The New York metropolitan area, also commonly referred to as the Tri-State area, is the largest metropolitan area in the world by urban landmass, at , and one of the most populous

urban agglomeration An urban area, built-up area or urban agglomeration is a human settlement with a high population density and infrastructure of built environment. Urban areas are created through urbanization and are categorized by urban morphology as cities ...

s in the world. The vast metropolitan area includes

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

, Long Island, the Mid and Lower

Hudson Valley The Hudson Valley (also known as the Hudson River Valley) comprises the valley of the Hudson River and its adjacent communities in the U.S. state of New York. The region stretches from the Capital District including Albany and Troy south to ...

in the

State of New York New York, officially the State of New York, is a state in the Northeastern United States. It is often called New York State to distinguish it from its largest city, New York City. With a total area of , New York is the 27th-largest U.S. state ...

; the six largest cities in

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

: Newark, Jersey City, Paterson,

Elizabeth Elizabeth or Elisabeth may refer to: People * Elizabeth (given name), a female given name (including people with that name) * Elizabeth (biblical figure), mother of John the Baptist Ships * HMS ''Elizabeth'', several ships * ''Elisabeth'' (sch ...

, Lakewood, and Edison, and their vicinities; and six of the seven largest cities in

Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its capita ...

Bridgeport Bridgeport is the most populous city and a major port in the U.S. state of Connecticut. With a population of 148,654 in 2020, it is also the fifth-most populous in New England. Located in eastern Fairfield County at the mouth of the Pequonnoc ...

, Stamford,

New Haven New Haven is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound in New Haven County, Connecticut and is part of the New York City metropolitan area. With a population of 134,023 ...

Waterbury Waterbury is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut on the Naugatuck River, southwest of Hartford and northeast of New York City. Waterbury is the second-largest city in New Haven County, Connecticut. According to the 2020 US Census, in 202 ...

, Norwalk, and

Danbury Danbury is a city in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States, located approximately northeast of New York City. Danbury's population as of 2022 was 87,642. It is the seventh largest city in Connecticut. Danbury is nicknamed the "Hat City ...

, and the vicinities of these cities. The New York metropolitan area comprises the geographic and demographic hub of the larger Northeast megalopolis. The New York metropolitan area is the most populous in the United States, as defined by both the

Metropolitan Statistical Area In the United States, a metropolitan statistical area (MSA) is a geographical region with a relatively high population density at its core and close economic ties throughout the area. Such regions are neither legally incorporated as a city or tow ...

(20.1 million residents in 2020) and the

Combined Statistical Area Combined statistical area (CSA) is a United States Office of Management and Budget (OMB) term for a combination of adjacent metropolitan (MSA) and micropolitan statistical areas (µSA) across the 50 US states and the territory of Puerto Ric ...

(23.6 million residents in 2020). The metropolitan area is home to approximately 6% of the United States' population. It is the tenth largest

in the world. The New York metropolitan area continues to be the premier gateway for legal

immigration to the United States Immigration has been a major source of population growth and cultural change throughout much of the history of the United States. In absolute numbers, the United States has a larger immigrant population than any other country in the worl ...

, having the largest foreign-born population of any metropolitan region in the world. The MSA covers , while the CSA area is , encompassing an ethnically and geographically diverse region. The New York metropolitan area's population is larger than that of the state of New York, and the metropolitan airspace accommodated over 130 million passengers in 2016. As the hub of multiple industries, including finance, health care, pharmaceuticals, and life sciences,

international trade International trade is the exchange of capital, goods, and services across international borders or territories because there is a need or want of goods or services. (see: World economy) In most countries, such trade represents a significant ...

, publishing, real estate, education, fashion,

entertainment Entertainment is a form of activity that holds the attention and interest of an audience or gives pleasure and delight. It can be an idea or a task, but is more likely to be one of the activities or events that have developed over thousa ...

, tourism, law, and manufacturing, the New York metropolitan area estimated to produce a

gross metropolitan product Gross metropolitan product (GMP) is a monetary measure of the value of all final goods and services produced within a metropolitan statistical area during a specified period (''e.g.'', a quarter, a year). GMP estimates are commonly used to compare ...

(GMP) of $2.1 trillion as of 2022, representing the largest metropolitan economy worldwide; and if the New York metropolitan area were an independent

sovereign state A sovereign state or sovereign country, is a political entity represented by one central government that has supreme legitimate authority over territory. International law defines sovereign states as having a permanent population, defined te ...

, it would constitute the eighth-largest economy in the world. It is the most prominent financial,
diplomatic, and

media Media may refer to: Communication * Media (communication), tools used to deliver information or data ** Advertising media, various media, content, buying and placement for advertising ** Broadcast media, communications delivered over mass e ...

hub in the world. According to ''

Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine owned by Integrated Whale Media Investments and the Forbes family. Published eight times a year, it features articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics. ''Forbes'' also r ...

'', in 2014, the New York metropolitan area was home to eight of the top ten ZIP codes in the United States by median housing price, with six in

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

alone. The New York metropolitan area also contains five of the top ten richest places in America, according to

Bloomberg Bloomberg may refer to: People * Daniel J. Bloomberg (1905–1984), audio engineer * Georgina Bloomberg (born 1983), professional equestrian * Michael Bloomberg (born 1942), American businessman and founder of Bloomberg L.P.; politician and m ...

. These are

Scarsdale, New York Scarsdale is a town and village in Westchester County, New York, United States. The Town of Scarsdale is coextensive with the Village of Scarsdale, but the community has opted to operate solely with a village government, one of several village ...

;

Short Hills, New Jersey Short Hills is an unincorporated community located within Millburn Township, in Essex County, New Jersey, United States. It is a popular commuter town for residents who work in New York City. As of the 2020 United States Census, the CDP's pop ...

;

Old Greenwich, Connecticut Old Greenwich is an affluent coastal village in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. As of the 2010 census it had a population of 6,611. The town of Greenwich is one political and taxing body, but consists of several distinct section ...

; Bronxville, New York; and

Darien, Connecticut Darien ( ) is a coastal town in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. With a population of 21,499 and a land area of just under 13 square miles, it is the smallest town on Connecticut's Gold Coast. It has the youngest population of any ...

. The New York metropolitan region's higher education network comprises hundreds of colleges and universities, including

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then- Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, th ...

and three

Ivy League The Ivy League is an American collegiate athletic conference comprising eight private research universities in the Northeastern United States. The term ''Ivy League'' is typically used beyond the sports context to refer to the eight school ...

universities A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, ...

: Columbia,

Princeton Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the ni ...

, and

Yale Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wor ...

Definitions

Metropolitan statistical area

The

counties A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesChambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

and county groupings constituting the New York metropolitan area are listed below, with 2010 census figures: New York City, Southern RI and CT, illuminated at night

New York City, Southern RI and CT, illuminated at night

The U.S.

Office of Management and Budget The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) is the largest office within the Executive Office of the President of the United States (EOP). OMB's most prominent function is to produce the president's budget, but it also examines agency programs, pol ...

utilizes two definitions of the area: the metropolitan statistical area (MSA) and the combined statistical area (CSA). The MSA definition is titled the ''New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA Metropolitan Statistical Area'', and includes a population of 20.3 million people by 2017 Census estimates, roughly 1 in 16 Americans and nearly 7 million more than the second-place

Los Angeles metropolitan area Greater Los Angeles is the second-largest metropolitan region in the United States with a population of 18.5 million in 2021, encompassing five counties in Southern California extending from Ventura County in the west to San Bernardino C ...

in the United States. The MSA is further subdivided into four metropolitan divisions. The 23-county MSA includes 10 counties in

New York State New York, officially the State of New York, is a state in the Northeastern United States. It is often called New York State to distinguish it from its largest city, New York City. With a total area of , New York is the 27th-largest U.S. stat ...

(coextensive with the five boroughs of New York, the two remaining counties of Long Island, and three counties in the

Lower Lower may refer to: *Lower (surname) *Lower Township, New Jersey *Lower Receiver (firearms) *Lower Wick Gloucestershire, England See also *Nizhny Nizhny (russian: Ни́жний; masculine), Nizhnyaya (; feminine), or Nizhneye (russian: Ни́� ...

); 12 counties in Northern and Central

; and one county in northeastern

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

. The largest

urbanized area An urban area, built-up area or urban agglomeration is a human settlement with a high population density and infrastructure of built environment. Urban areas are created through urbanization and are categorized by urban morphology as cities ...

in the United States is at the heart of the metropolitan area, the ''New York–Newark, NY–NJ–CT Urbanized Area'' (which had a land area of 3,450 square miles in 2010 according to the 2010 census). The New York state portion of the metropolitan area (the Five Boroughs, the lower Hudson Valley, and Long Island) accounts for over 65 percent of the state's population. New York–Newark–Jersey City, NY–NJ–PA Metropolitan Statistical Area (19,043,386) * New York–Jersey City–White Plains, NY–NJ Metropolitan Division (11,732,233) **

Kings County, NY Brooklyn () is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. Kings County is the most populous Administrative divisions of New York (state)#County, county i ...

''(the borough of Brooklyn in NYC)'' ** Queens County, NY ''(the borough of Queens in NYC)'' ** New York County, NY ''(the borough of Manhattan in NYC)'' ** Bronx County, NY ''(the borough of The Bronx in NYC)'' ** Richmond County, NY ''(the borough of Staten Island in NYC)'' ** Westchester County, NY **

Bergen County, NJ Bergen County is the most populous county in the U.S. state of New Jersey.Hudson County, NJ ** Passaic County, NJ ** Putnam County, NY **

Rockland County, NY Rockland County is the southernmost county on the west side of the Hudson River in the U.S. state of New York. It is part of the New York metropolitan area. It is about from the Bronx at their closest points. The county's population, as of th ...

* Nassau County–Suffolk County, NY Metropolitan Division (2,832,882) ** Suffolk County, NY **

Nassau County, NY Nassau County ( ) is a county in the U.S. state of New York. At the 2020 U.S. census, Nassau County's population is 1,395,774. The county seat is Mineola and the largest town is Hempstead. Nassau County is situated on western Long Isla ...

* New Brunswick-Lakewood, NJ Metropolitan Division (2,383,854) **

Middlesex County, NJ Middlesex County is located in central New Jersey, United States, extending inland from the Raritan Valley region to the northern portion of the Jersey Shore. As of the 2020 United States Census, the county's population was enumerated at 863,1 ...

** Monmouth County, NJ ** Ocean County, NJ ** Somerset County, NJ * Newark, NJ–PA Metropolitan Division (2,174,944) ** Essex County, NJ ** Union County, NJ ** Morris County, NJ ** Sussex County, NJ ** Hunterdon County, NJ ** Pike County, PA

Combined statistical area

Combined statistical area Combined statistical area (CSA) is a United States Office of Management and Budget (OMB) term for a combination of adjacent metropolitan (MSA) and micropolitan statistical areas (µSA) across the 50 US states and the territory of Puerto Ric ...

s (CSAs) group together adjacent core-based statistical areas with a high degree of economic interconnection. The New York–Newark, NY–NJ–CT–PA Combined Statistical Area had an estimated population of 23.7 million as of 2014. About one out of every fifteen Americans resides in this region, which includes eight additional counties in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, and Pennsylvania. This area, less the Pennsylvania portion, is often referred to as the ''tri-state area'' and less commonly the ''tri-state region''. The New York City television

designated market area A media market, broadcast market, media region, designated market area (DMA), television market area, or simply market is a region where the population can receive the same (or similar) television and radio station offerings, and may also incl ...

(DMA) includes

Pike County, Pennsylvania Pike County is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. It is part of Northeastern Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, the population was 58,535. Its county seat is Milford. Pike County is included in the New York- Newark-Jersey City, ...

, which is also included in the CSA. In addition to the New York–Newark–Jersey City, NY–NJ–PA metropolitan statistical areas (MSA), the following core-based statistical areas are also included in the New York–Newark, NY–NJ–CT–PA CSA: * Bridgeport–Stamford–Norwalk–Danbury, CT MSA (916,829) **

Fairfield County Fairfield County is the name of three counties in the United States: * Fairfield County, Connecticut * Fairfield County, Ohio Fairfield County is a county located in the U.S. state of Ohio. As of the 2020 census, the population was 158,921. ...

–

Milford, CT Milford is a coastal city in New Haven County, Connecticut, United States, located between New Haven and Bridgeport. The population was 50,558 at the 2020 United States Census. The city includes the village of Devon and the borough of Woodmont. ...

MSA (862,477) **

New Haven County, Connecticut New Haven County is a county in the south central part of the U.S. state of Connecticut. As of the 2020 census, the population was 864,835, making it the third-most populous county in Connecticut. Two of the state's top 5 largest cities, New ...

* Trenton- Princeton, NJ MSA (396,811) ** Mercer County *

Torrington, CT Torrington is the most populated municipality and only city in Litchfield County, Connecticut and the Northwest Hills region. It is also the core city of Greater Torrington, one of the largest micropolitan areas in the United States. The city p ...

micropolitan statistical area (189,927) **

Litchfield County Litchfield County is in northwestern Connecticut. As of the 2020 census, the population was 185,186. The county was named after Lichfield, in England. Litchfield County has the lowest population density of any county in Connecticut and is the ...

Kingston, NY Kingston is a city in and the county seat of Ulster County, New York, United States. It is north of New York City and south of Albany. The city's metropolitan area is grouped with the New York metropolitan area around Manhattan by the United ...

MSA (182,693) **

Ulster County Ulster County is a county in the U.S. state of New York. It is situated along the Hudson River. As of the 2020 census, the population was 181,851. The county seat is Kingston. The county is named after the Irish province of Ulster. History ...

East Stroudsburg, PA East Stroudsburg is a borough in Monroe County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is located in the Poconos region of the state. Originally known as "Dansbury", East Stroudsburg was renamed for geographic reasons when the Delaware, Lackawanna, and ...

MSA (169,842) **

Monroe County, Pennsylvania Monroe County is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. It is located in Northeastern Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, the population was 168,327. Its county seat is Stroudsburg. The county was formed from sections of Northampton ...

* Poughkeepsie–Newburgh–Middletown, NY MSA (670,301) ** Dutchess County ** Orange County, NY

Geography

High Point Monument and Lake Marcia framed

The area is frequently divided into the following subregions: *

(the primary urban center of the metropolitan region, comprising five

boroughs A borough is an administrative division in various English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely. History In the Middle A ...

, one of which is

, the geographical, cultural, and economic core of the entire metropolitan area) * Central and eastern Long Island ( Nassau and Suffolk Counties – separated by water from the rest of the region except New York City; not including

Queens Queens is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located on Long Island, it is the largest New York City borough by area. It is bordered by the borough of Brooklyn at the western tip of Long ...

County or Kings County (

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

), which are concurrent with two of New York's five boroughs) *

North Jersey North Jersey comprises the northern portions of the U.S. state of New Jersey between the upper Delaware River and the Atlantic Ocean. The designation of northern New Jersey with a distinct toponym is a colloquial one rather than an administrati ...

(northern portion of New Jersey) *

Central Jersey Central Jersey is the central region of the U.S. state of New Jersey. The designation of Central New Jersey is a distinct administrative toponym. Geographic area and descriptions While the State of New Jersey is often divided into North and ...

(middle portion of New Jersey) *

(Lower Hudson Valley suburbs of Westchester, Putnam, and Rockland Counties; and Mid-Hudson

exurb An exurb (or alternately: exurban area) is an area outside the typically denser inner suburban area, at the edge of a metropolitan area, which has some economic and commuting connection to the metro area, low housing density, and growth. It sh ...

s of Dutchess, Sullivan, Orange, and Ulster Counties) * Western Connecticut (Only Fairfield,

, and Litchfield Counties are part of the region and separated by the state line) * Southern and Eastern Poconos ( Monroe and

Pike Pike, Pikes or The Pike may refer to: Fish * Blue pike or blue walleye, an extinct color morph of the yellow walleye ''Sander vitreus'' * Ctenoluciidae, the "pike characins", some species of which are commonly known as pikes * ''Esox'', genus of ...

Counties in Pennsylvania) All eight subregions are often further subdivided. For instance, Long Island can be divided into its South and North Shores (usually when speaking about Nassau County and western Suffolk County) and the East End. The Hudson Valley and Connecticut are sometimes grouped together and referred to as the Northern Suburbs, largely because of the shared usage of the Metro-North Railroad system.

Subregions

New York City

The geographical, cultural, and economic center of the metropolitan area is New York City, the most populous city in the United States and has been described as the capital of the world. The city consists of five

, each of which is coterminous with a county of New York State. The five boroughs –

, the

Bronx The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New Y ...

, and Staten Island – were consolidated into a single city in 1898. With a Census-estimated

population Population typically refers to the number of people in a single area, whether it be a city or town, region, country, continent, or the world. Governments typically quantify the size of the resident population within their jurisdiction using a ...

of 8,550,405 in 2015 (8,491,079 in 2014), distributed over a land area of just , New York is the most densely populated major city in the United States.US-25S&-_lang=en ''County and City Data Book:2007'' (U.S. Census Bureau), Table B-1, Area and Population
, Retrieved July 12, 2008. A global power city, New York City exerts a significant impact upon commerce, finance, health care and life sciences, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and entertainment, its fast pace defining the term '' New York minute''. Home to the

headquarters of the United Nations zh, 联合国总部大楼french: Siège des Nations uniesrussian: Штаб-квартира Организации Объединённых Наций es, Sede de las Naciones Unidas , image = Midtown Manhattan Skyline 004.jpg , im ...

, New York is an important center for

international diplomacy Diplomacy comprises spoken or written communication by representatives of states (such as leaders and diplomats) intended to influence events in the international system.Ronald Peter Barston, ''Modern diplomacy'', Pearson Education, 2006, p. 1 ...

. New York is a global city and has been described as the cultural, financial,

, and

capital of the world, as well as the world's most economically powerful city.

Long Island

Long Island, the most populous island in the United States, is located just off the northeast coast of the United States and is a region wholly included within both the U.S. state of New York and the New York metropolitan area. Extending 118 miles east-northeast of Roosevelt Island, Manhattan from New York Harbor into the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...

, the island comprises four counties: Kings and Queens (these form the New York

and

, respectively) to the west; then Nassau and Suffolk to the east. However, most people in the New York metropolitan area (even those living in Queens and Brooklyn) colloquially use the term "Long Island" (or "The Island") exclusively to refer to the Nassau-Suffolk county area collectively, which is mainly suburban in character. North of the island is Long Island Sound, across which are the U.S. states of

and

Rhode Island Rhode Island (, like ''road'') is a state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is the smallest U.S. state by area and the seventh-least populous, with slightly fewer than 1.1 million residents as of 2020, but it ...

. With a population of 8,063,232 enumerated at the 2020 U.S. Census, constituting nearly 40% of New York State's population, the majority of New York City residents, 58.4% as of 2020, live on Long Island, namely the estimated 4,896,398 residents living in the New York City boroughs of

and

.
Accessed July 21, 2017. Long Island is the List of islands by population, most populated island in any U.S. state or territory, and the 17th-most populous island in the world (ahead of

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...

, and Hokkaidō). Its

population density Population density (in agriculture: Stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical ...

is . If Long Island geographically constituted an independent metropolitan statistical area, it would rank fourth most populous in the United States; while if it were a U.S. state, Long Island would rank 13th in population and first in population density. Queens is the most

ethnically diverse The term multiculturalism has a range of meanings within the contexts of sociology, political philosophy, and colloquial use. In sociology and in everyday usage, it is a synonym for " ethnic pluralism", with the two terms often used interchang ...

urban area in the world. The

Town of Hempstead The Town of Hempstead (also known historically as South Hempstead) is the largest of the three towns in Nassau County (alongside North Hempstead and Oyster Bay) in the U.S. state of New York. It occupies the southwestern part of the county, on t ...

in Nassau County, with an estimated population of 770,367 in 2016, is the most populous municipality in the New York metropolitan area outside of New York City. Long Island is also the 17th most populous island in the world, but is more prominently known for recreation, boating, and miles of public beaches, including numerous town, county, and state parks, as well as

Fire Island National Seashore Fire Island National Seashore (FINS) is a United States National Seashore that protects a section of Fire Island, an approximately long and wide barrier island separated from Long Island by the Great South Bay. The island is part of New York S ...

and wealthy and expensive coastal residential enclaves. Along the north shore, the Gold Coast of Long Island, featured in the film ''

The Great Gatsby ''The Great Gatsby'' is a 1925 novel by American writer F. Scott Fitzgerald. Set in the Jazz Age on Long Island, near New York City, the novel depicts first-person narrator Nick Carraway's interactions with mysterious millionaire Jay Gatsby ...

'', is an upscale section of Nassau and western Suffolk counties that once featured many lavish mansions built and inhabited by wealthy business tycoons in the earlier years of the 20th century, of which only a few remain preserved as historic sites. The East End of Long Island (known as the "Twin Forks" because of its physical shape) boasts open spaces for farmland and

wineries A winery is a building or property that produces wine, or a business involved in the production of wine, such as a wine company. Some wine companies own many wineries. Besides wine making equipment, larger wineries may also feature warehouses, b ...

. The South Fork, in particular, comprises numerous towns and villages known collectively as "

The Hamptons The Hamptons, part of the East End of Long Island, consist of the towns of Southampton and East Hampton, which together comprise the South Fork of Long Island, in Suffolk County, New York. The Hamptons are a popular seaside resort and one o ...

" and has an international reputation as a "playground for the rich and famous", with some of the wealthiest communities in the United States. In 2015, according to ''

Business Insider ''Insider'', previously named ''Business Insider'' (''BI''), is an American financial and business news website founded in 2007. Since 2015, a majority stake in ''Business Insider''s parent company Insider Inc. has been owned by the German pub ...

'', the 11962 zip code encompassing Sagaponack, within

Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...

, was listed as the most expensive in the U.S. by real estate-listings site Property Shark, with a median home sale price of $5,125,000. During the summer season, many celebrities and the wealthy visit or reside in mansions and waterfront homes, while others spend weekends enjoying the beaches, gardens, bars, restaurants, and nightclubs. Long Island is served by a network of parkways and expressways, with the

Long Island Expressway Long may refer to: Measurement * Long, characteristic of something of great duration * Long, characteristic of something of great length * Longitude (abbreviation: long.), a geographic coordinate * Longa (music), note value in early music men ...

Northern State Parkway The Northern State Parkway (also known as the Northern Parkway or Northern State) is a limited-access state parkway on Long Island in the U.S. state of New York. The western terminus is at the Queens– Nassau County line, where the parkway conti ...

, and

Southern State Parkway The Southern State Parkway (also known as the Southern State or Southern Parkway; abbreviated as SO on signage) is a limited-access highway on Long Island, New York, in the United States. The parkway begins at an interchange with the Belt and C ...

being major east–west routes across significant portions of the island.

Commuter rail Commuter rail, or suburban rail, is a passenger rail transport service that primarily operates within a metropolitan area, connecting Commuting, commuters to a Downtown, central city from adjacent suburbs or commuter towns. Generally commuter r ...

access is provided by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) Long Island Rail Road, one of the largest commuter railroads in the United States. Air travel needs are served by several airports. Within Queens, the island is home to

John F. Kennedy International Airport John F. Kennedy International Airport (colloquially referred to as JFK Airport, Kennedy Airport, New York-JFK, or simply JFK) is the main international airport serving New York City. The airport is the busiest of the seven airports in the Avia ...

and

LaGuardia Airport LaGuardia Airport is a civil airport in East Elmhurst, Queens, New York City. Covering , the facility was established in 1929 and began operating as a public airport in 1939. It is named after former New York City mayor Fiorello La Guardia ...

, two of the three major airline hubs serving the New York area (with Newark Liberty International Airport being the third; all three major airports are operated by The Port Authority of New York & New Jersey).

Long Island MacArthur Airport Long Island MacArthur Airport (formerly known as Islip Airport) is a public airport in Ronkonkoma, New York, on Long Island. The Town of Islip owns and operates the airport, which serves about two million airline passengers a year, as well as g ...

(serving commercial airlines) and Farmingdale/Republic Airport (private and commuter flights) are both located in Suffolk County.

Lower Hudson Valley

Known for its hilly terrain, picturesque settings, and quaint small towns and

villages A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town (although the word is often used to describe both hamlets and smaller towns), with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to ...

, the Lower Hudson Valley is centered around the

Hudson River The Hudson River is a river that flows from north to south primarily through eastern New York. It originates in the Adirondack Mountains of Upstate New York and flows southward through the Hudson Valley to the New York Harbor between N ...

north of New York City and lies within New York State. Westchester and Putnam counties are located on the eastern side of the river, and Rockland and

Orange Orange most often refers to: *Orange (fruit), the fruit of the tree species '' Citrus'' × ''sinensis'' ** Orange blossom, its fragrant flower *Orange (colour), from the color of an orange, occurs between red and yellow in the visible spectrum * ...

counties are located on the western side of the river. Westchester and Rockland counties are connected by the heavily trafficked

New Tappan Zee Bridge New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator ...

, as well as by the

Bear Mountain Bridge The Bear Mountain Bridge, ceremonially named the Purple Heart Veterans Memorial Bridge, is a toll suspension bridge in New York State. It carries US 6 and US 202 across the Hudson River between Bear Mountain State Park in Orange Co ...

near their northern ends. Several branches of the MTA Metro-North Railroad serve the region's rail commuters. Southern Westchester County contains more densely populated areas and includes the cities of Yonkers, Mount Vernon, New Rochelle, and White Plains. Although many of the suburban communities of Westchester are known for their affluence and expense (some examples: Bronxville, Scarsdale, Chappaqua, Armonk, Katonah, and Briarcliff Manor), the Lower Hudson Valley as a whole is one of the fastest-growing areas in the metropolitan area because of high housing costs in New York and the inner suburbs. Historically, the valley was home to many factories, including paper mills, but a significant number have closed. After years of lingering pollution, cleanup efforts to improve the Hudson River water quality are currently planned and will be supervised by the

United States Environmental Protection Agency The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is an independent executive agency of the United States federal government tasked with environmental protection matters. President Richard Nixon proposed the establishment of EPA on July 9, 1970; it ...

(EPA).

Mid-Hudson Valley

The Mid-Hudson Valley region of the

is midway between New York City and the state capital of Albany. The area includes the counties of Dutchess,

Ulster Ulster (; ga, Ulaidh or ''Cúige Uladh'' ; sco, label= Ulster Scots, Ulstèr or ''Ulster'') is one of the four traditional Irish provinces. It is made up of nine counties: six of these constitute Northern Ireland (a part of the United Kin ...

, and Sullivan, as well as the northern portions of

Orange County Orange County most commonly refers to: *Orange County, California, part of the Los Angeles metropolitan area Orange County may also refer to: U.S. counties *Orange County, Florida, containing Orlando *Orange County, Indiana *Orange County, New ...

, with the region's main cities being

Poughkeepsie Poughkeepsie ( ), officially the City of Poughkeepsie, separate from the Town of Poughkeepsie around it) is a city in the U.S. state of New York. It is the county seat of Dutchess County, with a 2020 census population of 31,577. Poughkeepsie ...

, Newburgh, Kingston, and

Beacon A beacon is an intentionally conspicuous device designed to attract attention to a specific location. A common example is the lighthouse, which draws attention to a fixed point that can be used to navigate around obstacles or into port. More mode ...

. The Walkway over the Hudson, is the second longest pedestrian

footbridge A footbridge (also a pedestrian bridge, pedestrian overpass, or pedestrian overcrossing) is a bridge designed solely for pedestrians.''Oxford English Dictionary'' While the primary meaning for a bridge is a structure which links "two points at a ...

in the world. It crosses the

connecting

and

Highland Highlands or uplands are areas of high elevation such as a mountainous region, elevated mountainous plateau or high hills. Generally speaking, upland (or uplands) refers to ranges of hills, typically from up to while highland (or highlands) is ...

. The 13 mile-long

Dutchess Rail Trail The Dutchess Rail Trail is a rail trail that stretches from the former Hopewell Junction train depot, north to the Poughkeepsie entrance of the Walkway over the Hudson. It's a shared use rail trail open for pedestrians and bicyclers. The Dutc ...

stretches from Hopewell Junction to the beginning of the Walkway over the Hudson in Poughkeepsie. The area is home to the Wappingers Central School District, which the second-largest school district in the

state of New York New York, officially the State of New York, is a state in the Northeastern United States. It is often called New York State to distinguish it from its largest city, New York City. With a total area of , New York is the 27th-largest U.S. state ...

. The Newburgh Waterfront in the City of Newburgh is home to many high-end restaurants.

U.S. Route 9 U.S. Route 9 (US 9) is a north–south United States highway in the states of Delaware, New Jersey, and New York in the Northeastern United States. It is one of only two U.S. Highways with a ferry connection (the Cape May–Lewes Ferry, between ...

I-84 Interstate 84 may refer to: * Interstate 84 (Oregon–Utah), passing through Idaho, formerly known as Interstate 80N * Interstate 84 (Pennsylvania–Massachusetts) Interstate 84 (I-84) is an Interstate Highway in the Northeaster ...

, and the

Taconic State Parkway The Taconic State Parkway (often called the Taconic or the TSP and known administratively as New York State Route 987G or NY 987G) is a parkway between Kensico Dam and Chatham, the longest in the U.S. state of New York. It follows ...

all run through Dutchess County. Metro-North Railroad train station, New Hamburg, is located in the Town of

and runs from

to Grand Central Terminal in

Northern New Jersey

Northern New Jersey, also known colloquially as ''North Jersey'', is typically defined as comprising the following counties: * Bergen County * Essex County * Somerset County (anything north of Bridgewater Township) *

Hudson County Hudson County is the most densely populated county in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It lies west of the lower Hudson River, which was named for Henry Hudson, the sea captain who explored the area in 1609. Part of New Jersey's Gateway Region in ...

Hunterdon County Hunterdon County is a county located in the western section of the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the county's population was 128,947, making it the state's 18th-most populous county,Readington Township) * Morris County * Passaic County * Sussex County * Union County *

Warren County Warren County is the name of fourteen counties in the USA. Some are named after General Joseph Warren, who was killed in the Battle of Bunker Hill in the American Revolutionary War: * Warren County, Georgia * Warren County, Illinois * Warren County ...

The New Jersey State Department of Tourism splits North Jersey into the urban

Gateway Region The Gateway Region is the primary urbanized area of the northeastern section of New Jersey. It is anchored by Newark, the state's most populous city. While sometimes known as the Newark metropolitan area, it is part of the New York metropolitan ...

and the more rural Skylands Region. Northern New Jersey is home to four of the largest cities of that state: Newark, Jersey City, Paterson, and

. The region is geographically diverse with

wetland A wetland is a distinct ecosystem that is flooded or saturated by water, either permanently (for years or decades) or seasonally (for weeks or months). Flooding results in oxygen-free (anoxic) processes prevailing, especially in the soils. The p ...

s, mountains, and valleys throughout the area. It has a large network of expressways and public transportation rail services, mostly operated by

New Jersey Transit New Jersey Transit Corporation, branded as NJ Transit, and often shortened to NJT, is a state-owned public transportation system that serves the U.S. state of New Jersey, along with portions of New York State and Pennsylvania. It operates bu ...

. Northern New Jersey also contains the second busiest airport in the New York metropolitan area, Newark Liberty International Airport. Although it is a suburban and rural region of New York, much of the

is highly urbanized. The entirety of Hudson County, eastern Essex County, southern Passaic County as well as

in Union County are all densely populated areas.

Central New Jersey

is the middle portion of the state of New Jersey. Municipalities including Trenton (the

state capital Below is an index of pages containing lists of capital cities. National capitals *List of national capitals * List of national capitals by latitude *List of national capitals by population * List of national capitals by area * List of capital c ...

of New Jersey and the only U.S. state capital within the New York metropolitan area) and

(home to

Princeton University Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the ...

) are located in this subregion, as is a significant portion of the Jersey Shore. * Middlesex County * Mercer County * Monmouth County *

Ocean County Ocean County is a county located along the Jersey Shore in the south-central portion of the U.S. state of New Jersey. It borders the Atlantic Ocean on the east. Its county seat is Toms River.Union County *

Hunterdon County Hunterdon County is a county located in the western section of the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the county's population was 128,947, making it the state's 18th-most populous county,Readington Township) * Somerset County (anything south of Bridgewater Township) Mohonk Mountain House 2011 View of Mohonk Guest Rooms from One Hiking Trail FRD 3205

Mohonk Mountain House 2011 View of Mohonk Guest Rooms from One Hiking Trail FRD 3205

Sugarloaf Hill Hudson Highlands from Bear Mountain Bridge

Western Connecticut

Fairfield, New Haven, and Litchfield counties in western Connecticut (like the state in general) are known for affluence. Large businesses are scattered throughout the area, mostly in Fairfield County. The land is flat along the coast with low hills eventually giving way to larger hills such as

The Berkshires The Berkshires () are a highland geologic region located in the western parts of Massachusetts and northwest Connecticut. The term "Berkshires" is normally used by locals in reference to the portion of the Vermont-based Green Mountains that ex ...

further inland, to the

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut Massachusett_writing_systems.html" ;"title="nowiki/> məhswatʃəwiːsət.html" ;"title="Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət">Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət'' En ...

border. Most of the largest cities in the state are in New Haven County (home to

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Sta ...

) and Fairfield County. Candlewood Lake is the largest recreational lake in the New York metropolitan area. The lake is located within the Greater Danbury region, and is home to many second homes of New York City residents.

Pike County, Pennsylvania

Pike County is located in

northeastern Pennsylvania Northeastern Pennsylvania (NEPA) is a geographic region of the U.S. state of Pennsylvania that includes the Pocono Mountains, the Endless Mountains, and the industrial cities of Scranton, Wilkes-Barre, Pittston, Hazleton, Nanticoke, and Car ...

. As of the 2010 Census, the population was 57,369. Its

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is in use in Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, Taiwan, and the United States. The equivalent term shire town is used in the US st ...

is Milford. Part of the

Pocono Mountains The Pocono Mountains, commonly referred to as the Poconos , are a geographical, geological, and cultural region in Northeastern Pennsylvania. They overlook the Delaware River and Delaware Water Gap to the east, Lake Wallenpaupack to the north, ...

region lies within Pike County, which has ranked among the fastest-growing counties of Pennsylvania.

Urban areas of the region

The combined statistical area is a multicore metropolitan region containing several urban areas. Newark aerial looking northwest

Main cities and towns

The following is a list of "principal cities" and their respective population estimates from the 2010 U.S. Census Bureau publication. Principal cities are generally those where there is a greater number of jobs than employed residents. * New York–Northern New Jersey–Long Island MSA **

: 8,175,133 **

Hempstead, New York The Town of Hempstead (also known historically as South Hempstead) is the largest of the three towns in Nassau County (alongside North Hempstead and Oyster Bay) in the U.S. state of New York. It occupies the southwestern part of the county, on ...

: 759,757 **

Brookhaven, New York The Town of Brookhaven is the most populous of the ten towns of Suffolk County, New York, United States. Part of the New York metropolitan area, it is located approximately 50 miles from Manhattan. It is the largest of the state of New York' ...

: 486,040 **

Islip, New York Islip ( ) is a town in Suffolk County, New York, United States, on the south shore of Long Island. The population was 335,543 at the 2010 census, making it the fourth most populous city or town in the state. The Town of Islip also contains a ...

: 335,543 **

Oyster Bay, New York The Town of Oyster Bay is the easternmost of the three towns which make up Nassau County, New York, United States. Part of the New York metropolitan area, it is the only town in Nassau County to extend from the North Shore to the South Shore ...

: 293,214 **

Babylon, New York The Town of Babylon is one of ten towns in Suffolk County, New York, United States. Its population was 218,223 as of the 2020 census. Parts of Jones Beach Island, Captree Island and Fire Island are in the southernmost part of the town. It border ...

: 213,603 ** Huntington, New York: 203,264 **

Yonkers, New York Yonkers () is a city in Westchester County, New York, United States. Developed along the Hudson River, it is the third most populous city in the state of New York, after New York City and Buffalo. The population of Yonkers was 211,569 as en ...

: 195,976 ** Paterson, New Jersey: 146,199 ** Elizabeth, New Jersey: 128,640 **

Ramapo, New York Ramapo is a town in Rockland County, New York, United States. It was originally formed as New Hampstead, in 1791, and became Ramapo in 1828."Ramapo", in Peter R. Eisenstadt and Laura-Eve Moss (Eds.), The Encyclopedia of New York State'. Syr ...

: 126,595 **

Smithtown, New York Smithtown is a town in Suffolk County, New York on the North Shore of Long Island. It is part of the New York metropolitan area. The population was 116,296 at the 2020 Census. The census-designated place (CDP) of Smithtown lies within the town ...

: 117,801 **

Edison, New Jersey Edison is a township located in Middlesex County,in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Situated in Central New Jersey within the core of the state's Raritan Valley region, Edison is a commercial hub, home to Menlo Park Mall and Little India. It ...

: 99,967 **

Woodbridge Township, New Jersey Woodbridge Township is a township in Middlesex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The township is both a regional hub for Central New Jersey and a major bedroom suburb of New York City in the New York metropolitan area located within the ...

: 99,265 ** New Rochelle, New York: 77,062 ** Mount Vernon, New York: 67,292 **

White Plains, New York (Always Faithful) , image_seal = WhitePlainsSeal.png , seal_link = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Country , subdivision_name = , subdivision_type1 = U.S. state, State , su ...

: 56,853 ** Passaic, New Jersey: 72,500 ** Union, New Jersey: 56,642 **

Wayne, New Jersey Wayne is a township in Passaic County, New Jersey, United States. Home to William Paterson University and located less than from Midtown Manhattan, the township is a bedroom suburb of New York City and regional commercial hub of North Jersey. ...

: 54,717 * Trenton–Princeton MSA **

Trenton, New Jersey Trenton is the capital city of the U.S. state of New Jersey and the county seat of Mercer County. It was the capital of the United States from November 1 to December 24, 1784.Princeton, New Jersey Princeton is a municipality with a borough form of government in Mercer County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It was established on January 1, 2013, through the consolidation of the Borough of Princeton and Princeton Township, both of whi ...

: 28,572 * Bridgeport–Stamford–Norwalk–Danbury MSA ** Bridgeport, Connecticut: 144,229 ** Stamford, Connecticut: 122,643 ** Norwalk, Connecticut: 85,603 ** Danbury, Connecticut: 80,893 ** Stratford, Connecticut: 51,384 * New Haven–Milford MSA **

New Haven, Connecticut New Haven is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound in New Haven County, Connecticut and is part of the New York City metropolitan area. With a population of 134 ...

: 129,779 **

Waterbury, Connecticut Waterbury is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut on the Naugatuck River, southwest of Hartford and northeast of New York City. Waterbury is the second-largest city in New Haven County, Connecticut. According to the 2020 US Census, in 20 ...

: 109,272 **

Milford, Connecticut Milford is a coastal city in New Haven County, Connecticut, United States, located between New Haven and Bridgeport. The population was 50,558 at the 2020 United States Census. The city includes the village of Devon and the borough of Woodmon ...

: 51,271 * Poughkeepsie–Newburgh–Middletown MSA **

Poughkeepsie, New York Poughkeepsie ( ), officially the City of Poughkeepsie, separate from the Town of Poughkeepsie around it) is a city in the U.S. state of New York. It is the county seat of Dutchess County, with a 2020 census population of 31,577. Poughkeepsi ...

: 32,736 **

Newburgh, New York Newburgh is a city in the U.S. state of New York, within Orange County. With a population of 28,856 as of the 2020 census, it is a principal city of the Poughkeepsie–Newburgh–Middletown metropolitan area. Located north of New York City, a ...

: 28,866 ** Middletown, New York: 28,086 * Kingston MSA **

Kingston, New York Kingston is a city in and the county seat of Ulster County, New York, United States. It is north of New York City and south of Albany. The city's metropolitan area is grouped with the New York metropolitan area around Manhattan by the United ...

: 23,893 * Torrington Micropolitan Area **

Torrington, Connecticut Torrington is the most populated municipality and only city in Litchfield County, Connecticut and the Northwest Hills region. It is also the core city of Greater Torrington, one of the largest micropolitan areas in the United States. The city p ...

: 36,383

Climate

Under the

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...

, New York City, western (and parts of eastern) Long Island, and the Jersey Shore experience a humid subtropical climate (''Cfa''), and New York is thus the northernmost major city on the North American continent with this climate type. Much of the remainder of the metropolitan area lies in the transition zone from a humid subtropical (''Cfa'') to a

humid continental climate A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers and freezing ...

(''Dfa''), and it is only the inland, more exurban areas far to the north and west such as Sussex County, New Jersey, that have a January daily average of or below and are fully humid continental; the ''Dfb'' (warm summer subtype) regime is only found inland at a higher elevation, and receives greater snowfall than the ''Dfa'' region. Much of Monroe and most of Pike County in Pennsylvania also have a fully humid continental climate. Summers in the area are typically hot and humid. Nighttime conditions in and around the five boroughs of New York are often exacerbated by the

urban heat island An urban heat island (UHI) is an urban or metropolitan area that is significantly warmer than its surrounding rural areas due to human activities. The temperature difference is usually larger at night than during the day, and is most apparen ...

phenomenon, and temperatures exceed on average of 7–8 days (on the immediate Long Island Sound and Atlantic coasts), up to in excess of 27 days (inland suburbs in New Jersey) each summer and may exceed .. Normally, warm to hot temperatures begin in mid May, and last through early October. Summers also feature passing thundershowers which build in the heat of the day, then drop brief, but intense rainfall. Winters are cold with a mix of rain and snow. Although prevailing winds in winter are offshore, and temper the moderating effects of the Atlantic Ocean, the Atlantic and the partial shielding by the

Appalachians The Appalachian Mountains, often called the Appalachians, (french: Appalaches), are a system of mountains in eastern to northeastern North America. The Appalachians first formed roughly 480 million years ago during the Ordovician Period. They ...

from colder air keep the New York area warmer in the winter than inland North American metropolitan areas located at similar or lesser latitudes including

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Western Pennsylvania, the second-most populous city in Pennsylva ...

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...

, and Indianapolis. Warm periods with + temperatures may occasionally occur during winter as well. The hardiness zone in the New York metropolitan area varies over a wide range from 5a in the highest areas of Dutchess, Monroe, and Ulster Counties to 7b in most of NYC as well as Hudson County from Bayonne up the east side of the Palisades to Route 495, the majority of Nassau County, the north coast of Monmouth County, and Copiague Harbor, Lindenhurst, and Montauk in Suffolk County

Almost all of the metropolitan area receives at least of precipitation annually, which is relatively evenly spread throughout the year, and many areas receive upwards of . Average winter snowfall for 1981 to 2010 ranges from just under along the coast of Long Island to more than in some inland areas, but this usually varies considerably from year to year. Hurricanes and tropical storms have impacted the Tri-State area in the past, though a direct hit is rare. Several areas on Long Island, New Jersey, and the Connecticut coast have been impacted by serious storm surges in the past. Inland areas have been impacted by heavy rain and flooding from tropical cyclones. The New York metropolitan area averages 234 days with at least some sunshine and 59% of possible sunlight annually, accumulating 2,400 to 2,800 hours of sunshine per annum.

History

Mulberry Street NYC c1900 LOC 3g04637u edit

During the Wisconsinan glaciation, the region was situated at the edge of a large

ice sheet In glaciology, an ice sheet, also known as a continental glacier, is a mass of glacial ice that covers surrounding terrain and is greater than . The only current ice sheets are in Antarctica and Greenland; during the Last Glacial Period at La ...

over 1000 feet in depth. The ice sheet scraped away large amounts of soil, leaving the bedrock that serves as the geologic

foundation Foundation may refer to: * Foundation (nonprofit), a type of charitable organization ** Foundation (United States law), a type of charitable organization in the U.S. ** Private foundation, a charitable organization that, while serving a good cause ...

for much of the New York metropolitan region today. Later on, the ice sheet would help split apart what are now Long Island and Staten Island. Unisfera Flushing

At the time of European contact the region was inhabited by Native Americans, predominantly the Lenape, and others. The Native Americans used the abundant waterways in the area for many purposes, such as fishing and trade routes. Sailing for France in 1524,

Giovanni da Verrazzano Giovanni da Verrazzano ( , , often misspelled Verrazano in English; 1485–1528) was an Italian ( Florentine) explorer of North America, in the service of King Francis I of France. He is renowned as the first European to explore the Atlanti ...

was the first European to enter the local waters and encounter the residents, but he did not make landfall.

Henry Hudson Henry Hudson ( 1565 – disappeared 23 June 1611) was an English sea explorer and navigator during the early 17th century, best known for his explorations of present-day Canada and parts of the northeastern United States. In 1607 and 16 ...

, sailing for the Dutch in 1609, visited the area and built a settlement on Lower Manhattan Island that was eventually renamed New Amsterdam by

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

colonists in 1626. In 1664, the area went under English control, and was later renamed ''New York'' after King Charles II of England granted the lands to his brother, the Duke of York. As the fur trade expanded further north, New York became a trading hub, which brought in a diverse set of ethnic groups including Africans,

Jews Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

, and

Portuguese Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...

. The island of Manhattan had an extraordinary natural harbor formed by New York Bay (actually the drowned lower river valley of the Hudson River, enclosed by

glacial moraines A moraine is any accumulation of unconsolidated debris (regolith and rock), sometimes referred to as glacial till, that occurs in both currently and formerly glaciated regions, and that has been previously carried along by a glacier or ice she ...

), the

East River The East River is a saltwater tidal estuary in New York City. The waterway, which is actually not a river despite its name, connects Upper New York Bay on its south end to Long Island Sound on its north end. It separates the borough of Quee ...

(actually a

tidal strait A tidal strait is technically not a river but a strait connecting two oceans or seas. Tidal straits are narrow seaways through which tidal currents flow. Tidal currents are usually unidirectional but sometimes are bidirectional. They are frequen ...

), and the

, all of which merge at the southern tip, from which all later development spread. During the

American Revolution The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revoluti ...

, the strategic waterways made New York vitally important as a wartime base for the British navy. Many battles such as the

Battle of Long Island The Battle of Long Island, also known as the Battle of Brooklyn and the Battle of Brooklyn Heights, was an action of the American Revolutionary War fought on August 27, 1776, at the western edge of Long Island in present-day Brooklyn, New Yor ...

and the Battle of New York were fought in the region to secure it. New York was captured by the British early in the war, becoming a haven for Loyalist refugees from other parts of the country, and remained in the hands of the British until the war ended in 1783. New York served as the

capital of the United States This is a list of capital cities of the United States, including places that serve or have served as federal, state, insular area, territorial, colonial and Native American capitals. Washington has been the federal capital of the United Stat ...

from 1785 until 1790, after which the capital moved to Philadelphia. New York has been the country's largest city since 1790. In 1792, the Buttonwood Agreement, made by a group of merchants, created what is now the

New York Stock Exchange The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE, nicknamed "The Big Board") is an American stock exchange in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It is by far the world's largest stock exchange by market capitalization of its listed ...

in Lower Manhattan. Today, many people in the metropolitan area work in this important stock exchange. The Statue of Liberty in New York Harbor greeted millions of

immigrants Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not natives or where they do not possess citizenship in order to settle as permanent residents or naturalized citizens. Commuters, tourists, a ...

as they came to America by ship in the late 19th and early 20th centuries and is a globally recognized symbol of the United States and its

democracy Democracy (From grc, δημοκρατία, dēmokratía, ''dēmos'' 'people' and ''kratos'' 'rule') is a form of government in which people, the people have the authority to deliberate and decide legislation ("direct democracy"), or to choo ...

. Large-scale immigration into New York was a result of a large demand for manpower. A

cosmopolitan Cosmopolitan may refer to: Food and drink * Cosmopolitan (cocktail), also known as a "Cosmo" History * Rootless cosmopolitan, a Soviet derogatory epithet during Joseph Stalin's anti-Semitic campaign of 1949–1953 Hotels and resorts * Cosmopoli ...

attitude in the city created tolerance for various cultures and ethnic groups. German, Irish, and Italian immigrants were among the largest ethnic groups. Today, many of their descendants continue to live in the region. Cultural buildings such as the

Metropolitan Museum of Art The Metropolitan Museum of Art of New York City, colloquially "the Met", is the largest art museum in the Americas. Its permanent collection contains over two million works, divided among 17 curatorial departments. The main building at 1000 ...

, the

Metropolitan Opera The Metropolitan Opera (commonly known as the Met) is an American opera company based in New York City, resident at the Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center, currently situated on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. The company is oper ...

, and the American Museum of Natural History were built. New York newspapers were read around the country as media moguls James Gordon Bennett, Sr.,

Joseph Pulitzer Joseph Pulitzer ( ; born Pulitzer József, ; April 10, 1847 – October 29, 1911) was a Hungarian-American politician and newspaper publisher of the '' St. Louis Post-Dispatch'' and the ''New York World''. He became a leading national figure in ...

and

William Randolph Hearst William Randolph Hearst Sr. (; April 29, 1863 – August 14, 1951) was an American businessman, newspaper publisher, and politician known for developing the nation's largest newspaper chain and media company, Hearst Communications. His flamboya ...

battled for readership. In 1884, over 70% of exports passed through ports in New York or in one of the surrounding towns. The five

of New York —

The Bronx The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New Y ...

, and Staten Island — were consolidated into a single city in 1898. Grand Central Terminal Main Concourse May 2014

The newly unified New York City encouraged both more physical connections between the boroughs and the growth of

bedroom communities A commuter town is a populated area that is primarily residential rather than commercial or industrial. Routine travel from home to work and back is called commuting, which is where the term comes from. A commuter town may be called by many o ...

. The New York City Subway began operating in 1904 as the

Interborough Rapid Transit Company The Interborough Rapid Transit Company (IRT) was the private operator of New York City's original underground subway line that opened in 1904, as well as earlier elevated railways and additional rapid transit lines in New York City. The IRT ...

, one of three systems (the other two being the Brooklyn-Manhattan Transit Corporation and the

Independent Subway System The Independent Subway System (IND or ISS), formerly known as the Independent City-Owned Subway System (ICOSS) or the Independent City-Owned Rapid Transit Railroad (ICORTR), was a rapid transit rail system in New York City that is now part of th ...

) that were later taken over by the city. Railroad stations such as Grand Central Terminal and

Pennsylvania Station Pennsylvania Station (often abbreviated Penn Station) is a name applied by the Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR) to several of its grand passenger terminals. Several are still in active use by Amtrak and other transportation services; others have been ...

helped fuel suburban growth. During the era of the

Prohibition Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacture, storage (whether in barrels or in bottles), transportation, sale, possession, and consumption of alcohol ...

, when alcohol was banned nationwide, organized crime grew to supply the high demand for bootleg alcohol. The Broadway

Theater District A theater district (also spelled theatre district) is a common name for a neighborhood containing several of a city's theatres. Places *Theater District, Manhattan, New York City *Boston Theater District *Buffalo Theater District *Cleveland Theater ...

developed with the showing of the musical, ''

Show Boat ''Show Boat'' is a musical with music by Jerome Kern and book and lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II. It is based on Edna Ferber's best-selling 1926 novel of the same name. The musical follows the lives of the performers, stagehands and dock worke ...

''. The Great Depression suspended the region's fortunes as a period of widespread unemployment and poverty began. City planner Robert Moses began his automobile-centered career of building bridges,

parkways A parkway is a landscaped thoroughfare.''"parkway."''Webster's Third New International Dictionary, Unabridged. Merriam-Webster, 2002. http://unabridged.merriam-webster.com (14 Apr. 2007). The term is particularly used for a roadway in a park or ...

, and later expressways. During World War II, the city economy was hurt by blockades of German

U-boats U-boats were naval submarines operated by Germany, particularly in the First and Second World Wars. Although at times they were efficient fleet weapons against enemy naval warships, they were most effectively used in an economic warfare rol ...

, which limited shipping with Europe. After its population peaked in 1950, much of the city's population left for the suburbs of New York over the following decades. The effects were a result of

white flight White flight or white exodus is the sudden or gradual large-scale migration of white people from areas becoming more racially or ethnoculturally diverse. Starting in the 1950s and 1960s, the terms became popular in the United States. They refer ...

. Industry and commerce also declined in this era, with businesses leaving for the suburbs and other cities. The city, particularly Brooklyn, was dealt a psychological as well as an economic blow with the loss of the iconic Brooklyn Dodgers major-league

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding t ...

team, which moved to

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

after the 1957 season. Crime affected the city severely. Urban renewal projects alleviated the decay in Midtown Manhattan to a certain extent, but later failed. There was little reported social disruption during the

Northeast Blackout of 1965 The northeast blackout of 1965 was a significant disruption in the supply of electricity on Tuesday, November 9, 1965, affecting parts of Ontario in Canada and Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York ...

, but the

New York City Blackout of 1977 The New York City blackout of 1977 was an electricity blackout that affected most of New York City on July 13–14, 1977. The only unaffected neighborhoods in the city were in southern Queens (including neighborhoods of the Rockaways), which ...

caused massive rioting in some parts of the city. A rare highlight was the completion of the former

World Trade Center World Trade Centers are sites recognized by the World Trade Centers Association. World Trade Center may refer to: Buildings * List of World Trade Centers * World Trade Center (2001–present), a building complex that includes five skyscrapers, a ...

, which once stood as the tallest buildings in the world. In the 1980s, the city's economy was booming. Wall Street was fueling an economic surge in the real estate market. Despite this, crime was still an issue. Beginning in the 1990s, however, crime dropped substantially.

Crime in New York City Crime rates in New York City have been recorded since at least the 1800s. They have spiked ever since the post-war period. The highest crime totals were recorded in the late 1980s and early 1990s as the crack epidemic surged, and then declined c ...

has continued to decline through the 21st century. Hurricane Sandy Flooding Avenue C 2012

A major event in the region's and the nation's history was the

September 11th attacks The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commer ...

in 2001, which killed nearly 3,000 people as two planes crashed into the former World Trade Center and caused the towers to collapse. Businesses led an exodus from Lower Manhattan because of this but were replaced by an increased number of high-rise residences. In 2003, another blackout occurred, the

2003 North America blackout The Northeast blackout of 2003 was a widespread power outage throughout parts of the Northeastern and Midwestern United States, and most parts of the Canadian province of Ontario on Thursday, August 14, 2003, beginning just after 4:10 p.m. ...

, but the city suffered no looting and a building boom in New York continues to this day. On October 29 and 30, 2012,

Hurricane Sandy Hurricane Sandy (unofficially referred to as ''Superstorm Sandy'') was an extremely destructive and strong Atlantic hurricane, as well as the largest Atlantic hurricane on record as measured by diameter, with tropical-storm-force winds spann ...

caused extensive destruction in the metropolitan area, ravaging portions of the Atlantic coastline with record-high storm surge, severe flooding, and high winds, causing

power outage A power outage (also called a powercut, a power out, a power failure, a power blackout, a power loss, or a blackout) is the loss of the electrical power network supply to an end user. There are many causes of power failures in an electricity ...

s for millions of residents via downed trees and power lines and malfunctions at electrical substations, leading to

gasoline Gasoline (; ) or petrol (; ) (see ) is a transparent, petroleum-derived flammable liquid that is used primarily as a fuel in most spark-ignited internal combustion engines (also known as petrol engines). It consists mostly of organi ...

shortages and snarling mass transit systems. Damage to New York and New Jersey in terms of physical infrastructure and private property as well as including interrupted commerce was estimated at several tens of billions of dollars. The storm and its profound impacts have prompted the discussion of constructing

seawall A seawall (or sea wall) is a form of coastal defense constructed where the sea, and associated coastal processes, impact directly upon the landforms of the coast. The purpose of a seawall is to protect areas of human habitation, conservation ...

s and other coastal barriers around the shorelines of the metropolitan area to minimize the risk of destructive consequences from another such event in the future.

Statistical history

The

U.S. Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of the ...

first designated metropolitan areas in 1950 as standard metropolitan areas (SMAs). The "New York–Northeastern NJ SMA" was defined to include 17 counties: 9 in New York (the five boroughs of New York City, Nassau, Suffolk, Westchester, and Rockland) and 8 in New Jersey (Bergen, Hudson, Passaic, Essex, Union, Morris, Somerset, and Middlesex). In 1960, the metropolitan area standards were modified and renamed standard metropolitan statistical areas (SMSAs). The new standards resulted in the splitting of the former SMA into several pieces: the nine New York counties became the "New York SMSA"; three of the New Jersey counties (Essex, Union, and Morris) became the "Newark SMSA"; two other New Jersey counties (Bergen and Passaic) became the "Paterson–Passaic–Clifton SMSA"; Hudson County was designated the "Jersey City SMSA"; and Middlesex and Somerset counties lost their metropolitan status. In 1973, a new set of metropolitan area standards resulted in further changes: Nassau and Suffolk counties were split off as their own SMSA ("Nassau–Suffolk SMSA"); Bergen County (originally part of the Paterson–Clifton–Passaic SMSA) was transferred to the New York SMSA; the New York SMSA also received Putnam County (previously non-metropolitan); Somerset County was added to the Newark SMSA; and two new SMSAs, the "New Brunswick–Perth Amboy–Sayreville SMSA" (Middlesex County) and "Long Branch–Asbury Park SMSA" (Monmouth County), were established. In 1983, the concept of a consolidated metropolitan statistical area (CMSA) was first implemented. A CMSA consisted of several primary metropolitan statistical areas (PMSAs), which were individual employment centers within a wider

labor market area A labor market area is a geographic area or region defined for purposes of compiling, reporting, and evaluating employment, unemployment, workforce availability, and related topics. It can be defined as an economically integrated region within whi ...

. The "New York–Northern New Jersey–Long Island CMSA" consisted of 12 PMSAs. Seven PMSAs were based on the original 1950 New York SMA that were split up: New York, Bergen–Passaic, Jersey City, Middlesex–Somerset–Hunterdon (Hunterdon added for the first time), Monmouth–Ocean (Ocean added for the first time), Nassau–Suffolk, and Newark (Sussex added for the first time). One additional PMSA was the Orange County PMSA (previously the Newburgh–Middletown SMSA). The other four PMSAs were former SMSAs in Connecticut: Bridgeport, Stamford, Norwalk, and Danbury. In 1993, four PMSAs were added to the New York–Northern New Jersey–Long Island CMSA: Trenton PMSA (Mercer County), Dutchess County PMSA, Waterbury PMSA, and New Haven PMSA. Several new counties were also added to the CMSA: Sussex, Warren, and Pike. The CMSA model was originally utilized for tabulating data from the 2000 census. In 2003, a new set of standards was established using the Core Based Statistical Area (CBSA) model was adopted and remains in use as of 2010. The CBSA model resulted in the splitting up of the old CMSA into several metropolitan statistical areas: New York–Northern New Jersey–Long Island, Poughkeepsie–Newburgh–Middletown, Trenton–Princeton, Bridgeport–Stamford–Norwalk (includes Danbury), and New Haven–Milford (includes Waterbury). In 2013, the Census Bureau added Carbon, Lehigh, Northampton, and Monroe counties in Pennsylvania, and Warren County, New Jersey (encompassing collectively the Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton, PA-NJ MSA and the East Stroudsburg, PA MSA), to the Combined Statistical Area, and assimilated Poughkeepsie–Newburgh–Middletown into the larger New York–Northern New Jersey–Long Island–NY–NJ–PA MSA. In 2018, the Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton, PA-NJ MSA was removed from the Combined Statistical Area.OMB BULLETIN NO. 18-04: Revised Delineations of Metropolitan Statistical Areas, Micropolitan Statistical Areas, and Combined Statistical Areas, and Guidance on Uses of the Delineations of These Areas
. Office of Management and Budget. September 14, 2018.

Proposals for the region

The metropolitan region has never had separate political representation from the rest of their original states. This has to do with disagreements in the desired model and the constitutional complexity of the metropolitan region being cross-state. Within the State of New York over the last 30 years, discussions have emerged of splitting the states into different regions with separate governors and legislators whilst remaining part of the same state — as opposed to seeing New York and its metropolitan area being split into a separate state. The idea has been seen by Republicans in the state as an opportunity to dislocate the Democratic party's hold in the state legislature. The discussion surrounding the re-organisation of New York State has commonly been in two models: The two-region model creates a "downstate" New York region which would consist of all five New York City boroughs, Long Island's Nassau and Suffolk counties, and Westchester and Rockland counties, then Upstate would be the remaining 53; and the three-region model is New York having five counties; Montauk would consist of Nassau, Suffolk, Rockland, and Westchester counties and; New Amsterdam would be the remaining portion of New York State. This debate was reported as recent as February 2019, when Republican state Senator Daphne Jordan supported the state being split into two states, however it was believed that the proposal would require an act of congress for it to be passed.

Demographics

2020 Census

2010 Census

As of the 2010 Census, the metropolitan area had a population of 22,085,649. The population density was 1,865 per square mile. The racial markup was 51.7%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White o ...

(non-Latino), 21.7%

Latino Latino or Latinos most often refers to: * Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America * Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States * The people or cultures of Latin America; ** Latin A ...

, 15.3%

African-American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ensl ...

, 9.0% Asian-American, 0.16% Native American and

Alaskan Native Alaska Natives (also known as Alaskan Natives, Native Alaskans, Indigenous Alaskans, Aboriginal Alaskans or First Alaskans) are the indigenous peoples of Alaska and include Iñupiat, Yupik, Aleut, Eyak, Tlingit, Haida, Tsimshian, and a numb ...

, 0.03%

Pacific Islands American Pacific Islander Americans (also known as Oceanian Americans) are Americans who are of Pacific Islander ancestry (or are descendants of the indigenous peoples of Oceania or of Austronesian descent). For its purposes, the United States census ...

, 0.5% Other, and 1.6% Multiracial. The median age was 37.9. 25.5% were under 18, 9.5% were 18 to 24 years, 28% were 25 to 44 years of age, 26.6% were 45 to 64 years old, and 13.2% were over the age of 65. Males composed 48.3% of the population while females were 51.7% of the population. 97.7% of the population were in households, 2.3% were in group quarters, and 1% were institutionalized. There were 8,103,731 households, of which 30.2% or 2,449,343 had children. 46.1% or 3,736,165 were composed of opposite sex and married couples. Male households with no wife composed 4.9% or 400,534. 15.0% or 1,212,436 were female households with no husbands. 34% or 2,754,596 were non-family households. The household density was 684 per square mile. 91.9% of housing units were occupied with a 3.8% vacancy rate. The average household size was 2.65 per household. The average income for non-family households was $90,335, and the average income for families was $104,715. 13.3% or 2,888,493 of the population were below the poverty line. 26.7% or 5,911,993 of the population were born outside the United States. Out of this, most (50.6% or 2,992,639) were born in

Latin America Latin America or * french: Amérique Latine, link=no * ht, Amerik Latin, link=no * pt, América Latina, link=no, name=a, sometimes referred to as LatAm is a large cultural region in the Americas where Romance languages — languages derived f ...

, 27.0% or 1,595,523 were born in

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an are ...

, 17.4% or 1,028,506 were born in

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...

, 3.8% or 224,109 were born in

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

, and 0.2% or 11,957 were born in

Oceania Oceania (, , ) is a geographical region that includes Australasia, Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia. Spanning the Eastern and Western hemispheres, Oceania is estimated to have a land area of and a population of around 44.5 million ...

Population estimates

As of July 1, 2015, the United States Census Bureau estimated the population of the New York metropolitan area at 23,723,696, an increase of 647,032 from 2010. Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree 03

The New York metropolitan region is ethnically diverse. Asian Americans in New York City, according to the 2010 Census, number more than one million, greater than the combined totals of

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...

and Los Angeles. New York contains the highest total Asian population of any U.S. city proper. The New York borough of Queens is home to the state's largest Asian American population and the largest

Andean The Andes, Andes Mountains or Andean Mountains (; ) are the longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. The range is long, wide (widest between 18°S – 20°S l ...

( Colombian,

Ecuadorian Ecuadorians ( es, ecuatorianos) are people identified with the South American country of Ecuador. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Ecuadorians, several (or all) of these connections exist and are colle ...

Peruvian Peruvians ( es, peruanos) are the citizens of Peru. There were Andean and coastal ancient civilizations like Caral, which inhabited what is now Peruvian territory for several millennia before the Spanish conquest of Peru, Spanish conquest in th ...

, Chilean and

Bolivian Bolivian may refer to: * Something of, or related to Bolivia ** Bolivian people ** Demographics of Bolivia ** Culture of Bolivia * SS ''Bolivian'', a British-built standard cargo ship A cargo ship or freighter is a merchant ship that carries ...

) populations in the United States, and is also the most ethnically diverse urban area in the world. The

Han Chinese The Han Chinese () or Han people (), are an East Asian ethnic group native to China. They constitute the world's largest ethnic group, making up about 18% of the global population and consisting of various subgroups speaking distinctiv ...

population constitutes the fastest-growing ethnicity in New York State; multiple satellites of the original

Manhattan Chinatown Manhattan's Chinatown () is a neighborhood in Lower Manhattan, New York City, bordering the Lower East Side to its east, Little Italy to its north, Civic Center to its south, and Tribeca to its west. With an estimated population of 90,000 to 1 ...

(), in

(), and around Flushing, Queens (), are thriving as traditionally urban enclaves, while also expanding rapidly eastward into suburban Nassau County. on Long Island, as the New York metropolitan region and New York State have become the top destinations for new Chinese immigrants, respectively, and large-scale Chinese immigration continues into New York City and surrounding areas. In 2012, 6.3% of New York was of Chinese ethnicity, with nearly three-fourths living in either Queens or Brooklyn, geographically on Long Island. In particular, the New York area has over 100,000 Fuzhounese people. A community numbering 20,000 Korean-Chinese (''Chaoxianzu'' () or ''Joseonjok'' ()) is centered in Flushing, Queens, while New York is also home to the largest Tibetan population outside China, India, and

Nepal Nepal (; ne, :ne:नेपाल, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne, सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in S ...

, also centered in Queens.

Koreans Koreans ( South Korean: , , North Korean: , ; see names of Korea) are an East Asian ethnic group native to the Korean Peninsula. Koreans mainly live in the two Korean nation states: North Korea and South Korea (collectively and simply re ...

made up 1.2% of the city's population, and

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

0.3%.

Filipinos Filipinos ( tl, Mga Pilipino) are the people who are citizens of or native to the Philippines. The majority of Filipinos today come from various Austronesian ethnolinguistic groups, all typically speaking either Filipino, English and/or othe ...

were the largest Southeast Asian ethnic group at 0.8%, followed by

Vietnamese Vietnamese may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Vietnam, a country in Southeast Asia ** A citizen of Vietnam. See Demographics of Vietnam. * Vietnamese people, or Kinh people, a Southeast Asian ethnic group native to Vietnam ** Overse ...

, who made up 0.2% of New York's population in 2010. Indians are the largest South Asian group, comprising 2.4% of the city's population, with Bangladeshis and Pakistanis at 0.7% and 0.5%, respectively. Queens is the preferred borough of settlement for Asian Indians, Koreans, and Filipinos, as well as

Malaysians Malaysians are nationals and citizens who are identified with the country of Malaysia. Although citizens make up the majority of Malaysians, non-citizen residents and overseas Malaysians may also claim a Malaysian identity. The country is h ...

and other Southeast Asians; while Brooklyn is receiving large numbers of both

West Indian A West Indian is a native or inhabitant of the West Indies (the Antilles and the Lucayan Archipelago). For more than 100 years the words ''West Indian'' specifically described natives of the West Indies, but by 1661 Europeans had begun to use it ...

as well as Asian Indian immigrants. New York has the largest European and non-Hispanic white population of any American city. At 2.7 million in 2012, New York's non-Hispanic white population is larger than the non-Hispanic white populations of Los Angeles (1.1 million), Chicago (865,000), and Houston (550,000) combined. The

European diaspora European emigration is the successive emigration waves from the European continent to other continents. The origins of the various European diasporas can be traced to the people who left the European nation states or stateless ethnic communities ...

residing in the city is very diverse. According to 2012 Census estimates, there were roughly 560,000 Italian Americans, 385,000 Irish Americans, 253,000 German Americans, 223,000

Russian Americans Russian Americans ( rus, русские американцы, r=russkiye amerikantsy, p= ˈruskʲɪje ɐmʲɪrʲɪˈkant͡sɨ) are Americans of full or partial Russian ancestry. The term can apply to recent Russian immigrants to the United Stat ...

, 201,000

Polish American Polish Americans ( pl, Polonia amerykańska) are Americans who either have total or partial Polish ancestry, or are citizens of the Republic of Poland. There are an estimated 9.15 million self-identified Polish Americans, representing about 2.83 ...

s, and 137,000

English American English Americans (historically known as Anglo-Americans) are Americans whose ancestry originates wholly or partly in England. In the 2020 American Community Survey, 25.21 million self-identified as being of English origin. The term is distin ...

s. Additionally,

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

and

French American French Americans or Franco-Americans (french: Franco-Américains), are citizens or nationals of the United States who identify themselves with having full or partial French or French-Canadian heritage, ethnicity and/or ancestral ties. They ...

s numbered 65,000 each, with those of Hungarian descent estimated at 60,000 people.

Ukrainian Ukrainian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Ukraine * Something relating to Ukrainians, an East Slavic people from Eastern Europe * Something relating to demographics of Ukraine in terms of demography and population of Ukraine * So ...

and

Scottish American Scottish Americans or Scots Americans (Scottish Gaelic: ''Ameireaganaich Albannach''; sco, Scots-American) are Americans whose ancestry originates wholly or partly in Scotland. Scottish Americans are closely related to Scotch-Irish Americans, d ...

s numbered 55,000 and 35,000, respectively. People identifying ancestry from

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

numbered 30,838 total in 2010. People of

Norwegian Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to: *Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe * Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway * Demographics of Norway *The Norwegian language, including ...

and

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

descent both stood at about 20,000 each, while people of

Czech Czech may refer to: * Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe ** Czech language ** Czechs, the people of the area ** Czech culture ** Czech cuisine * One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus' Places * Czech, ...

, Lithuanian,

, Scotch-Irish, and Welsh descent all numbered between 12,000 and 14,000 people.

Arab American Arab Americans ( ar, عَرَبٌ أَمْرِيكِا or ) are Americans of Arab ancestry. Arab Americans trace ancestry to any of the various waves of immigrants of the countries comprising the Arab World. According to the Arab American Ins ...

s number over 160,000 in New York City, with the highest concentration in Brooklyn.

Central Asians Central Asia is a diverse land with many ethnic groups, languages, religions and tribes. The nations which make up Central Asia are five of the former Soviet republics: Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan, which have ...

, primarily Uzbek Americans, are a rapidly growing segment of the city's non-Hispanic white population, enumerating over 30,000, and including over half of all Central Asian immigrants to the United States, most settling in Queens or Brooklyn.

Albanian American Albanian Americans ( sq, shqiptaro-amerikanët) are Americans of full or partial Albanian ancestry and heritage in the United States. They trace their ancestry to the territories with a large Albanian population in the Balkans among others to ...

s are most highly concentrated in the Bronx. New York Gay Pride 2011

The wider New York metropolitan area is also

. The New York region continues to be by far the leading metropolitan gateway for legal immigrants admitted into the United States, substantially exceeding the combined totals of Los Angeles and

Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a coastal metropolis and the county seat of Miami-Dade County in South Florida, United States. With a population of 442,241 at ...

, the next most popular gateway regions. It is home to the largest

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

as well as Israeli communities outside

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

, with the Jewish population in the region numbering over 1.5 million in 2012 and including many diverse Jewish sects from around the

Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Province), East Thrace (Europ ...

and

Eastern Europe Eastern Europe is a subregion of the European continent. As a largely ambiguous term, it has a wide range of geopolitical, geographical, ethnic, cultural, and socio-economic connotations. The vast majority of the region is covered by Russia, whic ...

. The metropolitan area is also home to 20% of the nation's

Indian Americans Indian Americans or Indo-Americans are citizens of the United States with ancestry from India. The United States Census Bureau uses the term Asian Indian to avoid confusion with Native Americans, who have also historically been referred to ...

and at least 20

Little India Little India or India Town (less commonly known as Indian Street or India Bazaar) is an Indian or Desi (South Asian) sociocultural environment outside India or the subcontinent. It especially refers to an area with Indian residences and a dive ...

enclaves, as well as 15% of all

Korean Americans Korean Americans are Americans of Koreans, Korean ancestry (mostly from South Korea). In 2015, the Korean-American community constituted about 0.56% of the United States population, or about 1.82 million people, and was the fifth-largest Asian ...

and four

Koreatowns A Koreatown (Korean: 코리아타운), also known as a Little Korea or Little Seoul, is a Korean-dominated ethnic enclave within a city or metropolitan area outside the Korean Peninsula. History Koreatowns as an East Asian ethnic enclave have ...

; the largest

Asian Indian Indian Americans or Indo-Americans are citizens of the United States with ancestry from India. The United States Census Bureau uses the term Asian Indian to avoid confusion with Native Americans, who have also historically been referred t ...

population in the Western Hemisphere; the largest Russian American, Italian American, and

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

populations; the largest

Dominican American Dominican Americans ( es, domínico-americanos, ) are Americans who trace their ancestry to the Dominican Republic. The word may refer to someone born in the United States of Dominican descent or to someone who has migrated to the United Stat ...

Puerto Rican American Stateside Puerto Ricans ( es, link=no, Puertorriqueños de Estados Unidos), also ambiguously known as Puerto Rican Americans ( es, link=no, puertorriqueño-americanos,), or Puerto Ricans in the United States, are Puerto Ricans who are in the U ...

, and

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the sout ...

n and second-largest overall

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to viceroyalties forme ...

population in the United States, numbering 4.8 million; and includes at least 6 established Chinatowns within New York City alone, with the urban agglomeration comprising a population of 819,527 uniracial overseas Chinese as of 2014 Census estimates, the largest outside of

. Ecuador, Colombia, Guyana,

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = National seal , national_motto = "Firm and Happy f ...

, and

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

were the top source countries from South America for legal immigrants to the New York region in 2013; the Dominican Republic,

, Haiti, and Trinidad and Tobago in the Caribbean;

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Medit ...

Ghana Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and To ...

, and

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

from

; and El Salvador, Honduras, and Guatemala in

Central America Central America ( es, América Central or ) is a subregion of the Americas. Its boundaries are defined as bordering the United States to the north, Colombia to the south, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. ...

. Amidst a resurgence of Puerto Rican migration to New York City, this population had increased to approximately 1.3 million in the metropolitan area as of 2013. The New York metropolitan area is home to a self-identifying

gay ''Gay'' is a term that primarily refers to a homosexual person or the trait of being homosexual. The term originally meant 'carefree', 'cheerful', or 'bright and showy'. While scant usage referring to male homosexuality dates to the late 1 ...

and bisexual community estimated at 568,903 individuals, the largest in the United States and one of the world's largest. Same-sex marriages in New York were legalized on June 24, 2011, and were authorized to take place beginning 30 days thereafter. The annual

New York City Pride March The NYC Pride March is an annual event celebrating the LGBTQ community in New York City. Among the largest Pride events in the world, the NYC Pride March attracts tens of thousands of participants and millions of sidewalk spectators each Ju ...

(or

pride parade) traverses southward down Fifth Avenue in Manhattan, ending at

Greenwich Village Greenwich Village ( , , ) is a neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan in New York City, bounded by 14th Street to the north, Broadway to the east, Houston Street to the south, and the Hudson River to the west. Greenwich Village ...

, and rivals the Sao Paulo Gay Pride Parade as the largest pride parade in the world, attracting tens of thousands of participants and millions of sidewalk spectators each June.

Religion

) in

Upper Manhattan Upper Manhattan is the most northern region of the New York City borough of Manhattan. Its southern boundary has been variously defined, but some of the most common usages are 96th Street, the northern boundary of Central Park (110th Street), ...

. With an estimated 1.5 million observers, the New York metropolitan area is home to the largest metropolitan Muslim population in the Western Hemisphere. , alt3 = , image4 = Temple at Flushing, NY.jpg , width4 = 195 , caption4 = Sri Maha Vallabha

Ganapati Ganesha ( sa, गणेश, ), also known as Ganapati, Vinayaka, and Pillaiyar, is one of the best-known and most worshipped deities in the Hindu pantheon and is the Supreme God in Ganapatya sect. His image is found throughout India. Hindu ...

Devasthanam ( Telugu: ) or (

Tamil Tamil may refer to: * Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia **Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils **Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia * Tamil language, nativ ...

: ), in

Flushing Flushing may refer to: Places * Flushing, Cornwall, a village in the United Kingdom * Flushing, Queens, New York City ** Flushing Bay, a bay off the north shore of Queens ** Flushing Chinatown (法拉盛華埠), a community in Queens ** Flushin ...

, the oldest

Hindu Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...

temple in the United States. , alt4 = , image5 = Chuang Yen Monastery 2004.jpeg , width5 = 200 , caption5 = The Chuang Yen Monastery (), in

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

, Putnam County, houses the largest indoor statue of

Buddha Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha, was a wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist tradition, he was born in L ...

in the

Western Hemisphere The Western Hemisphere is the half of the planet Earth that lies west of the prime meridian (which crosses Greenwich, London, United Kingdom) and east of the antimeridian. The other half is called the Eastern Hemisphere. Politically, the te ...

. , alt5 = , image6 = Times Square after dark atheist.jpg , width6 = , caption6 = Atheism, promoted on an electronic billboard in

Times Square Times Square is a major commercial intersection, tourist destination, entertainment hub, and neighborhood in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. It is formed by the junction of Broadway, Seventh Avenue, and 42nd Street. Together with adjacent ...

, is observed by a significant proportion of New Yorkers. , alt6 = The 2014 Pew Religious Landscape Survey showed that the religious makeup of the New York metro area was as follows:

Economy

The New York City regional economy is the largest in the world, with a GDP of US$2.1trillion in 2022, which would rank eighth among sovereign countries. Many Fortune 500 corporations are

headquartered Headquarters (commonly referred to as HQ) denotes the location where most, if not all, of the important functions of an organization are coordinated. In the United States, the corporate headquarters represents the entity at the center or the top ...

in New York, as are a large number of

foreign corporation Foreign corporation is a term used in the United States to describe an existing corporation (or other type of corporate entity, such as a limited liability company or LLC) that conducts business in a state or jurisdiction other than where it was ...

s. One out of ten

private sector The private sector is the part of the economy, sometimes referred to as the citizen sector, which is owned by private groups, usually as a means of establishment for profit or non profit, rather than being owned by the government. Employment The ...

jobs in the city is with a foreign company. In 2012 and 2015, New York topped the first and second ''Global Economic Power Index'' lists, respectively, as published by ''

The Atlantic ''The Atlantic'' is an American magazine and multi-platform publisher. It features articles in the fields of politics, foreign affairs, business and the economy, culture and the arts, technology, and science. It was founded in 1857 in Boston, ...

'', with cities ranked according to criteria reflecting their presence on five different lists as published by five separate entities. Finance, international trade, new and traditional media, real estate, education, fashion and entertainment, tourism, biotechnology, and manufacturing are the leading industries in the area. Along with its wealth, the area has a

cost of living Cost of living is the cost of maintaining a certain standard of living. Changes in the cost of living over time can be operationalized in a cost-of-living index. Cost of living calculations are also used to compare the cost of maintaining a cer ...

that is the highest in the United States. Photos NewYork1 032

Wall Street

New York's most important economic sector lies in its role as the headquarters for the U.S. financial industry, metonymously known as '' Wall Street''. Anchored by Wall Street, in the

Financial District A financial district is usually a central area in a city where financial services firms such as banks, insurance companies and other related finance corporations have their head offices. In major cities, financial districts are often home to s ...

of Lower Manhattan, New York has been called both the most economically powerful city and the leading financial center of the world, and the city is home to the world's two largest stock exchanges by total market capitalization, the

and NASDAQ. The city's

securities A security is a tradable financial asset. The term commonly refers to any form of financial instrument, but its legal definition varies by jurisdiction. In some countries and languages people commonly use the term "security" to refer to any for ...

industry, enumerating 163,400 jobs in August 2013, continues to form the largest segment of the city's financial sector and an important economic engine, accounting in 2012 for 5 percent of the city's

jobs, 8.5 percent (US$3.8 billion) of its tax revenue, and 22 percent of the city's total wages, including an average salary of US$360,700. Manhattan had approximately 520 million square feet (48.1 million m²) of office space in 2013, making it the largest office market in the United States, while Midtown Manhattan is the largest central business district in the nation. Lower Manhattan is the third largest central business district in the United States and is home to both the New York Stock Exchange, on Wall Street, and the NASDAQ, at 165 Broadway, representing the world's largest and second largest stock exchanges, respectively, when measured both by overall average daily trading volume and by total market capitalization of their listed companies in 2013. Wall Street investment banking fees in 2012 totaled approximately US$40 billion, while in 2013, senior New York bank officers who manage risk and compliance functions earned as much as US$324,000 annually. In July 2013,

NYSE Euronext NYSE Euronext, Inc. was a transatlantic multinational financial services corporation that operated multiple securities exchanges, including the New York Stock Exchange, Euronext and NYSE Arca (formerly known as ArcaEx). NYSE merged with Archi ...

, the operator of the New York Stock Exchange, took over the administration of the

London interbank offered rate The London Inter-Bank Offered Rate is an interest-rate average calculated from estimates submitted by the leading banks in London. Each bank estimates what it would be charged were it to borrow from other banks. The resulting average rate is u ...

from the

British Bankers Association The British Bankers' Association (BBA) was a trade association for the UK banking and financial services sector. From 1 July 2017, it was merged into UK Finance. It represented members from a wide range of banking and financial services. The ass ...

. Many Wall Street firms have added or moved auxiliary financial or technical operations into Jersey City, to take advantage of New Jersey's relatively lower

commercial real estate Commercial property, also called commercial real estate, investment property or income property, is real estate (buildings or land) intended to generate a profit, either from capital gains or rental income. Commercial property includes office b ...

and rental prices, while offering continued geographic proximity to Manhattan's financial industry ecosystem. Flatiron District

Tech and biotech

Silicon Alley, centered in New York, has evolved into a metonym for the sphere encompassing the metropolitan region's

high technology High technology (high tech), also known as advanced technology (advanced tech) or exotechnology, is technology that is at the cutting edge: the highest form of technology available. It can be defined as either the most complex or the newest te ...

industries involving the

internet The Internet (or internet) is the global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a '' network of networks'' that consists of private, pub ...

new media New media describes communication technologies that enable or enhance interaction between users as well as interaction between users and content. In the middle of the 1990s, the phrase "new media" became widely used as part of a sales pitch for ...

financial technology Fintech, a portmanteau of "financial technology", refers to firms using new technology to compete with traditional financial methods in the delivery of financial services. Artificial intelligence, blockchain, cloud computing, and big data are r ...

(''fintech'') and cryptocurrency,

telecommunications Telecommunication is the transmission of information by various types of technologies over wire, radio, optical, or other electromagnetic systems. It has its origin in the desire of humans for communication over a distance greater than that fe ...

, digital media, software development,

biotechnology Biotechnology is the integration of natural sciences and engineering sciences in order to achieve the application of organisms, cells, parts thereof and molecular analogues for products and services. The term ''biotechnology'' was first used ...

game design Game design is the art of applying design and aesthetics to create a game for entertainment or for educational, exercise, or experimental purposes. Increasingly, elements and principles of game design are also applied to other interactions, in ...

, and other fields within

information technology Information technology (IT) is the use of computers to create, process, store, retrieve, and exchange all kinds of Data (computing), data . and information. IT forms part of information and communications technology (ICT). An information te ...

that are supported by its

entrepreneurship ecosystem An entrepreneurial ecosystems or entrepreneurship ecosystems are peculiar systems of interdependent actors and relations directly or indirectly supporting the creation and growth of new ventures. The ecosystem metaphor "Ecosystem" refers to the el ...

and

venture capital Venture capital (often abbreviated as VC) is a form of private equity financing that is provided by venture capital firms or funds to start-up company, startups, early-stage, and emerging companies that have been deemed to have high growth poten ...

investments. High technology

startup companies A startup or start-up is a company or project undertaken by an entrepreneur to seek, develop, and validate a scalable business model. While entrepreneurship refers to all new businesses, including self-employment and businesses that never intend t ...

and employment are growing in New York and across the metropolitan region, bolstered by the city's emergence as a global node of

creativity Creativity is a phenomenon whereby something new and valuable is formed. The created item may be intangible (such as an idea, a scientific theory, a musical composition, or a joke) or a physical object (such as an invention, a printed Literature ...

and

entrepreneurship Entrepreneurship is the creation or extraction of economic value. With this definition, entrepreneurship is viewed as change, generally entailing risk beyond what is normally encountered in starting a business, which may include other values t ...

, social tolerance, and sustainability, environmental sustainability, as well as New York's position as the leading Internet hub and telecommunications center in North America, including its vicinity to several transatlantic telephone cable, transatlantic fiber optic trunk lines, the city's intellectual capital, and its extensive outdoor wireless network, wireless connectivity. Verizon Communications, headquartered at Verizon Building, 140 West Street in Lower Manhattan, was at the final stages in 2014 of completing a US$3 billion fiberoptic communication, fiberoptic telecommunications upgrade throughout New York City. The biotechnology sector is also growing in the New York metropolitan region, based upon its strength in academic scientific research and public and commercial financial support. On December 19, 2011, then-New York mayor Michael Bloomberg announced his choice of Cornell University and Technion-Israel Institute of Technology to build Cornell Tech, a US$2 billion graduate school of applied sciences on Roosevelt Island, Manhattan with the goal of transforming New York into the world's premier technology capital. By mid-2014, Accelerator, a biotech investment firm, had raised more than US$30 million from investors, including Eli Lilly and Company, Pfizer, and Johnson & Johnson, for initial funding to create biotechnology startup company, startups at the Alexandria Center for Life Science, which encompasses more than on 29th Street (Manhattan), East 29th Street and promotes collaboration among scientists and entrepreneurs at the center and with nearby academic, medical, and research institutions. The New York City Economic Development Corporation's Early Stage Life Sciences Funding Initiative and venture capital partners, including Celgene, General Electric Ventures, and Eli Lilly, committed a minimum of US$100 million to help launch 15 to 20 ventures in life sciences and biotechnology. Westchester County, New York, Westchester County has also developed a burgeoning biotechnology sector in the 21st century, with over US$1 billion in planned private investment as of 2016, earning the county the nickname ''Biochester''.

Port of New York and New Jersey

The Port of New York and New Jersey is the port district of the New York metropolitan area, encompassing the region within approximately a radius of the Statue of Liberty National Monument. A major economic engine for the New York metropolitan area, the port includes the system of navigable waterways in the estuary along of shoreline in the vicinity of New York and the

of northeastern New Jersey, as well as the Aviation in the New York metropolitan area, region's airports and supporting rail and roadway distribution networks. The Port of New York and New Jersey handled a maritime transport, maritime cargo volume in the ten months through October 2022 of over 8.2 million Twenty-foot equivalent unit, TEUs, benefitting Panamax, post-Panamax from the expansion of the Panama Canal, and accelerating ahead of California seaports in monthly cargo volumes.

Water purity and availability

Water purity and availability are a lifeline for the New York metropolitan region. New York City is supplied with drinking water by the protected Catskill Mountains Drainage basin, watershed. As a result of the watershed's integrity and undisturbed water purification, natural water filtration system, New York is one of only four major cities in the United States the majority of whose drinking water is pure enough not to require purification by water treatment plants. The Croton Falls Reservoir, Croton Watershed north of the city is undergoing construction of a US$3.2 billion water purification plant to augment New York's water supply by an estimated 290 million gallons daily, representing a greater than 20% addition to the city's current availability of water. The ongoing expansion of New York City Water Tunnel No. 3, an integral part of the New York City water supply system, is the largest capital construction project in the city's history, with segments serving Manhattan and The Bronx completed, and with segments serving Brooklyn and Queens planned for construction in 2020. Much of the fresh water for northern and central New Jersey is provided by reservoirs, but numerous municipal water wells exist which accomplish the same purpose.

Education

The New York metropolitan area is home to many prestigious institutions of higher education. Three

universities: Columbia University in Manhattan, New York City;

Princeton, New Jersey Princeton is a municipality with a borough form of government in Mercer County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It was established on January 1, 2013, through the consolidation of the Borough of Princeton and Princeton Township, both of whi ...

;

in New Haven, Connecticut – all ranked amongst the top 3 U.S. national universities as per ''U.S. News & World Report'' as of 2018 – reside in the region, as well as

and The Rockefeller University, both located in Manhattan; all of the above have been ranked amongst the top 35 universities in the world. Rutgers University, a global university located southwest of Manhattan in New Brunswick, New Jersey, is by far the largest university in the region. New York Institute of Technology is located on two campuses, one in Old Westbury, Long Island and one near Columbus Circle in

. Hofstra University is Long Island's largest private university. Fordham University, also a Tier-1 university, is the oldest Catholic Church, Catholic institution of higher education in the northeastern United States, and the third-oldest university in New York (state), New York. The New York City Department of Education is the largest school district in the United States serving over 1.2 million students. The overall region also hosts many public high schools, some of which have been described as among the most prestigious in the country.

Attainment

According to the 2010 American Community Survey, of the 14,973,063 persons in this area over 25 years of age, 14.8% (2,216,578) had a graduate or professional degree, 21.1% (3,166,037) had a bachelor's degree, 6.4% (962,007) had an associate degree, 16.0% (2,393,990) had some college education but no degree, 26.8% (4,009,901) had a high school diploma or equivalent, 14.8% (2,224,557) had less than a high school education. In 2010, CNN Money ranked the area as one of the top 10 smartest regions in the United States.

Transportation

The depth and intricacy of the transportation network in the New York region parallel the size and complexity of the metropolis itself. In 2013, the New York-Newark-Jersey City metropolitan statistical area (New York MSA) had the lowest percentage of workers who commuted by private automobile (56.9 percent), with 18.9 percent of area workers traveling via rail transit. During the period starting in 2006 and ending in 2013, the New York MSA had a 2.2 percent decline of workers commuting by automobile.

Rail

About one in every three users of mass transit in the United States and two-thirds of the nation's rail riders live in the New York metropolitan area.

New York City Subway

The New York City Subway is the largest rapid transit system in the world when measured by stations in operation, with , and by length of routes. In 2006 it was the third largest when measured by annual ridership (1.5 billion passenger trips in 2006), However, in 2013, the subway delivered over 1.71 billion rides, but slipped to being the Metro systems by annual passenger rides, seventh busiest rapid transit rail system in the world. New York's subway is also notable because nearly the entire system remains open 24 hours a day, in contrast to the overnight shutdown common to systems in most cities, including MTR, Hong Kong, London Underground, London, Seoul Metropolitan Subway, Seoul, Tokyo Subway, Tokyo, and Toronto Subway and RT, Toronto.

PATH

PATH (rail system), PATH is a rapid transit system connecting the cities of Newark, Harrison, New Jersey, Harrison, Hoboken, New Jersey, Hoboken, and Jersey City, in metropolitan northern

, with the Lower Manhattan, lower and Midtown Manhattan, midtown sections of

in New York City. The PATH is operated by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. PATH trains run 24 hours a day and 7 days a week. The system has a total route length of , not double-counting route overlaps.

Commuter rail

The metropolitan area is also fundamentally defined by the areas from which people commute into New York. The city is served by three primary commuter rail systems, and is provided intercity rail transit with Amtrak. The Long Island Rail Road (LIRR), the busiest commuter rail in North America, commuter railroad in the United States as of 2015, is operated by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA), an agency of the Government of New York (state), State Government of New York that focuses on New York City-area transit). It has two major terminals at Pennsylvania Station in Midtown Manhattan and Atlantic Terminal in Downtown Brooklyn, with a minor terminal at the Long Island City (LIRR station), Long Island City station and a major transfer point at the Jamaica (LIRR station), Jamaica station in

. New Jersey Transit Rail Operations, New Jersey Transit (NJT), the second busiest commuter railroad in the United States as of 2015, is operated by the New Jersey Transit Corporation, an agency of the state of New Jersey, in conjunction with Metro-North Railroad and Amtrak. It has major terminals at Pennsylvania Station in Manhattan, Hoboken Terminal, and Pennsylvania Station (Newark), Newark Pennsylvania Station, with a major transfer point at Secaucus Junction in Hudson County, New Jersey. New Jersey Transit also operates the Hudson–Bergen Light Rail through Hudson County, the Newark City Subway, and the River Line (New Jersey Transit), River Line that runs along tracks shared with Conrail Shared Assets Operations from Trenton to Camden, New Jersey, Camden in South Jersey. NJ Transit also has commuter buses operating in and out of Manhattan. Metro-North Railroad (MNRR), the third busiest commuter railroad in the United States as of 2015, is also operated by the MTA, in conjunction with the Connecticut Department of Transportation and New Jersey Transit Rail Operations, New Jersey Transit. Its major terminal is Grand Central Terminal. Trains on the Port Jervis Line and Pascack Valley Line terminate at Hoboken Terminal in Hoboken, New Jersey; commuters may transfer at either Secaucus Junction for New Jersey Transit trains to Pennsylvania Station (New York City), New York Pennsylvania Station or at Hoboken Terminal for Port Authority Trans-Hudson, PATH trains into Manhattan. Amtrak's Northeast Corridor offers service to Philadelphia, New Haven, and other points between and including Boston and Washington, D.C. Major stations in the metropolitan area include: The following table shows all train lines operated by these commuter railroads in the New York metropolitan area. New Jersey Transit operates an additional train line in the Delaware Valley, Philadelphia metropolitan area. (Shown counterclockwise from the Atlantic Ocean):

Major highways

The following highways serve the region: George Washington Bridge, on a late winter afternoon

Interstates

* * * * * * * * – serves as southern beltway around New York City * * – serves as northern beltway around New York City * * * − also known as Long Island Expressway or LIE * * * * – unsigned

U.S. Routes

* * * * * * * * * * * *

State Routes

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Other limited-access roads

Some of these roads have a numerical designation assigned to it: * * * (part of I-95) * * * * * * * * (formerly: ''Interboro Parkway'') * (part of Route 15) * (part of I-95) * (part of I-87) * * * * * *

Named bridges and tunnels

* Alexander Hamilton Bridge connecting the Trans-Manhattan Expressway in the Washington Heights section of Manhattan and the Cross-Bronx Expressway, as part of Interstate 95 * Basilone Bridge (part of I-95 and the New Jersey Turnpike) * Bayonne Bridge (part of NY 440 and NJ 440), underwent a $1 billion project to raise the roadway by 64 feet to 215 feet to allow taller container ships to pass underneath to access seaports in New York City and northern New Jersey. *

(part of US 6 and US 202) * Bronx–Whitestone Bridge (part of I-678) – connects the boroughs of Bronx and Queens. * Brooklyn Bridge, iconic of New York and designated a National Historic Landmark by the U.S. National Park Service on January 29, 1964. Connects Brooklyn and lower Manhattan (at Park Row and City Hall). * Brooklyn–Battery Tunnel (part of I-478), officially renamed the Hugh L. Carey Tunnel, in honor of the former New York State governor – connects Brooklyn and lower Manhattan (financial district). * Delaware Water Gap Toll Bridge (part of I-80 crossing the Delaware River) * Driscoll Bridge (part of the Garden State Parkway), with a total of 15 travel lanes and 6 shoulder lanes, the widest motor vehicle bridge in the world by number of lanes and one of the world's busiest. * Ed Koch Queensboro Bridge (part of NY 25) – renamed in honor of former New York Mayor Edward I. Koch, also known informally as the "59th Street Bridge". Connects Queens and east side of Manhattan. * George Washington Bridge (part of I-95 and US 1-9/46), the world's busiest motor vehicle bridge and one of the world's widest, with 14 lanes. * Goethals Bridge (part of I-278) * Great South Bay Bridge, Long Island * Heroes Tunnel (formerly the West Rock Tunnel) (part of CT 15) * Holland Tunnel (part of I-78 and New Jersey Route 139, NJ 139) * Lincoln Tunnel (part of Route 495) * Manhattan Bridge, connecting Brooklyn to Chinatown, Manhattan, carries 4 tracks of the of the New York City Subway, in addition to 7 lanes of traffic. * Mid-Hudson Bridge (part of US 44 and NY 55) * Newark Bay Bridge (part of I-78) * New Hope – Lambertville Toll Bridge (part of US 202 crossing the Delaware River) * Newburgh–Beacon Bridge (part of I-84 and NY 52) * Otisville Tunnel (takes the Metro-North Railroad Port Jervis Line through the Shawangunk Ridge in Orange County, New York) * Outerbridge Crossing (part of NY 440 and NJ 440) * Pearl Harbor Memorial Bridge (Connecticut), Pearl Harbor Memorial Bridge (part of I-95 and the Connecticut Turnpike) * Poughkeepsie Bridge, also known as Walkway over the Hudson, the world's longest pedestrian bridge, connecting

and Dutchess counties in New York * Pulaski Skyway (part of US 1–9) * Queens–Midtown Tunnel (part of I-495) – connects Queens and Midtown Manhattan. * Scudder Falls Bridge (part of I-295 crossing the Delaware River) * Sikorsky Memorial Bridge (part of CT 15 Merritt & Wilbur Cross Parkways) * Tappan Zee Bridge (2017–present), Tappan Zee Bridge (part of I-87, I-287, and the New York State Thruway), the longest bridge in New York State; underwent a $4 billion replacement. * Edison Bridge (New Jersey), Thomas Alva Edison Memorial Bridge (part of US 9) * Throgs Neck Bridge (part of I-295) – connects the boroughs of Bronx and Queens (at western end of Long Island Sound). * Trenton–Morrisville Toll Bridge (part of US 1) * Triborough Bridge (part of I-278), officially renamed the Robert F. Kennedy (RFK) Bridge – connects the three boroughs of Manhattan, Bronx and Queens (hence its name). * Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge (part of I-278), the longest suspension bridge in the Americas and one of the longest in the world (formerly the world's longest) – connects the boroughs of Staten Island and Brooklyn. * William A. Stickel Memorial Bridge (part of I-280) * Williamsburg Bridge, carries 2 tracks of the of the New York City Subway, in addition to 8 lanes of traffic – connects Williamsburg, Brooklyn, Williamsburg, Brooklyn, and the Lower East Side or Manhattan.

Commuter bus

, Academy Bus, Coach USA, Spanish Transportation, Trailways of New York, and several other companies operate commuter coaches into the Port Authority Bus Terminal in Manhattan, and many other bus services in New Jersey. Bus services also operate in other nearby counties in the states of New York and Connecticut, but most terminate at a subway terminal or other rail station.

Major airports

The three busiest airports in the New York metropolitan area include

, Newark Liberty International Airport, and

; 130.5 million travelers used these three airports in 2016, and the metropolitan area's airspace is the busiest in the nation. The following smaller airports are also in the metro area and provide daily commercial service:

Commuter usage

According to the 2010 American Community Survey, 54.3% (5,476,169) of commuters used a car or other private vehicle alone, 7.0% (708,788) used a carpool, 27.0% (2,721,372) used public transportation, 5.5% (558,434) walked to work, 2.0% (200,448) used some other means of transportation such as a bicycle to get to work.

Culture and contemporary life

New York has been described as the cultural capital of the world by the consul (representative), diplomatic consulates of Iceland and Latvia and by New York's own Baruch College. A book containing a series of essays titled ''New York, culture capital of the world, 1940–1965'' has also been published as showcased by the National Library of Australia. Tom Wolfe has quoted regarding New York's culture that "Culture just seems to be in the air, like part of the weather." Although Manhattan remains the epicenter of cultural life in the metropolitan area, the entire region is replete with prominent cultural institutions, with artistic performances and ethnically oriented events receiving international attention throughout the year.

Sports teams

New York is home to the headquarters of the National Football League, Major League Baseball, the National Basketball Association, the National Hockey League, and Major League Soccer. Four of the ten most expensive stadiums ever built worldwide (MetLife Stadium, the new Yankee Stadium, Madison Square Garden, and Citi Field) are located in the New York metropolitan area. The New York metropolitan area has the List of American and Canadian cities by number of major professional sports franchises, highest total number of professional sports teams in these five leagues. Listing of the professional sports teams in the New York metropolitan area: * National Basketball Association (NBA) ** Brooklyn Nets (

) ** New York Knicks (

, New York City) *National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) **NJ/NY Gotham FC (Harrison, New Jersey) * Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) ** New York Liberty (

, New York City) * Major League Baseball (MLB) ** New York Mets (

, New York City) ** New York Yankees (

, New York City) * Major League Soccer (MLS) ** New York City FC (The Bronx, New York City) ** New York Red Bulls (Harrison, New Jersey) * Minor League Baseball (MiLB) ** Eastern League (1938–2020), Eastern League (Class AA#Double-A, AA) *** Trenton Thunder (New York Yankees, Yankees) (

Trenton, New Jersey Trenton is the capital city of the U.S. state of New Jersey and the county seat of Mercer County. It was the capital of the United States from November 1 to December 24, 1784.Staten Island, New York City) * Atlantic League of Professional Baseball (ALPB) ** Bridgeport Bluefish ( Bridgeport, Connecticut) ** Long Island Ducks (Central Islip, New York) ** Somerset Patriots (Bridgewater Township, New Jersey) * Canadian American Association of Professional Baseball (CanAm League) ** New Jersey Jackals (Little Falls, New Jersey) ** Newark Bears (

Newark, New Jersey Newark ( , ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of New Jersey and the seat of Essex County and the second largest city within the New York metropolitan area.Hempstead, New York The Town of Hempstead (also known historically as South Hempstead) is the largest of the three towns in Nassau County (alongside North Hempstead and Oyster Bay) in the U.S. state of New York. It occupies the southwestern part of the county, on ...

) * North American Rugby League (NARL) ** New York City Rugby League (Harrison, New Jersey) * College athletics, College Sports (Division I (NCAA), NCAA Division I) ** Army Black Knights (West Point, New York) ** Columbia Lions, Columbia University Lions (Manhattan, New York City) ** Fairfield Stags, Fairfield University Stags (Fairfield, Connecticut) ** Fairleigh Dickinson Knights, Fairleigh Dickinson University Knights (Teaneck, New Jersey) ** Fordham Rams, Fordham University Rams (The Bronx, New York City) ** Hofstra Pride, Hofstra University Pride (Hempstead, New York) ** Iona Gaels, Iona College Gaels ( New Rochelle, New York) ** Long Island Blackbirds, Long Island University Blackbirds (Brooklyn, New York City) ** Manhattan Jaspers and Lady Jaspers, Manhattan College Jaspers and Lady Jaspers (The Bronx, New York City) ** Marist Red Foxes, Marist College Red Foxes (Poughkeepsie (town), New York, Poughkeepsie, New York) ** Monmouth Hawks, Monmouth University Hawks (West Long Branch, New Jersey) ** NJIT Highlanders, New Jersey Institute of Technology Highlanders (Newark, New Jersey) ** Princeton Tigers, Princeton University Tigers (

) ** Quinnipiac Bobcats, Quinnipiac University Bobcats (Hamden, Connecticut) ** Rider Broncs, Rider University Broncs (Lawrenceville, New Jersey) ** Rutgers Scarlet Knights, Rutgers University Scarlet Knights (New Brunswick, New Jersey) ** Sacred Heart Pioneers, Sacred Heart University Pioneers (Fairfield, Connecticut) ** St. Peter's Peacocks and Peahens, St. Peter's University Peacocks and Peahens ( Jersey City, New Jersey) ** St. Francis Brooklyn Terriers (Brooklyn, New York City) ** St. John's Red Storm, St. John's University Red Storm (Queens, New York City) ** Seton Hall Pirates, Seton Hall University Pirates (South Orange, New Jersey) ** Stony Brook Seawolves, Stony Brook University Seawolves (Stony Brook, New York) ** Wagner Seahawks, Wagner College Seahawks (Staten Island, New York City) ** Yale Bulldogs, Yale University Bulldogs (

)

Media

The New York metropolitan area is home to the headquarters of several well-known media companies, subsidiaries, and publications, including Thomson Reuters, The New York Times Company, the Associated Press, WarnerMedia, NBCUniversal, the Hearst Corporation, ViacomCBS, News Corporation (1980–2013), News Corporation, The Wall Street Journal, Fox News, American Broadcasting Company, ABC, CBS, and NBC. Local television channels broadcasting to the New York market include WCBS-TV 2 (CBS), WNBC 4 (NBC), WNYW 5 (FOX), WABC-TV 7 (ABC), WWOR-TV 9 (MyNetworkTV), WPIX 11 (CW), WNET 13 (PBS), WNYE-TV 25 (NYC Media) and WPXN-TV 31 (Ion Television, Ion). NY1 is a 24/7 local news provider available only to cable television subscribers. Radio stations serving the area include: WNYC, WKCR, WFMU, WABC-AM, and WFAN (AM), WFAN. Many television and radio stations use the top of the Empire State Building to broadcast their terrestrial television signals, while some media entities broadcast from studios in

. The New York metropolitan area is extensive enough so that its own channels must compete with channels from neighboring television markets (including Philadelphia, Wyoming Valley, Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, and Hartford) within its outlying counties. Cable companies offer such competition in the Pennsylvania portion, Connecticut, and a few counties in central New Jersey.

Theme parks

In New Jersey

In New York State

Coney Island, in Brooklyn, is considered one of America's first amusement parks. Playland (New York), Playland, Rye, New York, Rye, Westchester County Legoland New York, in Goshen, New York, Goshen,

opened in 2021. Plans were unveiled by New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg on September 27, 2012, for the New York Wheel, a giant Ferris wheel, to be built at the northern shore of Staten Island, overlooking the Statue of Liberty, New York Harbor, and the Lower Manhattan skyline.

Area codes

The area is served by at least 26 area codes: * Area code 212, 212: Serves

and is Overlay plan, overlaid with Area code 646, 646 and Area code 917, 917 Area code 332, 332. * Area code 718, 718: Serves all other boroughs of New York City and is overlaid with Area code 347, 347, Area code 917, 917, and Area code 929, 929. * Area code 917, 917: Serves all of New York City. * Area code 516, 516: Serves Nassau County. * Area code 631, 631: Serves Suffolk County, New York, Suffolk County. * Area code 914, 914: Serves Westchester County. * Area code 845, 845: Serves the Hudson Valley counties of Southern New York State. * Area code 570, 570 & 272: Serves Pike County

. * Area code 203 and 475, 203 & 475: Serves Southwestern

, * Area code 860 and 959, 860 & 959: Serves the rest of Connecticut not served by 203 or 475. * Area codes 201 and 551, 201: Serves most of Bergen County, as well as parts of Essex, Hudson, and Passaic in Northern New Jersey, and is overlaid with Area code 551, 551. * Area code 973, 973: Serves portions of Bergen, Essex, Hudson, Morris, Passaic, Sussex, and portions of Union County in New Jersey, and is overlaid with Area code 862, 862. * Area code 908, 908: Serves communities in Union County, Somerset County, northern parts of Middlesex County, Hunterdon County, Warren County, and Morris County as well as some cell phones in Monmouth County in New Jersey. * Area code 732, 732: Serves Middlesex County, Somerset County, portions of Union County, and Monmouth and northern Ocean counties in New Jersey; overlaid with Area code 848, 848. * Area codes 609 and 640, 609 & 640: Serves Mercer County and parts of Middlesex, Monmouth, and Ocean Counties.

Notes

References

External links

Government Census
Table 1. {{DEFAULTSORT:New York Metropolitan Area New York metropolitan area, Northeast megalopolis Metropolitan areas of New Jersey Metropolitan areas of New York (state) Metropolitan areas of Pennsylvania Metropolitan areas of Connecticut Regions of New York (state) Regions of New Jersey Regions of Connecticut Regions of Pennsylvania