Local Demographics in New York

Good to Know

• Nearly 38% of NYC's population is foreign-born—among the highest of any major city globally. Immigrants comprise 43% of the workforce and are key drivers of business creation and innovation.
• Spanish is the most widely spoken non-English language (928,700 speakers). Over 800 languages are spoken throughout the city.
• The Dominican Republic and China are now co-leading as the city's largest foreign-born populations, with Jamaica and Mexico following closely. Chinese immigrants have grown fastest in recent years.
• NYC hosts the world's second-largest tech ecosystem with over 10,000 tech companies. Major giants (Google, Meta, Amazon, Microsoft, Apple) maintain significant engineering and innovation hubs here.
• The city's tech sector is valued at $189 billion with strong presence in fintech ($21B+ in startup funding), healthtech, cybersecurity, and AI—well beyond traditional Silicon Valley industries.
• Two-thirds of all NYC residents are first- or second-generation New Yorkers. Nearly half of all residents speak a language other than English at home.