New York is a very large coastal borough (i.e. on the ocean, a bay, or inlet) located in the state of New York. With a population of 1,694,251 people and 310 constituent neighborhoods, New York is the third largest community in New York. New York has an unusually large stock of pre-World War II architecture, making it one of the older and more historic boroughs.

New York home prices are not only among the most expensive in New York, but New York real estate also consistently ranks among the most expensive in America.

Of important note, New York is also a borough of artists. New York has more artists, designers and people working in media than 90% of the communities in America. This concentration of artists helps shape New York’s character.

Also of interest is that New York has more people living here who work in computers and math than 95% of the places in the US.

A relatively large number of people in New York telecommute to their jobs. Overall, about 16.98% of the workforce works from home. While this may seem like a small number, as a fraction of the total workforce it ranks among the highest in the country. These workers are often telecommuters who work in knowledge-based, white-collar professions. For example, Silicon Valley has large numbers of people who telecommute. Other at-home workers may be self-employed people who operate small businesses out of their homes.

New York is one of the most attractive larger cities for people who are young, single, educated, and upwardly-mobile career starters. This makes it a good place to live for young singles in their 20s and 30s and who have undergraduate or graduate degrees and are starting their professional careers. Although New York is a large city, this demographic is significant enough that young professionals will find many others like themselves here, with really good opportunities for friendships, recreation, romance, and more.

New York is also nautical, which means that parts of it are somewhat historic and touch the ocean or tidal bodies of water, such as inlets and bays. Quite often, nautical areas such as these attract visitors and locals who come to enjoy the scenery and various waterfront activities.

In New York, however, the average commute to work is quite long. On average, people spend 33.07 minutes each day getting to work, which is significantly higher than the national average. One bright side is that local public transit is widely used, so it may be an option to avoid the headache of driving in the heavy traffic by leaving the car at home and taking transit. In addition, the borough is also quite pedestrian-friendly, because many neighborhoods are very dense and have amenities close enough together that people find it feasible to get around on foot.

One of the benefits of being a big city like New York is having a public transportation system, but in New York the transit system is the mode of choice for lots of people getting to and from work every day. You will find many people using the subway for their daily commute, even though other transportation options exist. If you ask these commuters, many will tell you that not having to drive in the snarl of big city traffic is one of main reasons for leaving the car at home, or even not owning a car at all. With so many people taking the subway New York benefits from a reduction in air pollution and traffic.

If knowledge is power, New York is a pretty powerful place. 62.55% of the adults in New York have earned a 4-year college degree, masters degree, MD, law degree, or even PhD. Compare that to the national average of 21.84% for all cities and towns.

The per capita income in New York in 2018 was $83,008, which is wealthy relative to New York and the nation. This equates to an annual income of $332,032 for a family of four. However, New York contains both very wealthy and poor people as well.

New York is an extremely ethnically-diverse borough. The people who call New York home describe themselves as belonging to a variety of racial and ethnic groups. The greatest number of New York residents report their race to be White, followed by Black or African-American. New York also has a sizeable Hispanic population (people of Hispanic origin can be of any race). People of Hispanic or Latino origin account for 25.65% of the borough’s residents. Important ancestries of people in New York include Irish, Italian, German, English, and Polish.

Foreign born people are also an important part of New York's cultural character, accounting for 27.93% of the borough’s population.

The most common language spoken in New York is English. Other important languages spoken here include Spanish and Chinese.