New York City, United States Population

Population in Urban Area, now

18,886,940
  • World: 11th
  • North America: 2nd
  • United States: 1st

New York City Urban Area Population Graph

New York City Population Review

Welcome to the Big Apple! New York City is one of the most famous cities in the world—and the most populous city in the United States. With 8.3 million people, New York City is more than twice the size of Los Angeles, the runner-up. This glamorous city’s population growth shows no sign of slowing down either. New York City is predicted to more than double in size by 2035, up to 20.8 million residents in the New York City urban area.

New York has the highest population density of any American city, with over 10,194 people packed into every square kilometer. This is about 3,000 more people per square kilometre than San Francisco, which is the next city in the United States that even comes close to New York City’s population density.

New Yorkers speak over 800 languages

New York is an incredibly diverse city and over 3 million of NYC’s residents are foreign born, with over one-quarter arriving in the past 25 years. This variety of people means that you will hear plenty of different languages spoken in the city. In fact, there are over 800 languages spoken in New York. While 51% of New Yorkers’ speak English, the other 49% speak Spanish and other languages. While many people in New York don’t even speak English, the stereotypical New York accent is still one of the most globally recognized because of its common portrayal in the media.

A multicultural hub

New York City is home to many suburbs populated by immigrants from other countries. There are more people of West Indian ancestry living in New York City than in any other city outside of the West Indies and the city also has the largest Puerto Rican population of any city in the world. There are also more Dominicans that live in the city than in any other location in the world, barring Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic. New York City also has over 2.4 milion residents that identify as Hispanic, more than any other city in the United States.

New York is a young, educated city

New York is a young, cutthroat city. The average age of people living in New York is 35.8 years old, which is two years younger than the national median of 37.7 years of age. New Yorkers are also more educated than their counterparts in other American cities. One-third of New Yorkers have at least a bachelor’s degree, compared to only 30% nationally.

A city of renters

Due to the cost of buying in New York, renting is something people do in the city for their entire lives. Expert data shows that people in their 20s to 40s outpace homeowners by a massive gap and that numbers of owners only start to catch up to renters when people reach their 50s—and that’s only if you factor in owners who own their homes mortgage free (a rare population). In general, there are about four times as many renters in their mid-thirties in New York City than there are in other major cities like Chicago, Austin, or Washington, D.C.

Restaurants Galore

New York City is known for its incredible restaurant scene, and New Yorkers take full advantage of that. There are, on average, about 27,000 functioning restaurants in New York City at any given time and they serve tens of thousands of people each night. The city’s culinary hot scene is also aided by the fact that it’s not uncommon for New York City apartments to not have full kitchens (or some to not have kitchens at all). This may help explain why New Yorkers eat out 130% more than other Americans and spend about $8,000 per year on food outside the home (including take out).

Review Updated: July 8, 2020
New York City SkylineNew York City Skyline

New York City Urban Area Population History

1950 12,338,000
1951 12,510,000
1952 12,684,000
1953 12,860,000
1954 13,038,000
1955 13,219,000
1956 13,403,000
1957 13,589,000
1958 13,778,000
1959 13,969,000
1960 14,164,000
1961 14,360,000
1962 14,560,000
1963 14,763,000
1964 14,969,000
1965 15,177,000
1966 15,388,000
1967 15,602,000
1968 15,820,000
1969 16,040,000
1970 16,191,000
1971 16,129,000
1972 16,066,000
1973 16,004,000
1974 15,942,000
1975 15,880,000
1976 15,819,000
1977 15,758,000
1978 15,697,000
1979 15,636,000
1980 15,601,000
1981 15,646,000
1982 15,691,000
1983 15,736,000
1984 15,782,000
1985 15,827,000
1986 15,872,000
1987 15,918,000
1988 15,964,000
1989 16,009,000
1990 16,086,000
1991 16,253,000
1992 16,423,000
1993 16,595,000
1994 16,768,000
1995 16,943,000
1996 17,120,000
1997 17,298,000
1998 17,479,000
1999 17,661,000
2000 17,813,000
2001 17,868,000
2002 17,922,000
2003 17,977,000
2004 18,032,000
2005 18,087,000
2006 18,142,000
2007 18,198,000
2008 18,254,000
2009 18,309,000
2010 18,365,000
2011 18,421,000
2012 18,478,000
2013 18,534,000
2014 18,591,000
2015 18,648,000
2016 18,705,000
2017 18,762,000
2018 18,819,000
2019 18,805,000
2020 18,804,000
2021 18,823,000
2022 18,867,000
2023 18,937,000
2024 19,034,000

New York City Urban Area Population Projections

2025 19,154,000
2026 19,293,000
2027 19,448,000
2028 19,613,000
2029 19,784,000
2030 19,958,000
2031 20,132,000
2032 20,306,000
2033 20,479,000
2034 20,649,000
2035 20,817,000

Map of New York City, United States

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