Half of NYC housesholds have incomes below ~$38k per year.

Yes, it all depends what part of the city you want to live in. There are many good areas in all the boroughs outside Manhattan. In Manhattan he could split a two bedroom for about $1500/mo each, though I doubt he would want to considering how much he could save by living further away from the yuppies.

In the end he hustles, probably pays no taxes and is earning the equivalent of a single person making $85K/yr.

When you think about it, $55k in cash is comparable to a $70k taxable income.

Except that the $55k in cash is also taxable income, especially now that he's told the entire world about it.