Queens is an enormous coastal borough (i.e. on the ocean, a bay, or inlet) located in the state of New York. With a population of 2,405,464 people and 724 constituent neighborhoods, Queens is the second largest community in New York.
Queens home prices are not only among the most expensive in New York, but Queens real estate also consistently ranks among the most expensive in America.
Also of interest is that Queens has more people living here who work in computers and math than 95% of the places in the US.
One interesting thing about the economy is that relatively large numbers of people worked from their home: 7.75% of the workforce. While this number may seem small overall, as a fraction of the total workforce this is high compared to the rest of the county. 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.
Queens 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 Queens 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.
Queens 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. Such areas are often places that visitors and locals go for waterfront activities or taking in the scenery.
One downside of living in Queens, however, is that residents on average have to contend with a long commute, spending on average 41.13 minutes every day commuting to work. It is, however, a pedestrian-friendly borough. Many of its neighborhoods are dense enough and have amenities close enough together that people find it feasible to get around on foot. In addition, local public transit is widely used. For those who would prefer to avoid driving entirely and leave their car at home, it may be an option to use the transit instead.
Queens, like many big cities in America, has a public transportation system, but the citizens of Queens are lucky because theirs is one of the most extensive and widely used. Many commuters choose to leave their cars at home and instead use the subway to get to and from work. In fact, for some people it is feasible to forgo car ownership entirely, avoiding the cost and headache of driving in heavy traffic. The benefits include reduced air pollution and load on the road network.
The overall education level of Queens citizens is substantially higher than the typical US community, as 33.92% of adults in Queens have at least a bachelor's degree, and the average American community has 21.84%.
The per capita income in Queens in 2018 was $35,640, which is middle income relative to New York, and upper middle income relative to the rest of the US. This equates to an annual income of $142,560 for a family of four. However, Queens contains both very wealthy and poor people as well.
Queens is an extremely ethnically-diverse borough. The people who call Queens home describe themselves as belonging to a variety of racial and ethnic groups. People of Hispanic or Latino origin are the most prevalent group in Queens, accounting for 27.92% of the borough’s residents (people of Hispanic or Latino origin can be of any race). The greatest number of Queens residents report their race to be Asian, followed by White. Important ancestries of people in Queens include Italian, Irish, Guyanese, Jamaican, and German.
Queens also has a high percentage of its population that was born in another country: 46.97%.
The most common language spoken in Queens is English. Other important languages spoken here include Spanish and Chinese.