Not flush with cash

​The Daily News has an interesting look into that most awkward of questions for New Yorkers: just how much do you earn? The overall picture is pretty depressing for residents living in the most expensive city in nation.

The median income for all of New York City is $51,116, almost a grand less than the national average of $52,029. There is great variation between our richest (Staten Island) and poorest (the Bronx) boroughs by salary. The median income on Staten Island is over twenty-one grand more than the national average ($73,882), while in the Bronx it is almost a whopping seventeen grand below ($35,033).

It's really interesting to look at the salaries of some of the every day and famous New Yorkers profiled by the News. It's probably not surprising to most that City Council Speaker Christine Quinn earns $140,999 more than Mayor Bloomberg. (Bloomberg only accepts a $1 in annual salary, something the city's richest man is happy to point out to anyone within earshot, which the News reports is really only 93 cents after taxes.) What is shocking is that education really does pay off, for schools chancellor Joel Klein earns $250,000. That's $25,000 MORE than the $225,000 salary the Mayor is entitled to receive.

Though it may not be representative of their entire fields, it's curious to see that in this article, a bicycle is more profitable than a car in the transportation industry. Andrey Malovetskiy, an 18-year-old pedicab driver, reported earning $39,000 a year, which is $3,000 than Mor Thiam, a 46-year-old yellow cab-driver earned. Below them both with another form of transport was Scott Baker, who earned $23,400 from driving a horse carriage ("part-time" only though). His salary is nearly identical to that of Archbishop Timothy Dolan ($23,500), oddly enough, but you've got to imagine working at St. Pat's and getting free board in the digs next door must beat working in a stable and paying for your own apartment.