New York Population 2024

19,469,232

New York State is the fourth largest state in the United States of America based on our latest projections. Florida recently became the third most populous state, passing New York in 2014 and pushing The Empire State to 4th in the United States. The recent official estimates from July 2015 put New York's population at 19,795,791. This estimate represents a 2.1% increase since 2010.

New York Area and Population Density

New York State has an overall population density of 421 people per square mile, with an area of 47,126 square miles. When most people think of New York, they immediately think of New York City, the largest city in the US.

New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the country. Nearly 43% of New York state's population live in the 305 square miles that comprise New York City. The next largest city in the state of New York is Buffalo, with just over 250,000 residents. This means New York City is over 33 times larger than the second largest city in New York. New York's state capital Albany is home to just under 100 thousand residents.

The most populated counties in New York are Kings County (2,648,771), Queens County (2,358,582), and New York County (1,664,727).

New York Gender and Religion Statistics

With such a diverse population, New York State also has a large number of religions that are practiced within it. Seventy percent of its inhabitants are Christians, including 39% Roman Catholic, 7% Baptist, 6% Methodist and 2% Pentecostal amongst the dominant believers. Other major religions include Judaism (9%), Islamic (6%) and Buddhism (1%), while 17% of New York's inhabitants have no set religious ideologies to follow.

People from all races and creeds live in the state of New York, and the different ethnic identities have led to a rich cultural diversity in this region. With more and more people entering New York for jobs and other opportunities, this diversity is only going to grow, giving New York a richer cultural identity than it already fosters.

New York officially reports a rich ethnic diversity as people from over 200 nationalities were counted to be a part of New York. This includes people of Portuguese, German, Dutch, Russian, Swedish and Greek ancestry. Moreover, the Albany, southeast and central areas of New York are pre-dominantly Italian American and Irish American. There are also a large number of German Americans in the western areas of New York, as well as French Canadians who reside in the northern end of New York.

The median age of the population residing in New York is 38.2 years of age. The ratio of females to males in the state is approximately 51.5% females to 48.5% males.

New York Boundary, Census, and Statehood History

New York was one of the 13 original States. Since relinquishing its claims to Vermont in 1791, it has had substantially its present boundaries. Census coverage excluded Vermont in 1790, and did not include the far western part of the State until 1800.

New York Demographics

According to the most recent ACS, the racial composition of New York was:

  • White: 60.73%
  • Black or African American: 15.21%
  • Other race: 8.99%
  • Asian: 8.65%
  • Two or more races: 5.97%
  • Native American: 0.42%
  • Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander: 0.05%

New York Population History

Although the population has been steadily growing, it has been at a much slower rate than other large states. New York used to be the 4th most populous state, but it was surpassed by Florida in 2014.

New York Population Growth

New York's growth is expected to continue to grow over the next few decades, although much more slowly than mosts states. By 2020, it is estimated that the current population of 19.795 million will increase by nearly a quarter-million, pushing the population over 20 million.

New York Population Projections

New York State as a whole has been experiencing a lot of out-migration to other states over the past decade, losing citizens to other states. The losses have mostly been from Upstate New York, which has balanced the growth in New York City to keep the population relatively stagnant. This trend is expected to continue and the overall population likely won't change much in the coming years.

New York has a high percentage of foreign born residents. According to data from 2004, over 20% of the state's total population was classified as foreign born. This is even higher in New York City, where 36% of the city's population is foreign-born. This is the highest percentage of any city in the United States.

The state of New York has the 2nd highest population of Asian Americans in the nation. Percentage-wise, the state ranks 6th when compared to the other 49 states. New York's total population of African Americans ranks as 2nd in the nation, while it ranks 13th in terms of percentage of African Americans.

This state has a lot of diversity as well. The high percentage of Hispanics in the state are mainly comprised of Puerto Ricans. New York has the highest population of Puerto Ricans in the country. The state also has the largest population of Dominicans. New York also has a rapidly growing population of Bangladeshi Americans and Pakistani Americans. Ancestry groups in the state include Italian Americans, who make up 15.8% of the population, African American, Hispanic, Irish and German, amongst others.

New York Growth Rate

New York Population Rank

New York Population 2024

New York Facts

Population

200K

400K

600K

800K

1M

1.2M

1.4M

1.6M

1.8M

2M

2.2M

2.4M

When examining population growth by county (from 2010 to 2015), just one -- Kings County -- recorded an increase of over 5%. Other counties showed smaller rates of growth, and these counties include but were not limited to Tompkins, Westchester, Saratoga, Rockland, Erie, and Suffolk.

There are also multiple counties in the state that have shown population declines. Schoharie County reported the largest loss in population at 4.15%. Several other counties also had populations that declined since 2010, including Delaware County at 3.83%, Greene County at 3.04%, and Sullivan County at 3.3%.

New York Population by County

Population by Race

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Race
Population
Percentage (of total)
White12,215,11860.73%
Black or African American3,058,84615.21%
Other race1,808,0078.99%
Asian1,739,1968.65%
Two or more races1,200,7135.97%
Native American83,7340.42%
Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander9,1310.05%

White

Black or African American

Other race

Asian

Two or more races

Native American

Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander

New York Population by Race

New York Population Pyramid 2024

New York Median Age

39.2

Total

37.9

Male

40.4

Female

New York Adults

There are 15,897,349 adults, (3,330,159 of whom are seniors) in New York.

New York Age Dependency

60.1

Age Dependency Ratio

26.5

Old Age Dependency Ratio

33.6

Child Dependency Ratio

New York Sex Ratio

Female10,293,03451.17%
Male9,821,71148.83%

New York Population by Age

New York Renter vs Owner Occupied by Household Type

Household Type
Count
Average Size
Owner
Renter
All7,530,1502.654.445.6
Married3,293,4253.3772.527.5
Non Family2,807,2801.2839.960.1
Female1,051,3123.4138.461.6
Male378,1333.3448.451.6

3.27

Average Family Size

2.6

Average Household Size

54.4%

Rate of Home Ownership

Married

Male

Female

NonFamily

owner

renter

New York Households and Families

Male

Female

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Less Than 9th Grade

9th to 12th Grade

High School Graduate

Some College

Associates Degree

Bachelors Degree

Graduate Degree

New York Educational Attainment by Sex (over 25)

New York Educational Attainment by Race

High School Graduation Rate

Bachelors Rate

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The highest rate of high school graduation is among white people with a rate of 93.76%.

The highest rate of bachelors degrees is among asian people with a rate of 48.31%.

New York Educational Attainment by Race

All

Male

Female

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$49,839

Average Earnings

$55,067

Average Male

$43,615

Average Female

New York Earnings by Educational Attainment

New York Language by Age

Only English

Spanish

Other Indo-European Languages

Asian and Pacific Island Languages

Other Languages

New York Language

69.5% of New York residents speak only English, while 30.5% speak other languages. The non-English language spoken by the largest group is Spanish, which is spoken by 14.78% of the population.

New York Language

New York Poverty by Race

rate

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Name
Total
In Poverty
Poverty Rate
White10,726,059988,7539.22%
Hispanic3,787,607766,73720.24%
Black2,946,863594,08420.16%
Other1,773,856397,73922.42%
Asian1,699,943239,25914.07%
Multiple1,175,403190,20116.18%
Native80,94718,74523.16%
Islander8,6052,34427.24%

13.45%

Overall Poverty Rate

12.25%

Male Poverty Rate

14.59%

Female Poverty Rate

Poverty in New York

The race most likely to be in poverty in New York is Islander, with 27.24% below the poverty level.

The race least likely to be in poverty in New York is White, with 9.22% below the poverty level.

The poverty rate among those that worked full-time for the past 12 months was 1.97%. Among those working part-time, it was 14.19%, and for those that did not work, the poverty rate was 23.99%.

New York Poverty

rate

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Rate
Poverty
Less Than 9th Grade26.69%
High School14.67%
Some College10.25%
Bachelors or Greater4.98%

New York Poverty Rate by Education

rate

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Rate
Poverty
Female Unemployed29.15%
Male Unemployed24.64%
Female Employed6.04%
Male Employed4.42%

New York Poverty Rate by Employment Status and Sex

New York Income by Household Type

Households

Families

MarriedFamilies

NonFamilies

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mean

median

Income by Household Type

New York Marital Status

Married

Widowed

Divorced

Separated

NeverMarried

Marriage Rates

44.6%

Overall Marriage Rate

47.2%

Male Marriage Rate

42.2%

Female Marriage Rate

New York Married by Age and Sex

male

female

New York Marriage

The age group where males are most likely to be married is Over 65, while the female age group most likely to be married is 45-54.

New York Marital Status by Race

Married

Widowed

Divorced

Separated

NeverMarried

New York Marital Status

Second Gulf War

First Gulf War

Vietnam

Korea

World War II

665,257

Number of Veterans

616,194

Male Veterans

49,063

Female Veterans

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New York Veterans by War

count

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New York Veterans by Age

count

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New York Veterans by Race

New York Veterans by Education

Less Than 9th Grade

High School Graduate

Some College

Bachelors or Greater

7.49%

Veteran Poverty Rate

28.42%

Veteran Disability Rate

New York Veterans by Education

LaborForceParticipation

63.1%

Labor Force Participation

59%

Employment Rate

6.2%

Unemployment Rate

New York Employment by Age

LaborForceParticipation

New York Employment by Race

LaborForceParticipation

New York Employment by Education

Origin of Non-Citizens

Europe

Asia

Africa

Oceania

Latin America

North America

Non citizens include legal permanent residents (green card holders), international students, temporary workers, humanitarian migrants, and illegal immigrants.

Origin of Naturalized Citizens

Europe

Asia

Africa

Oceania

Latin America

North America

63.01%

Born in New York

77.51%

Native Born

22.49%

Foreign Born

9.26%

Non Citizen

13.23%

Naturalized

Place of Birth

77.51% of New York residents were born in the United States, with 63.01% having been born in New York. 9.26% of residents are not US citizens. Of those not born in the United States, the largest percentage are from Latin America.

New York Place of Birth

  1. New York State Data Center
  2. Cornell Program on Applied Demographics
  3. US Census State Population Estimates - Most recent state estimates from the Census Bureau's Population Estimates Program
  4. US Census County Population Estimates - Most recent county estimates from the Census Bureau's Population Estimates Program
  5. American Community Survey (2009 - 2013)
  6. Census QuickFacts
  7. Historical Populations of States and Counties (1790 - 1990)

Sources