So, you want to know how much is a cab medallion in nyc? Well, if you’d asked that question back in 2014, the answer would have been a cool $1.3 million. Yeah, seven figures for a piece of aluminum bolted to a car hood. Today, the reality is a lot different, and honestly, it’s a bit of a rollercoaster.
The price isn't a single, fixed number anymore. It's a moving target. If you look at the most recent auctions and private transfers monitored by the New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission (TLC), you're generally looking at a range between $100,000 and $200,000. But even that has some massive asterisks next to it. Some individual sales have dipped as low as $80,000 when a seller is desperate, while others—particularly those tied up in debt restructuring programs—can look inflated on paper.
It’s wild to think about. A decade ago, a medallion was considered "better than gold." Now, it's a gritty, complex asset that requires a lot of math and even more patience to manage.
Why the Price of an NYC Cab Medallion Crumbled
Uber. Lyft. That’s the short answer. But the long answer is actually about predatory lending and a massive speculative bubble that popped like a balloon in a needle factory.
When ride-sharing apps hit the streets of Manhattan in the early 2010s, they didn't just take passengers; they took the exclusivity that made the medallion valuable. For decades, there was a hard cap on the number of yellow cabs. If you wanted to pick up hails, you needed that plate. Then, suddenly, tens of thousands of black cars were doing the same thing via an app, and the "scarcity" factor vanished overnight.
By 2018, the crisis was in full swing. Owners who had taken out million-dollar loans were underwater. We aren't just talking about big fleets here. We’re talking about "owner-operators"—immigrant drivers who put their life savings into these medallions as a retirement plan. It was brutal.
Understanding the Current Market Value
If you check the TLC’s monthly data, you’ll see the "average" price, but you’ve gotta be careful with those numbers.
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Basically, there are two types of sales happening right now. You’ve got your foreclosure/estate sales, where a bank or a grieving family just wants the asset off their books. These go for the lower end of the spectrum. Then you have private transfers, where maybe a driver is selling to a friend or a small fleet is expanding.
The MSRP for a medallion doesn't exist. It's a street price.
Interestingly, we've seen a slight stabilization lately. Why? Because the city finally stepped in. The Medallion Relief Program (MRP), pushed heavily by the New York Taxi Workers Alliance and leaders like Bhairavi Desai, changed the game. By guaranteeing loans and capping debt at manageable levels (often around $170,000 or $200,000), the city effectively put a "floor" under the market. If the debt is capped at $170k, the medallion itself starts to find its value around that same neighborhood.
The Cost Beyond the Sticker Price
Don't think for a second that the $150,000 or so is your only expense. Owning a medallion is like owning a small, very demanding business that sleeps for maybe four hours a day.
First, you’ve got the vehicle. You can't just slap a medallion on a 2012 Honda Civic. The TLC has strict rules about which cars can be yellow cabs. Most people go for the Toyota Sienna (accessible) or the Toyota Camry Hybrid. You're looking at $35,000 to $50,000 for the car alone, plus the "upfitting" cost—the partitions, the meters, the roof lights, and the specialized GPS systems.
Then there’s insurance. In NYC, taxi insurance is notoriously expensive. You’re looking at $5,000 to $10,000 a year depending on your driving record and the type of coverage.
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- TLC Licensing Fees: A few hundred bucks every couple of years.
- Inspection Fees: Frequent and mandatory.
- Maintenance: Taxis get beat up. NYC potholes are legendary. You will be replacing tires and brakes twice as often as a normal driver.
- The "Hack" License: You still need your individual driver's license to actually operate the thing.
Is Buying a Medallion Still a Good Investment?
This is where people get heated. If you ask a hedge fund manager, they’ll laugh at you. But if you ask a driver who wants to be their own boss, the answer is "maybe."
The math works differently now. If you buy a medallion for $120,000 and your monthly loan payment is $1,000, you might actually take home more money than a driver who is renting a "shift" from a fleet for $120 a day. When you rent, you start every day in the hole. When you own, you’re building (admittedly slow) equity.
But the "gold mine" days are over. You are buying a job, not a passive income stream.
There's also the congestion pricing factor to consider. As New York implements tolls for entering lower Manhattan, yellow cabs have fought for (and received) different structures than private cars, but it still adds a layer of friction to the business. You have to be savvy. You have to know where the fares are.
What to Look for if You're Buying
If you are actually looking at listings right now, you need to do more due diligence than a corporate lawyer.
- Check for Liens: Medallions are often used as collateral. You need to ensure the title is clean.
- Corporate vs. Individual: There are "Independent" medallions (must be owned by an individual) and "Minifleet" medallions (owned in pairs by corporations). They trade at slightly different prices.
- Broker Fees: Almost nobody sells a medallion on Craigslist. You usually go through a broker who takes a cut.
It’s a niche world. It's built on relationships and often, unfortunately, on who can shout the loudest at the TLC offices in Long Island City.
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The Future: Will Prices Ever Hit $1 Million Again?
In a word: No.
The monopoly is broken. The rise of "Green Cabs" in the outer boroughs and the sheer volume of Uber and Lyft vehicles means the yellow cab is just one option among many. However, yellow cabs still have the exclusive right to "street hails." That is their superpower. As long as people still stand on a rainy corner in Midtown and stick their arm out, the medallion has value.
The city is also pushing for a 100% electric fleet. That means the "cost" of owning a medallion is going to shift toward EV infrastructure. If you buy in now, you need to be thinking about where you’re going to charge that Mustang Mach-E or Tesla Model 3 taxi.
Actionable Steps for Potential Buyers or Sellers
If you're serious about navigating this market, stop looking at old blog posts and start looking at the raw data.
Verify the "Transfers and Sales" reports on the official NYC.gov TLC page. They publish the actual prices of the most recent 20-30 sales. This is the only way to see what people are actually paying, rather than what they are asking.
Consult a specialized accountant. Taxi taxes are weird. Between the 50-cent MTA surcharge, the congestion fees, and the specific depreciation schedules for the vehicle, you can't just use TurboTax and hope for the best.
Talk to the Taxi Workers Alliance. Even if you aren't a "union person," they have the most boots-on-the-ground info about debt relief programs and legislative changes that could swing the price of your asset by $20,000 overnight.
Buying a medallion today is a bet on the physical grit of New York City. It’s a bet that despite the apps, the subways, and the bike lanes, the iconic yellow car remains the heartbeat of the island. It’s a cheaper bet than it used to be, but the stakes for the people behind the wheel are just as high as they've ever been.