NYC Bar Prices Mapped: Queens' Bayside Has the Cheapest Cocktails, NoMad the Priciest

The happy hour guide 5PM NYC published its first "5PM Barometer Report" on Monday, October 19, putting numbers on something every New York drinker senses: the same drink costs very different amounts depending on where you order it. Gothamist and Time Out both covered the release.

The report draws on more than 109,000 listed prices from 2,254 bar and restaurant menus across 108 neighborhoods. Much of the data was submitted by bars through the site's free listing feature and combined with publicly available data. Prices do not include tax or tip. Founder Sam Zukin, 26, who works in finance and started the site in February, says he plans to release the report quarterly.

For cocktails, the citywide median is $16. NoMad is the most expensive neighborhood at $19.50, while Bayside, Queens, near the Long Island border, is the cheapest at $12. Carroll Gardens and Throggs Neck follow at $12.50. By borough, the medians are $17 in Manhattan, $15 in Brooklyn, $14.45 in the Bronx, and $14 in both Queens and Staten Island. The Bronx and Staten Island had noticeably less price data than the others.

Draft beer does not follow the same pattern. NoMad, Midtown and Chelsea share the highest median tap price at $10, while Hamilton Heights and Woodhaven are lowest at $6.50. Staten Island has the lowest boroughwide median draft price at $7.50.

Zukin found no clear link between higher Google ratings and higher prices, which he reads as a sign that bar owners may be somewhat disconnected from the data. He hopes the report will let small neighborhood bars see what their local market actually looks like.

According to Zukin, 5PM NYC draws about 50,000 visitors a month. Beyond listings of bar specials, it offers a "Plan a Bar Crawl" feature.

(Details are drawn from points that agree across reports by Gothamist, Time Out New York.)