“At Macedonia Plaza in Flushing, Queens, we got 40,000 applications for 100-plus units,” Ms. Bailey said. “At Sugar Hill Apartments in Harlem, we had 48,000 applications for 98 units. There’s a certain amount of heartache you can see through the numbers.”

For rent-stressed middle-income New Yorkers, the greatest fear may be that they are one rent increase, or one layoff, away from having to depart New York for good.

This is what happened to Diane Ordelheide, 63, who moved from St. Louis to New York in 2002 to pursue a lifelong dream, a career as an actress. In that goalshe succeeded, landing roles in “Law and Order,” “All My Children” and several movies and commercials.

But despite a $30,000-a-year pension from her quarter century as a teacher, finding affordable housing proved increasingly elusive. Ms. Ordelheide hopscotched from neighborhood to neighborhood, finally alighting three years ago in a renovated studio on West 102nd Street for which the monthly rent was $1,635. Though she estimates that the space was just about 200 square feet, she was charmed by the Murphy bed and the modern kitchen, accented with granite and stainless steel.

At a certain point, however, Ms. Ordelheide realized that she could no longer afford to remain in the city.

“I wanted to stay here so bad,” she said. “The city changed my life, and I couldn’t imagine leaving. But one day I just realized that I couldn’t do this anymore. It was too scary. I came to the conclusion that I had to get out of the city. And once I decided, except for the sense of sadness, I felt a great relief.”

On May 11, Ms. Ordelheide packed up her guitar, banjo and other possessions, and set off for a cottage in Pompano Beach, Fla. — monthly rent, $1,345.

“I’m trying to be positive because I have no choice,” she said as she was getting ready to leave. “I’m hoping that because I’m taking a lot of my things with me, the move will be easier. Still, it’s really hard.”