Demographics of New York City

New York City is a large and ethnically diverse metropolis. It is the largest city in the United States with a long history of international immigration. The New York region continues to be by far the leading metropolitan gateway for legal immigrants admitted into the United States. The city is the geographical and demographic center of both the Northeast megalopolis and the New York metropolitan area, the largest metropolitan area in the U.S. by both population and urban area. With over 20.1 million people in its metropolitan statistical area and 23.5 million in its combined statistical area as of 2020, New York City is one of the world's most populous megacities.

The city and its metropolitan area are the premier gateway for legal immigration to the United States. New York City enforces a right-to-shelter law guaranteeing shelter to anyone who needs shelter, regardless of their immigration status; and the city is home to more than 3.2 million residents born outside the U.S., the largest foreign-born population of any city in the world as of 2016.

Throughout its history, New York City has been a major point of entry for immigrants; the term "melting pot" was coined to describe densely populated immigrant neighborhoods on the Lower East Side. As many as 800 languages are spoken in New York,  making it the most linguistically diverse city in the world. English remains the most widely spoken language, although there are areas in the outer boroughs in which up to 25% of people speak English as an alternate language, and/or have limited or no English language fluency. English is least spoken in neighborhoods such as Flushing, Sunset Park, and Corona.

New York's two key demographic features are its density and diversity. It is often regarded as one of the most diverse major cities in both the US, and world; with significant populations of European, Caribbean, Latin American, African, Asian and Middle Eastern Americans all having a major presence within the city and its metropolitan area. The city has an extremely high population density of 26,403 people per square mile (10,194/km2), about 10,000 more people per square mile than the next densest large American city, San Francisco. Manhattan's population density is 66,940 people per square mile (25,846/km2). The city has a long tradition of attracting international immigration and Americans seeking careers in certain sectors. As of 2006, New York City has ranked number one for seven consecutive years as the city most U.S. residents would most like to live in or near.

Demographic profile


New York City is the most populous city in the United States, with an estimated 8,804,190 people living in the city, according to the 2020 U.S. Census (up from 8,175,133 in 2010; 8.0 million in 2000; and 7.3 million in 1990). This amounts to about 44% of New York State's population and a similar percentage of the metropolitan regional population. New York's two key demographic features are its population density and cultural diversity. The city's population density of 29,091.3 people per square mile (11,232/km2), makes it the densest of any American municipality with a population above 100,000. Manhattan's population density is 74,781 people per square mile (28,872/km2), highest of any county in the United States.

New York City is multicultural. About 36% of the city's population is foreign-born, one of the highest among US cities. The eleven nations constituting the largest sources of modern immigration to New York City are the Dominican Republic, China, Jamaica, Guyana, Mexico, Ecuador, Brazil, Haiti, Trinidad and Tobago, Colombia, Russia and El Salvador.

New York is the largest city in the United States, with the city proper's population more than double the next largest city, Los Angeles (or roughly equivalent to the combined populations of Los Angeles, Chicago, and Houston, the United States' second, third, and fourth most populous cities respectively). In 2006, demographers estimated New York's population would reach 9.1 million by 2030. In 2000 the reported life expectancy of New Yorkers was above the national average. Life expectancy for females born in 2009 in New York City is 80.2 years and for males is 74.5 years.

Households
The 2000 census counted 2,021,588 households with a median income of $38,293. 30% of households had children under the age of 18, and 37% were married couples living together. 19% had a single female householder, and 39% were non-families. 32% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10% were single residents 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.59 persons, and the average family size was 3.32. The median age in New York City in 2000 was 34 years. For every 100 females, there were 90 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86 males.

During the 2000s, Manhattan experienced a "baby boom" unique among U.S. cities. Between 2000 and 2007, the number of children under age 5 living in Manhattan grew by more than 32%. The increase is driven mostly by affluent white families with median household incomes over $300,000.

Income
Overall, nominal household income in New York City is characterized by large variations. This phenomenon is especially true of Manhattan, which in 2005 was home to the highest incomes U.S. census tract, with a household income of $188,697, as well as the lowest, where household income was $9,320. The disparity is driven in part by wage growth in high income brackets. In 2006 the average weekly wage in Manhattan was $1,453, the highest among the largest counties in the United States. Wages in Manhattan were the fastest growing among the nation's 10 largest counties. Among young adults in New York who work full-time, women now earn more money than men — approximately $5,000 more in 2005.

New York City's borough of Manhattan is the highest nominal income county in the United States. In particular, ZIP code 10021 on Manhattan's Upper East Side, with more than 100,000 inhabitants and a per capita income of over $90,000, has one of the largest concentrations of income in the United States. The other boroughs, especially Queens and Staten Island, have large middle-class populations. New York City's per capita income in 2000 was $22,402; men and women had a median income of $37,435 and $32,949 respectively. 21.2% of the population and 18.5% of families had incomes below the federal poverty line; 30.0% of this group were under the age of 18 and 17.8% were 65 and older. Of Forbes Magazine's 400 richest American billionaires, 70 live in New York City. Former mayor and Presidential candidate Michael Bloomberg is one of the nation's richest men. As of 2009 New York has regained the number one spot as the city with most billionaires (55), after losing out to Moscow in 2008.

New York City has a high degree of income variation. In 2005 the median household income in the highest census tract was reported to be $188,697, while in the lowest it was $9,320. The variance is driven by wage growth in high income brackets, while wages have stagnated for middle and lower income brackets. In 2006 the average weekly wage in Manhattan was $1,453, the highest and fastest growing among the largest counties in the United States. The borough is also experiencing a "baby boom" among the wealthy that is unique among U.S. cities. Since 2000, the number of children under age 5 living in Manhattan has grown by more than 32%.

In 2000, about 3 out of every 10 New York City housing units were owner-occupied, compared to about 2 owner-occupied units out of every 3 units in the U.S. as a whole. Rental vacancy is usually between 3% and 4.5%, well below the 5% threshold defined to be a housing emergency, justifying the continuation of rent control and rent stabilization. About 33% of rental units fall under rent stabilization, according to which increases are adjudicated periodically by city agencies. Rent control covers only a very small number of rental units. Some critics point to New York City's strict zoning and other regulations as partial causes for the housing shortage, but during the city's decline in population from the 1960s through the 1980s, a large number of apartment buildings suffered suspected arson fires or were abandoned by their owners. Once the population trend was reversed, with rising prospects for rentals and sales, new construction has resumed, but generally for purchasers in higher income brackets.

Projections
Neighborhood Tabulation Areas (NTAs) are a geographic unit created to help project populations at a small area level, as part of the long-term sustainability plan for the city known as PlaNYC, covering the years 2000–2030. The minimum population for an NTA is 15,000 people, a level seen as a useful summary level which can be used both with the 2010 Census and the American Community Survey.

New York has ranked first in population among American cities since the first census in 1790. New York will maintain this position for the foreseeable future, although there are varying forecasts on how much the population will increase. The most realistic population projections from the Department of City Planning anticipate a 1.1 million increase by 2030, bringing the city's population total to 9.1 million.

While the city's projected 2030 population will be a new high, only two boroughs, Staten Island and Queens have reached their population peak every year for the last 5 years. The study projects that by 2030, Queens will have 2.57 million people and Staten Island 552,000. Manhattan, with 1.83 million, Bronx with 1.46 million and Brooklyn with 2.72 million, will still be below their population peaks.

Disputed 2010 Census data
On March 27, 2011, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced that the city would file a formal challenge to the Census results, as a result of alleged undercounting in the boroughs of Queens and Brooklyn. The mayor has asserted that the numbers for Queens and Brooklyn, the two most populous boroughs, are implausible. According to the Census, they grew by only 0.1% and 1.6%, respectively, while the other boroughs grew by between 3% and 5%. In addition, the Mayor claims, the census showed improbably high amounts of vacant housing in vital neighborhoods such as Jackson Heights, Queens.

Race and ethnicity


The city's population in 2020 was 30.9% White (non-Hispanic), 28.3% Hispanic or Latino, 20.2% Black or African American (non-Hispanic), 15.6% Asian, and 0.2% Native American (non-Hispanic). A total of 3.4% of the non-Hispanic population identified with more than one race and 1.4% as some other race.

In 2013, approximately 36% of the city's population is foreign born, and more than half of all children are born to mothers who are immigrants. Between 1990 and 2000 the city admitted 1,224,524 immigrants. Demographers and city officials have observed that immigration to New York City has been slowing since 1997. This is mostly due to more and more immigrants choosing directly to locate to the city's suburbs and then commute to the city or work in many of its booming edge cities such as Fort Lee, NJ, Hempstead, NY, Morristown, NJ, Stamford, CT, White Plains, NY, and others. Despite the slowdown in immigration the city's overall immigrant population has continued to increase and in 2006 it numbered 3.038 million (37.0%) up from 2.871 million (35.9%) in 2000. By 2013, the population of foreign-born individuals living in New York City had increased to 3.07 million, and as a percentage of total population, was the highest it had been in the past 100 years.

Throughout its history, New York City has been a principal port of entry for immigration to the United States. These immigrants often form ethnic enclaves, neighborhoods dominated by one ethnicity. The city experienced major immigration from Europe in the 19th century and another major wave in the early 20th century, being admitted into the United States of America primarily through Ellis Island. Since the passage of the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965, and particularly since the 1980s, New York City has seen renewed rates of high immigration. Newer immigrants are from Latin America, the Caribbean, Asia, Eastern Europe and Africa. 36% of the city's population is foreign-born. Among U.S. cities, this proportion is higher only in Los Angeles and Miami.

In New York, no single country or region of origin dominates. The ten largest sources of foreign-born individuals in the city were the Dominican Republic, China, Mexico, Guyana, Jamaica, Ecuador, Haiti, India, Russia, Trinidad and Tobago, and El Salvador. Queens has the largest Asian American and Andean populations in the United States, and is also the most ethnically and linguistically diverse urban area in the world.

The metropolitan area is home to 20% of the nation's Indian Americans and at least 20 Little India enclaves, and 15% of all Korean Americans and four Koreatowns; the largest Asian Indian population in the Western Hemisphere; the largest Russian American, Italian American, and African American populations; the largest Dominican American, Puerto Rican American, and South American and second-largest overall Hispanic population in the United States, numbering 4.8 million; and includes multiple established Chinatowns within New York City alone.

New York City has the largest European and non-Hispanic white population of any American city, with 2.7 million in 2012. The European diaspora residing in the city is very diverse and many European ethnic groups have formed enclaves in New York. More than 12 million European immigrants were received at Ellis Island between 1892 and 1954.

Asian Americans in New York City, according to the 2010 census, number more than one million, greater than the combined totals of San Francisco and Los Angeles. New York contains the highest total Asian population of any U.S. city proper. New York has the largest Chinese population of any city outside Asia, and the Manhattan's Chinatown is the highest concentration of Chinese people in the Western Hemisphere,*
 * while Queens is home to the largest Tibetan population outside Asia. As of 2023, illegal Chinese immigration to New York City, especially to Queens and its Flushing Chinatown, has accelerated, and a significant new wave of Chinese Uyghur Muslims is fleeing religious persecution in northwestern China’s Xinjiang Province and seeking religious freedom in New York. Arab Americans number over 160,000 in New York City, with the highest concentration in Brooklyn. Central Asians, primarily Uzbek Americans, are a rapidly growing segment of the city's non-Hispanic White population.
 * while Queens is home to the largest Tibetan population outside Asia. As of 2023, illegal Chinese immigration to New York City, especially to Queens and its Flushing Chinatown, has accelerated, and a significant new wave of Chinese Uyghur Muslims is fleeing religious persecution in northwestern China’s Xinjiang Province and seeking religious freedom in New York. Arab Americans number over 160,000 in New York City, with the highest concentration in Brooklyn. Central Asians, primarily Uzbek Americans, are a rapidly growing segment of the city's non-Hispanic White population.
 * while Queens is home to the largest Tibetan population outside Asia. As of 2023, illegal Chinese immigration to New York City, especially to Queens and its Flushing Chinatown, has accelerated, and a significant new wave of Chinese Uyghur Muslims is fleeing religious persecution in northwestern China’s Xinjiang Province and seeking religious freedom in New York. Arab Americans number over 160,000 in New York City, with the highest concentration in Brooklyn. Central Asians, primarily Uzbek Americans, are a rapidly growing segment of the city's non-Hispanic White population.
 * while Queens is home to the largest Tibetan population outside Asia. As of 2023, illegal Chinese immigration to New York City, especially to Queens and its Flushing Chinatown, has accelerated, and a significant new wave of Chinese Uyghur Muslims is fleeing religious persecution in northwestern China’s Xinjiang Province and seeking religious freedom in New York. Arab Americans number over 160,000 in New York City, with the highest concentration in Brooklyn. Central Asians, primarily Uzbek Americans, are a rapidly growing segment of the city's non-Hispanic White population.

New York is also home to the highest Jewish population of any city in the world, numbering 960,000 in 2023, more than Tel Aviv and Jerusalem combined. In the borough of Brooklyn, an estimated 1 in 4 residents is Jewish.

Venezuela, Ecuador, Colombia, Guyana, Peru, and Brazil, are the top source countries from South America for immigrants to the New York City region; the Dominican Republic, Jamaica, Haiti, and Trinidad and Tobago in the Caribbean; Nigeria, Egypt, Ghana, Tanzania, Kenya, and South Africa from Africa; and El Salvador, Honduras, and Guatemala in Central America. Amidst a resurgence of Puerto Rican migration to New York City, this population had increased to approximately 1.5 million in the metropolitan area.

Since 2010, Little Australia has emerged and is growing rapidly, representing the Australasian presence in Nolita, Manhattan. In 2011, there were an estimated 20,000 Australian residents of New York City, nearly quadruple the 5,537 in 2005. Qantas Airways of Australia and Air New Zealand have been planning for long-haul flights from New York to Sydney and Auckland, which would both rank among the longest non-stop flights in the world.

Languages
According to the 2022 American Community Survey, the most commonly spoken languages in New York City by people aged 5 years and over (7,863,226 people):
 * Speak only English: 52%
 * Language other than English: 48%
 * Spanish: 23.1%
 * Other Indo-European languages: 12.8%
 * Asian languages and Pacific Island languages: 9%
 * Other languages: 3.1%

Christianity
Largely as a result of Western European missionary work and colonialism, Christianity is the largest religion (59% adherent) in New York City, which is home to the highest number of churches of any city in the world. Roman Catholicism is the largest Christian denomination (33%), followed by Protestantism (23%), and other Christian denominations (3%). The Roman Catholic population are primarily served by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York and Diocese of Brooklyn. Eastern Catholics are divided into numerous jurisdictions throughout the city. Evangelical Protestantism is the largest branch of Protestantism in the city (9%), followed by Mainline Protestantism (8%), while the converse is usually true for other cities and metropolitan areas. In Evangelicalism, Baptists are the largest group; in Mainline Protestantism, Reformed Protestants compose the largest subset. The majority of historically African American churches are affiliated with the National Baptist Convention (USA) and Progressive National Baptist Convention. The Church of God in Christ is one of the largest predominantly Black Pentecostal denominations in the area. Approximately 1% of the population is Mormon. The Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America and other Orthodox Christians (mainstream and independent) were the largest Eastern Christian groups. The American Orthodox Catholic Church (initially led by Aftimios Ofiesh) was founded in New York City in 1927.

Judaism
In 2011, a report by the UJA-Federation of New York found the Jewish population of New York City to stand at 1.1 million. In that same study, 16% of Jews in the New York City and the nearby Nassau, Suffolk, and Westchester counties identified as ethnically Jewish, as opposed to being religiously Jewish. Judaism is the second-largest religion practiced in New York City, making it the largest Jewish community of any city in the world, greater than the totals of Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. Nearly half of the city's Jews live in Brooklyn, which is one-quarter Jewish. In 2012, the largest Jewish denominations were Orthodox, Haredi, and Conservative Judaism. The first wave of Jewish migration to New York City occurred the 1650s, consisting of Sephardic Jews from Recife who originally sought refuge in Dutch Brazil following the Spanish Inquisition, and later fled to New York after Portugal retook Recife. The Jewish population in New York City exploded from 80,000 Jews in 1880 to 1.5 million in 1920, as Jews from Eastern Europe fled pogroms and discrimination. The Jewish population peaked at 2.2 million in 1940. A large portion of the population suburbanized after World War II, as a part of the larger trend of White flight. Still, the 1970s saw the arrival of Jews migrating to New York City from the USSR, Syria, and Iran. Reform Jewish communities are prevalent through the area. 770 Eastern Parkway is the headquarters of the international Chabad Lubavitch movement, and is considered an icon, while Congregation Emanu-El of New York in Manhattan is the largest Reform synagogue in the world.

Islam
Islam ranks as the third largest religion in New York City, following Christianity and Judaism, with estimates ranging between 600,000 and 1,000,000 observers of Islam, including 10% of the city's public school children. 22.3% of American Muslims live in New York City, with 1.5 million Muslims in the greater New York metropolitan area, representing the largest metropolitan Muslim population in the Western Hemisphere —and the most ethnically diverse Muslim population of any city in the world. Powers Street Mosque in Brooklyn is one of the oldest continuously operating mosques in the U.S., and represents the first Islamic organization in both the city and the state of New York.

Hinduism and other religious affiliations
Following these three largest religious groups in New York City are Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism, Zoroastrianism, and a variety of other religions. As of 2023, 24% of Greater New Yorkers identified with no organized religious affiliation, including 4% Atheist.

Wealth and income disparity
New York City, like other large cities, has a high degree of income disparity, as indicated by its Gini coefficient of 0.55 as of 2017. In the first quarter of 2014, the average weekly wage in New York County (Manhattan) was $2,749, representing the highest total among large counties in the United States. In 2022, New York City was home to the highest number of billionaires of any city in the world, with a total of 107. New York also had the highest density of millionaires per capita among major U.S. cities in 2014, at 4.6% of residents. New York City is one of the relatively few American cities levying an income tax (about 3%) on its residents. As of 2018, there were 78,676 homeless people in New York City.