Kingston’s rent limits dip, but a one-bedroom at $1,761 a month is still considered ‘affordable’

KINGSTON, N.Y. — While maximum allowable rents under the city’s 2026 “affordable” and “workforce” definitions have dipped slightly over last year, a one-bedroom apartment considered affordable by the city can still rent for upwards of $1,761 a month.

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Progressive group For the Many, which advocates for tenants’ rights, blasted the workforce rent limits in an email to the Freeman on Monday.

“These numbers are, once again, completely disconnected from the reality of working people’s lives in Kingston. A $2,466 studio is considered ‘workforce housing’—who exactly is that workforce? Jenna Goldstein, Ulster County community organizer at For the Many, said when reached for comment. “The median renter in this city earns around $65,000 a year. That means a studio would cost nearly half of someone’s gross income. A two-bedroom ‘workforce’ apartment, at over $3,100/month, is unaffordable for the average family trying to stay in Kingston.”

Goldstein warned that the current workforce rent limits used by the city will “continue to legitimize extraordinarily high rents and push out the actual workforce—the teachers, home health aides, and restaurant workers who make our city run.”

The current workforce standards only serve to convince landlords that charging $2,400 for a studio is “not just reasonable, but sanctioned by the city,” she added.

“It makes working families believe there’s nothing to be done, they’ll just have to move,” Goldstein said. “But the city can do something: it can set affordability limits based on what Kingston renters actually earn, not what landlords and developers want to charge. In other words, the city could set limits that are actually affordable.”