a video call before you book (NYC sublets on Ohana). Then read our guide on how to spot a sublet scam.

One guest described their stay this way (more reviews are on our intern housing page): "The location was excellent and the apartment was affordable relative to the market. My roommates were excellent and were very communicative."

Our summer sublets page gathers the listings with summer dates in one place.

Most of the people offering these rooms just want their rent covered while they're away. They aren't looking to make a profit, and they rent to someone they trust. We built communities so you can look among people you have something in common with. If you're a woman, start with Girls Who Sublet (@girlswhosublet.nyc).

• Girls Who Sublet and @girlswhosublet.nyc
• Artists Who Sublet and @artistswhosublet
• NYU Subletting and @nyusubletting
• Columbia Subletting and @columbiasubletting
• sublets.nyc and @sublets.nyc
• Ohana NYC and @ohana_nyc

Student housing near NYU and Columbia

Near NYU, the East Village runs about $2,450 per month for a private room; near Columbia, Harlem runs about $1,540. That gap is $910 per month, or $2,730 over a three-month summer. Both neighborhoods are a short walk or one subway ride from campus.

Here is the median base rent for a private room in active Ohana listings in November 2026 (Ohana NYC sublets page):

If you need to reach NYU regularly, compare the cost of living nearby with the commute from other neighborhoods. My advice is to check the trip to your campus or workplace before settling on an area (r/movingtoNYC). Even nearby stops can be worth comparing. Two apartments in Williamsburg, one at the Bedford stop and one at Lorimer, were $1,000 per month apart when I last checked, and you can walk between them.

Want NYU summer housing from a student rather than from the university? Ohana's NYU page is a student-to-student sublet list, sorted into summer, fall and spring. The Columbia page works the same way. To see what is live near each campus right now, browse sublets in the East Village and sublets in Morningside Heights.

Most student rooms we see from NYU and Columbia follow the academic calendar. They open up in the second half of May, and the host wants someone through mid-August. If your internship runs from June into August, check that the room is available through your final day. If you need to arrive in early May, ask whether the host can accommodate an earlier start.

What student summer housing costs

On Ohana, a furnished private room typically costs about $1,950 per month, a studio $3,200 and a one-bedroom $3,550, service fee included. Those figures cover stays that began in 2025 and 2026. Where we had enough intern bookings for a home type, we used those; otherwise, we used all NYC bookings for that type. The NYU rows are the university's rates for non-NYU residents, May 24 to August 8, 2026 (NYU Housing).

A shared traditional NYU room is $5,005, and the meal plan is required. So, the real price is $7,007 for eleven weeks, with roommates and no kitchen. Three full months in a furnished private room at the typical Ohana price is $5,850. That is $1,157 less for a longer stay, a door that closes, and a stove.

Interns on Ohana in New York City typically pay about $2,650 per month, usually between $2,000 and $3,100. About half rent a whole place, and the rest usually share with two roommates (Ohana). And across all 3,908 active NYC listings on Ohana in November 2026, the median asking price is $1,950 per month. A private room asks $1,770, a studio $3,300, a one-bedroom $3,850 and a two-bedroom $5,050.

When to book summer housing

Start in January or February. For a June move-in, Ohana saw about 1.5 interns per new home in those months, 5.5 in May and 12 in June. The rooms do not get cheaper in May.

This is the full table from our intern housing page, as of November 2026. It counts searches for a June 2026 move-in in New York City, by the month each person first searched or messaged a host:

Starting early doesn't mean you have to book immediately. The typical intern on Ohana books about a month before move-in. You can use the time before that to compare neighborhoods and message hosts about your dates. In a Reddit discussion, one commenter warned an intern that furnished summer sublets attract substantial demand (r/NYCapartments).

Does starting early mean you'll pay less? Our figures don't establish that. The typical private-room range is $1,600 to $2,350 per month, a difference of $2,250 over three months. I'd use that range to set a budget, then compare listings that fit your dates.

The bottom line

I'd start with three things: your dates, your commute and your total summer budget. Use the $1,950 monthly private-room figure as a planning reference, then compare actual listings with dorm options for the same dates. Include meals, fees and utilities so you know what each choice would cost you.

New York is expensive, but it's way more expensive not to live in New York. Living here is hard, and it's often the best decision people ever make. Subletting is how you say yes to a summer here without a 12-month lease, and January is when to say it.

Questions people ask

Can I stay in NYU summer housing if I don't go to NYU?

Yes. NYU opens its summer residence halls to non-NYU residents. For May 24 to August 8, 2026, the rate ran from $5,005 for a shared traditional room to $8,459 for an apartment-style studio. The traditional halls add a required $2,002 meal plan. There is no deadline, but halls fill, and NYU generally stops taking new reservations about two weeks before check-in (NYU Housing). For a student room near NYU instead of a dorm, see NYU sublets on Ohana.

Does Columbia offer summer housing to students from other schools?

Columbia's summer housing page asks applicants to apply by April 30, and by April 1 for a guaranteed single room (Columbia Housing). Check that page for who is eligible this year, since the rules can change. If you would rather rent from a Columbia student who is leaving for the break, Ohana's Columbia page lists student-to-student rooms. Harlem's median private room was $1,540 per month in November 2026.

Can I book a summer sublet for only June to August?

Yes, if the listing covers your dates. The typical NYC stay on Ohana is one to three months. Every NYC stay is at least 30 days. Most NYC apartments cannot be rented for fewer than 30 days unless the permanent tenant stays in the home (Ohana). If your dates don't quite match a listing, say May 30 to July 25, message the host with your exact arrival and departure dates and ask whether they can make it work.

Which NYC neighborhoods have the cheapest summer rooms for students?

Ridgewood, Bed-Stuy and Crown Heights. Their median private rooms were $1,352, $1,400 and $1,432 per month on Ohana in November 2026, base rent before the service fee. Other Manhattan options in that snapshot include Upper Manhattan ($1,512), the Upper East Side ($1,704) and Manhattan Valley ($1,784). Check the route from the specific address to Columbia (Ohana NYC sublets page). With the East Village median at $2,450, it's worth checking whether a longer commute would leave more room in your budget.