The demographics of Queens, the second-most populous borough in New York City, are highly diverse. No racial or ethnic group holds a 50% majority in the borough. Coterminous with Queens County since 1899, the borough of Queens is the second-largest in population, with approximately 2.3 million residents in 2013, approximately 48% of them foreign-born; Queens County is also the second most populous county in New York State, behind neighboring Kings County, which is coterminous with the borough of Brooklyn. Queens is the fourth-most densely populated county among New York City's boroughs, as well as in the United States; and if each New York City borough were an independent city, Queens would also be the nation's fourth most populous city, after Los Angeles, Chicago, and Brooklyn. Some say Queens is the most ethnically diverse urban area in the world.
General statistics
Census Year
Queens
Nassau portion
Queens
% increase
1698
3,565
1771
10,980
1790
16,014
9,855
6,159
-
1800
16,916
10,274
6,642
7.8%
1810
19,336
11,892
7,444
12.1%
1820
21,519
13,273
8,246
10.8%
1830
22,460
13,411
9,049
9.7%
1840
30,324
15,844
14,480
60.0%
1850
36,833
18,240
18,593
28.4%
1860
57,391
24,488
32,903
77.0%
1870
73,803
28,335
45,468
38.2%
1880
90,574
34,015
56,559
24.4%
1890
128,059
41,009
87,050
53.9%
1900
152,999
75.8%
1910
284,041
85.6%
1920
469,042
65.1%
1930
1,079,129
130.1%
1940
1,297,634
20.2%
1950
1,550,849
19.5%
1960
1,809,578
16.7%
1970
1,986,473
9.8%
1980
1,891,325
-4.8%
1990
1,951,598
3.2%
2000
2,229,379
14.2%
2010
2,230,722
0.1%
2010s
2013
Since 2010, the population of Queens was estimated by the Census Bureau to have increased 2.9% to 2,296,175 as of 2013, representing 27.3% of New York City's population, and 11.7% of New York State's population.
According to the 2010 Census, 39.7% of the population was White, 19.1% Black or African American, 22.9% Asian, 13.7% from some other race, and 4.5% of two or more races. 27.5% of Queens's population was of Hispanic, Latino, or Spanish origin.
In 2005, the median income among black households in Queens was close to $52,000 a year, surpassing that of whites. As of 2006, no other county in the country with a population over 65,000 can make that claim.
2000
As of the census of 2000, the population of Queens was 2,229,379 people, 782,664 households, and 537,690 families residing in the county. The population density was 7,879.6/km². There were 817,250 housing units at an average density of 2,888.5/km². The racial makeup of the county was 44.08% White, 20.01% Black or African American, 0.50% Native American, 17.56% Asian, 0.06% Pacific Islander, 11.68% from other races, and 6.11% from two or more races. 24.97% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. There were 782,664 households out of which 31.5% included children under the age of 18; 46.9% were married couples living together, 16.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.3% were non-families. 25.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.81 and the average family size was 3.39. In the county, the population was spread out with 22.8% under the age of 18, 9.6% from 18 to 24, 33.1% from 25 to 44, 21.7% from 45 to 64, and 12.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females there were 92.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.6 males. The median income for a household in the county was $42,439, and the median income for a family was $48,608. Males had a median income of $35,576 versus $31,628 for females. The per capita income for the county was $19,222. About 11.9% of families and 14.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 18.8% of those under age 18 and 13.0% of those age 65 or over.
Blacks make up a large portion of Queens' population. According to the 2009 American Community Survey Blacks of both Hispanic and non-Hispanic origin made up 18.8% of Queens' population. As of 2010, Blacks of non-Hispanic origin formed 17.7% non-Hispanic of the population. Over 434,300 blacks reside in Queens, of which some 406,000 are non-Hispanic blacks. In addition, 23,527 people identified themselves as "Sub-Saharan African" in the survey, which is equal to 1.0% of the population. Blacks are primarily concentrated in the Southeast Queens neighborhoods of South Jamaica, Springfield Gardens, Hollis, Laurelton, Cambria Heights, Locust Manor, St. Albans, Rosedale, and Far Rockaway.
Native American population
Native Americans are a very small minority in Queens. Of the borough's 2.3 million people, roughly 11,200 are Native American, which is equivalent to just 0.5% of the total population. However, people who identify as Native American with another racial group make up 1.1% of the population, which is roughly 25,700 people.
Asian population
Asians have a large presence in Queens, and Queens has the largest Asian American population by county outside the Western United States; according to the 2006 American Community Survey, Queens ranks fifth among US counties, with 477,772 Asian Americans making up 21.18% of the population. Over one-in-five residents are of Asian descent. Over 506,000 Asians live in the borough. The bulk of this group are composed of people of Chinese, Indian, Korean, and Filipino descent. Asians are numerous throughout the borough but most concentrated in Northeastern and Central Queens in areas such as Flushing, Little Neck, Bayside, Fresh Meadows, Jamaica Estates, Elmhurst, Woodside, Richmond Hill, and Ozone Park. The following list provides more information on these four ethnic groups:
Chinese:
Indian:
Korean:
Filipino:
The 2000 census also showed that the borough is home to one of the most important concentration of Indian Americans in the nation, with a total population of 329,715 and Pakistani Americans with a population of 75,604. There is also a large population of Afghan Americans, which reside predominantly in Flushing and Jackson Heights, and there is also a large portion of Arab Americans which live in Astoria concentrated in and around Steinway, with groups of Moroccan Americans, Egyptian Americans, Lebanese Americans, and Syrian Americans. The neighborhoods of Forest Hills, Queens, and Rego Park are home to a large amount of Central Asians, particularly Bukharian Jews from Uzbekistan and Tajikistan. There is also a large population of Indo-Guyanese and Indo-Trinidadian people in Richmond Hill, Queens, Ozone Park, and South Ozone Park.. There are another ten Asian American groups in Queens that number over 1,000 individuals. The largest Asian American group in Queens in the year 2000 were the Chinese, numbering at 143,126 members. Those of Korean descent numbered at 63,885 in the borough. There were 33,225 people of Filipino ancestry in Queens. The borough is also home to 5,957 Japanese Americans. Those of Vietnamese, Sri Lankan, Malaysian, Indonesian, Thai, and Taiwanese descent also all numbered over 1,000, but under 5,000.
Hispanic and Latino Americans make up over one-quarter of Queens' population. As of 2010, 27.5% of Queens's population was of Hispanic, Latino, or Spanish origin. Over 620,000 Hispanics and Latinos call the borough home. Over 123,200 Puerto Ricans and 83,180 Mexicans live in the borough, in addition to over 13,400 Cubans. Over 400,300 people are of other Hispanic and Latino ethnicities, such as Dominican, Salvadoran, Ecuadorian and other nationalities. These people collectively make up 17.4% of the population. Hispanics are numerous throughout the borough but concentrated most in Central Queens neighborhoods such as Corona, Jackson Heights, Elmhurst, East Elmhurst, Woodside, Ridgewood, Woodhaven, Flushing, and Ozone Park.
Multiracial population
Multiracial individuals are a small but sizable minority group in Queens. Over 55,540 multiracial individuals reside in the borough, which is equal to 2.4% of the population. People of mixed Caucasian and black heritage number over 8,840 members and make up 0.4% of the population. People of mixed Caucasian and Native American heritage number over 4,100 members and make up 0.2% of the population. People of mixed Caucasian and Asian heritage number over 8,060 members and make up 0.3% of the population. Lastly, people of mixed black and Native American heritage number over 2,550 and make up 0.1% of the population.
