New York metropolitan area facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
New York metropolitan area
New York–Newark–Bridgeport, NY, NJ, CT, PA
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Location within the United States
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| National | United States |
| States |  New York New Jersey Connecticut Pennsylvania |
| Principal cities | New York City (Brooklyn, Queens, Manhattan, The Bronx, Staten Island) Newark Jersey City Yonkers Paterson Bridgeport Elizabeth Stamford New Haven Allentown Waterbury Edison Norwalk Trenton Danbury New Rochelle Mount Vernon White Plains Passaic Woodbridge |
| Area | |
| • Total | 13,318 sq mi (34,490 km2) |
| Population
(2013)
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| • Total | 23,632,722 (1st) |
| • Density | 1,876/sq mi (724/km2) |
| Time zone | UTC-5 (Eastern Time Zone) |
| Area code(s) | 201, 203, 212, 215, 267, 272, 347, 475, 484, 516, 518, 551, 570, 609, 610, 631, 646, 718, 732, 845, 848, 860, 862, 908, 914, 917, 929, 973 |
| Highest elevation 4,180 ft/1,274 m (Slide Mountain (Ulster County, New York), in the Catskill Mountains). Lowest elevation 0 ft/0 m (sea level) at the Atlantic Ocean, Long Island Sound, and at Hudson River estuary waterways. |
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The New York metropolitan area is the city and suburbs of New York City. It includes Long Island and the Mid- and Lower Hudson Valley in the state of New York. It also includes north and central New Jersey, three counties in western Connecticut and five counties in northeastern Pennsylvania.
The New York metropolitan area is the most populous in the United States. This includes the numbers defined by both the Metropolitan Statistical Area (20.1 million residents) and the Combined Statistical Area (23.6 million residents). It is also one of the most populous built-up areas in the world, and the single largest in North America.
Contents
History
During the Wisconsinan glaciation, the region was situated at the edge of a large ice sheet over 1000 feet in depth. The ice sheet scraped away large amounts of soil, leaving the bedrock that serves as the geologic foundation for much of the New York City metropolitan region today. Later on, the ice sheet would help split apart what are now Long Island and Staten Island.
At the time of European contact the region was inhabited by Native Americans, predominantly the Lenape, and others. The Native Americans used the abundant waterways in the area for many purposes, such as fishing and trade routes. Sailing for France in 1524, Giovanni da Verrazzano was the first European to enter the local waters and encounter the residents, but he did not make landfall. Henry Hudson, sailing for the Dutch in 1609, visited the area and built a settlement on Lower Manhattan Island that was eventually renamed New Amsterdam by Dutch colonists in 1626. In 1664, the area went under English control, and was later renamed New York after King Charles II of England granted the lands to his brother, the Duke of York.
As the fur trade expanded further north, New York became a trading hub, which brought in a diverse set of ethnic groups including Africans, Jews, and Portuguese. The island of Manhattan had an extraordinary natural harbor formed by New York Bay (actually the drowned lower river valley of the Hudson River, enclosed by glacial moraines), the East River (actually a tidal strait), and the Hudson River, all of which merge at the southern tip, from which all later development spread. During the American Revolution, the strategic waterways made New York vitally important as a wartime base for the British navy. Many battles such as the Battle of Long Island and the Battle of New York were fought in the region to secure it.
New York City was captured by the British early in the war, becoming a haven for Loyalist refugees from other parts of the country, and remained in the hands of the British until the war ended in 1783. New York served as the capital of the United States from 1785 until 1790, after which the capital moved to Philadelphia. New York City has been the country's largest city since 1790. In 1792, the Buttonwood Agreement, made by a group of merchants, created what is now the New York Stock Exchange in Lower Manhattan. Today, many people in the metropolitan area work in this important stock exchange.
The Statue of Liberty in New York Harbor greeted millions of immigrants as they came to America by ship in the late 19th and early 20th centuries and is a globally recognized symbol of the United States and its democracy. Large-scale immigration into New York was a result of a large demand for manpower. A cosmopolitan attitude in the city created tolerance for various cultures and ethnic groups. German, Irish, and Italian immigrants were among the largest ethnic groups. Today, many of their descendants continue to live in the region. Cultural buildings such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Metropolitan Opera, and the American Museum of Natural History were built. New York newspapers were read around the country as media moguls James Gordon Bennett, Sr., Joseph Pulitzer and William Randolph Hearst battled for readership. In 1884, over 70% of exports passed through ports in New York or in one of the surrounding towns. The five boroughs of New York City — The Bronx, Brooklyn, Manhattan, Queens, and Staten Island — were consolidated into a single city in 1898.
The newly unified New York City encouraged both more physical connections between the boroughs and the growth of bedroom communities. The New York City Subway began operating in 1904 as the Interborough Rapid Transit Company, one of three systems (the other two being the Brooklyn-Manhattan Transit Corporation and the Independent Subway System) that were later taken over by the city. Railroad stations such as Grand Central Terminal and Pennsylvania Station helped fuel suburban growth. During the era of the Prohibition, when alcohol was banned nationwide, organized crime grew to supply the high demand for bootleg alcohol. The Broadway Theater District developed with the showing of the musical, Show Boat.
The Great Depression suspended the region's fortunes as a period of widespread unemployment and poverty began. City planner Robert Moses began his automobile-centered career of building bridges, parkways, and later expressways. During World War II, the city economy was hurt by blockades of German U-Boats, which limited shipping with Europe.
After its population peaked in 1950, much of the city's population began leaving for the suburbs of New York City. The effects were a result of white flight. Industry and commerce also declined in this era, with businesses leaving for the suburbs and other cities. The city, particularly Brooklyn, was dealt a psychological as well as an economic blow with the loss of the iconic Brooklyn Dodgers major-league baseball team, which moved to Los Angeles after the 1957 season. Crime affected the city severely. Urban renewal projects alleviated the decay in Midtown Manhattan to a certain extent, but later failed. There was little reported social disruption during the Northeast Blackout of 1965, but the New York City Blackout of 1977 caused massive rioting in some parts of the city. A rare highlight was the completion of the former World Trade Center, which once stood as the tallest buildings in the world.
In the 1980s, the city economy was booming. Wall Street was fueling an economic surge in the real estate market. Despite this, crime was still an issue. Beginning in the 1990s, however, crime dropped substantially. Crime in New York City has continued to decline through the 21st century.
A major event in the region's and the nation's history was the September 11th attacks in 2001, which killed nearly 3,000 people as two planes crashed into the former World Trade Center and caused the towers to collapse. Businesses led an exodus from Lower Manhattan because of this but were replaced by an increased number of high-rise residences. In 2003, another blackout occurred, the 2003 North America blackout, but the city suffered no looting and a building boom in New York City continues to this day.
On October 29 and 30, 2012, Hurricane Sandy caused extensive destruction in the metropolitan area, ravaging portions of the Atlantic coastline with record-high storm surge, severe flooding, and high winds, causing power outages for millions of residents via downed trees and power lines and malfunctions at electrical substations, leading to gasoline shortages and snarling mass transit systems. Damage to New York and New Jersey in terms of physical infrastructure and private property as well as including interrupted commerce was estimated at several tens of billions of dollars. The storm and its profound impacts have prompted the discussion of constructing seawalls and other coastal barriers around the shorelines of the metropolitan area to minimize the risk of destructive consequences from another such event in the future.
Geography
The area is frequently divided into the following subregions:
- New York City (center of the region, comprising five boroughs, one of which is Manhattan, the geographical, cultural, and economic core of the entire metropolitan area)
- Central and eastern Long Island (Nassau County and Suffolk County counties – separated by water from the rest of the region except New York City; not including Queens County or Kings County (Brooklyn), which are concurrent with two of New York City's five boroughs)
- North Jersey (Northern portion of New Jersey)
- Central Jersey (Middle portion of New Jersey)
- Hudson Valley (Lower Hudson Valley suburbs of Westchester County, Putnam County, and Rockland County Counties; and Mid-Hudson exurbs of Dutchess, Sullivan, Orange, and Ulster Counties)
- Western Connecticut (Only Fairfield County, New Haven, and Litchfield Counties are part of the region and separated by the state line)
- Lehigh Valley (Carbon County, Lehigh County, and Northampton County counties in Pennsylvania and Warren County in New Jersey)
- Southern and Eastern Poconos (Monroe County and Pike County Counties in Pennsylvania)
All eight subregions are often further divided. For instance, Long Island can be divided into its South and North Shores (usually when speaking about Nassau County and western Suffolk County) and the East End. The Hudson Valley and Connecticut are sometimes grouped together and referred to as the Northern Suburbs, largely because of the shared usage of the Metro-North Railroad system.
Subregions
New York City
The geographical, cultural, and economic center of the metropolitan area is New York City, which consists of five boroughs, each of which is also a county of New York State. The five boroughs – Brooklyn, Queens, Manhattan, the Bronx, and Staten Island – were consolidated into a single city in 1898. With a Census-estimated population of 8,550,405 in 2015 (8,491,079 in 2014), distributed over a land area of just 305 square miles (790 km2), New York is the most densely populated major city in the United States.
A global power city, New York City exerts a significant impact upon commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and entertainment, its fast pace defining the term New York minute. Home to the headquarters of the United Nations, New York is an important center for international diplomacy and has been described as the cultural, financial, and media capital of the world.
Long Island
Long Island is an island located just off the northeast coast of the United States and a region wholly within both the U.S. state of New York and the New York City metropolitan area. Stretching east-northeast from New York Harbor into the Atlantic Ocean, the island comprises four counties: Kings and Queens (these form the New York City boroughs of Brooklyn and Queens, respectively) to the west; then Nassau and Suffolk to the east. However, most people in the New York metropolitan area (even those living in Queens and Brooklyn) colloquially use the term "Long Island" (or "The Island") exclusively to refer to the Nassau-Suffolk county area collectively, which is mainly suburban in character. North of the island is Long Island Sound, across which are the states of Connecticut and Rhode Island.
With a Census-estimated population of 7,838,722 in 2015, constituting nearly 40% of New York State's population, the majority of New York City residents, 58% as of 2015, now live on Long Island, namely the estimated 4,896,398 residents living in the New York City boroughs of Brooklyn and Queens. Long Island is the most populated island in any U.S. state or territory, and the 17th-most populous island in the world (ahead of Ireland, Jamaica, and Hokkaidō).
Long Island is the most populated island in the United States and the 17th most populous island in the world, but is more prominently known for recreation, boating, and miles of public beaches, including numerous town, county, and state parks, as well as Fire Island National Seashore and wealthy and expensive coastal residential enclaves. During the summer season, many celebrities and the wealthy visit or reside in mansions and waterfront homes, while others spend weekends enjoying the beaches, gardens, bars, restaurants, and nightclubs.
Northern New Jersey
Northern New Jersey, also known colloquially as North Jersey, is typically defined as comprising the following counties:
- Bergen County
- Essex County
- Somerset County
- Hudson County
- Hunterdon County (anything north of Readington Township)
- Morris County
- Passaic County
- Sussex County
- Union County (anything north of Westfield)
- Warren County
The New Jersey State Department of Tourism splits North Jersey into the urban Gateway Region and the more rural Skylands Region. Northern New Jersey is home to four of the largest cities of that state: Newark, Jersey City, Paterson, and Elizabeth.
The region is geographically diverse with wetlands, mountains, and valleys throughout the area. It has a large network of expressways and public transportation rail services, mostly operated by New Jersey Transit. Northern New Jersey also contains the second busiest airport in the New York City metropolitan area, Newark Liberty International Airport.
Although it is a suburban and rural region of New York City, much of the Gateway Region is highly urbanized. The entirety of Hudson County, eastern Essex County, southern Passaic County as well as Elizabeth in Union County are all densely populated areas.
Central New Jersey
Central Jersey is the middle portion of the state of New Jersey. Municipalities including Trenton (the state capital of New Jersey and the only U.S. state capital within the New York metropolitan area) and Princeton (home to Princeton University) are located in this subregion, as is a significant portion of the Jersey Shore.
- Middlesex County
- Mercer County
- Monmouth County
- Ocean County
- Union County (anything south of Westfield)
- Hunterdon County (anything south of Readington Township)
Lower Hudson Valley
Known for its hilly terrain, picturesque settings, and quaint small towns and villages, the Lower Hudson Valley is centered around the Hudson River north of New York City and lies within New York State. Westchester and Putnam counties are located on the eastern side of the river, and Rockland and Orange counties are located on the western side of the river. Westchester and Rockland counties are connected by the heavily trafficked New Tappan Zee Bridge, as well as by the Bear Mountain Bridge near their northern ends. Several branches of the MTA Metro-North Railroad serve the region's rail commuters. Southern Westchester County contains more densely populated areas and includes the cities of Yonkers, Mount Vernon, New Rochelle, and White Plains. Although many of the suburban communities of Westchester are known for their affluence and expense (some examples: Bronxville, Scarsdale, Chappaqua, Armonk, Katonah, and Briarcliff Manor), the Lower Hudson Valley as a whole is one of the fastest-growing areas in the metropolitan area because of high housing costs in New York City and the inner suburbs.
Historically, the valley was home to many factories, including paper mills, but a significant number have closed. After years of lingering pollution, cleanup efforts to improve the Hudson River water quality are currently planned and will be supervised by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
Mid-Hudson Valley
The Mid-Hudson Valley region of the State of New York is midway between New York City and the state capital of Albany. The area includes the counties of Dutchess, Ulster, and Sullivan, as well as the northern portions of Orange County, with the region's main cities being Poughkeepsie, Newburgh, Kingston, and Beacon. The Walkway over the Hudson, which is one of the longest footbridges in the world, crosses the Hudson River connecting Poughkeepsie and Highland. The 13 mile-long Dutchess Rail Trail stretches from Hopewell Junction to the beginning of the Walkway over the Hudson in Poughkeepsie. The area is home to the Wappingers Central School District, which the second largest school district in the state of New York. The Newburgh Waterfront in the City of Newburgh is home to many high-end restaurants. The City of Beacon is home to many neat eateries and shops.
U.S. Route 9, I-84, and the Taconic State Parkway all run through Dutchess County. Metro-North Railroad train station, New Hamburg, is located in the Town of Poughkeepsie and runs from Poughkeepsie to Grand Central Station in New York City.
Western Connecticut
Fairfield, New Haven, and Litchfield counties are in western Connecticut. Large businesses are scattered throughout the area, though mostly contained within affluent Fairfield County. The three counties (and Connecticut in general) are known for affluence. Geographically, the areas are flat along the coast with low hills eventually giving way to larger hills such as The Berkshires further inland, to the Massachusetts border. Most of the largest cities in the state are located within New Haven County (home to Yale University) and Fairfield County.
Monroe and Pike Counties, Pennsylvania
Pike County is located in northeastern Pennsylvania. As of the 2010 Census, the population was 57,369. Its county seat is Milford. Part of the Pocono Mountains region lies within Pike County, which has ranked among the fastest-growing counties of Pennsylvania.
Monroe County was added to the CMSA in March 2013, as was the Lehigh Valley. Monroe's county seat is Stroudsburg, and its largest borough is East Stroudsburg. Monroe and Pike are the fastest-growing counties in Pennsylvania and are home to many residents who commute to jobs in Northern New Jersey and New York City. They are located largely in the Pocono Mountains and have multiple state parks as well as most of the Pennsylvania portion of the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area. Efforts continue to resume passenger rail service on the Lackawanna Cutoff route between Scranton and Northern New Jersey via Monroe County.
Lehigh Valley
The Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton MSA (better known as the Lehigh Valley) consists of Carbon, Lehigh, and Northampton counties. It constitutes the third-most populous metropolitan area of Pennsylvania, after the Philadelphia metropolitan area and the Pittsburgh metropolitan area; and Allentown is the state's third-most populous city, after Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. The region is important for east-west transportation between New York City, northern and central New Jersey, the Harrisburg metropolitan area, and points west, both by rail and Interstate 78. It is also critical for north-south road traffic via Interstate 476 and the Route 33 Expressway. The Lehigh Valley is in the process of major urban economic redevelopment, including development of the logistics industry as well as the Two Rivers Landing in downtown Easton, the Steel Stacks/Sands complex on the south side of Bethlehem, and a multi-purpose arena (which hosted its first event on September 12, 2014) in downtown Allentown. In 2010 the population was 712,481 for the PA portion and 821,173 in the MSA as a whole. While a large portion of Carbon County is in the Pocono Mountains, it is also in the Lehigh River valley and the employment interchange is mainly with Lehigh and Northampton Counties.
Urban areas of the region
The combined statistical area is a multicore metropolitan region containing several urban areas.
| Population rank |
Urbanized area | State(s) | 2010 population |
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| 1 | New York–Newark | NY–NJ–CT | 18,351,295 |
| 48 | Bridgeport–Stamford | CT–NY | 923,311 |
| 61 | Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton | PA-NJ | 664,651 |
| 72 | New Haven | CT | 562,839 |
| 89 | Poughkeepsie–Newburgh | NY | 423,566 |
| 128 | Trenton | NJ | 296,668 |
| 185 | Waterbury | CT | 194,535 |
| 201 | Danbury | CT–NY | 168,136 |
| 429 | Twin Rivers-Hightstown | NJ | 64,037 |
| 453 | Middletown | NY | 58,381 |
| 457 | Kingston | NY | 57,442 |
Main cities
The following is a list of "principal cities" and their respective population estimates from the 2010 U.S. Census Bureau publication. Principal cities are generally those where there is a greater number of jobs than employed residents.
- New York–Northern New Jersey–Long Island MSA
- New York City: 8,175,133
- Hempstead, New York: 759,757
- Newark, New Jersey: 277,140
- Jersey City, New Jersey: 247,597
- Yonkers, New York: 195,976
- Paterson, New Jersey: 146,199
- Elizabeth, New Jersey: 128,640
- Edison, New Jersey: 99,967
- Woodbridge Township, New Jersey: 99,265
- New Rochelle, New York: 77,062
- Mount Vernon, New York: 67,292
- White Plains, New York: 56,853
- Passaic, New Jersey: 72,500
- Union, New Jersey: 56,642
- Wayne, New Jersey: 54,717
- Trenton–Ewing MSA
- Trenton, New Jersey: 84,913
- Ewing, New Jersey: 35,790
- Bridgeport–Stamford–Norwalk MSA
- Bridgeport, Connecticut: 144,229
- Stamford, Connecticut: 122,643
- Norwalk, Connecticut: 85,603
- Danbury, Connecticut: 80,893
- Stratford, Connecticut: 51,384
- New Haven–Milford MSA
- New Haven, Connecticut: 129,779
- Waterbury, Connecticut: 109,272
- Milford, Connecticut: 51,271
- Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton MSA
- Allentown, Pennsylvania: 118,032
- Bethlehem, Pennsylvania: 74,982
- Easton, Pennsylvania: 26,800
- Poughkeepsie–Newburgh–Middletown MSA
- Poughkeepsie, New York: 32,736
- Newburgh, New York: 28,866
- Middletown, New York: 28,086
- Kingston MSA
- Kingston, New York: 23,893
- Torrington Micropolitan Area
- Torrington, Connecticut: 36,383
Climate
Summers in the area are typically hot and humid. Nighttime conditions in and around the five boroughs of New York City are often exacerbated by the urban heat island phenomenon, and temperatures exceed 90 °F (32 °C) on average of 7–8 days (on the immediate Long Island Sound and Atlantic coasts), up to in excess of 27 days (inland suburbs in New Jersey) each summer and may exceed 100 °F (38 °C).. Normally, warm to hot temperatures begin in mid May, and last through early October. Summers also feature passing thundershowers which build in the heat of the day, then drop brief, but intense rainfall.
Winters are cool to cold, with a mix of rain and occasional snow. Although prevailing winds in winter are offshore, and temper the moderating effects of the Atlantic Ocean, the Atlantic and the partial shielding by the Appalachians from colder air keep the New York area warmer in the winter than inland North American metropolitan areas located at similar or lesser latitudes including Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, and Indianapolis. Warm periods with 50 °F (10 °C)+ temperatures may occasionally occur during winter as well.
Hurricanes and tropical storms have impacted the Tri-State area in the past, though a direct hit is rare. Several areas on Long Island, New Jersey, and the Connecticut coast have been impacted by serious storm surges in the past. Inland areas have been impacted by heavy rain and flooding from tropical cyclones.
Demographics
2010 Census
As of the 2010 Census, the metropolitan area had a population of 22,085,649. The population density was 1,865 per square mile. The racial markup was 51.7% White (non-Latino), 21.7% Latino, 15.3% African-American, 9.0% Asian-American, 0.16% Native American and Alaskan Native, 0.03% Pacific Islands American, 0.5% Other, and 1.6% Multiracial.
Economy
The New York City regional economy is the largest in the United States and one of the most important in the world. Finance, international trade, new and traditional media, real estate, education, fashion and entertainment, tourism, biotechnology, and manufacturing are the leading industries in the area.
Along with its wealth, the area has a cost of living that is among the highest in the United States.
Wall Street
New York City's most important economic sector lies in its role as the headquarters for the U.S. financial industry, metonymously known as Wall Street. Anchored by Wall Street, in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan, New York City has been called both the most economically powerful city and the leading financial center of the world, and the city is home to the world's two largest stock exchanges by total market capitalization, the New York Stock Exchange and NASDAQ.
Silicon Alley
Silicon Alley, centered in New York City, has evolved into a metonym for the sphere encompassing the metropolitan region's high technology industries involving the Internet, new media, financial technology (fintech), telecommunications, digital media, software development, biotechnology, game design, and other fields within information technology that are supported by its entrepreneurship ecosystem and venture capital investments.
The biotechnology sector is also growing in the New York metropolitan region, based upon its strength in academic scientific research and public and commercial financial support.
Port of New York and New Jersey
The Port of New York and New Jersey is the port district of the New York metropolitan area, encompassing the region within approximately a 25-mile (40 km) radius of the Statue of Liberty National Monument. A major economic engine for the New York metropolitan area, the port includes the system of navigable waterways in the estuary along 650 miles (1,050 km) of shoreline in the vicinity of New York City and the Gateway Region of northeastern New Jersey, as well as the region's airports and supporting rail and roadway distribution networks. In 2010, 4,811 ships entered the harbor carrying over 32.2 million metric tons of cargo valued at over $175 billion. The port handled $208 billion in shipping cargo in 2011. Approximately 3,200,000 TEUs of containers and 700,000 automobiles are handled per year. In the first half of 2014, the port handled 1,583,449 containers, a 35,000-container increase above the six-month record set in 2012, while the port handled a monthly record of 306,805 containers in October 2014.
Water purity and availability
Water purity and availability are a lifeline for the New York City metropolitan region. New York City is supplied with drinking water by the protected Catskill Mountains watershed. As a result of the watershed's integrity and undisturbed natural water filtration system, New York is one of only four major cities in the United States the majority of whose drinking water is pure enough not to require purification by water treatment plants.
Education
The New York metropolitan area is home to many prestigious institutions of higher education. Three Ivy League universities: Columbia University in Manhattan, New York City; Princeton University in Princeton, New Jersey; Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut – all ranked amongst the top 3 U.S. national universities as per U.S. News & World Report as of 2018 – reside in the region, as well as New York University and The Rockefeller University, both located in Manhattan; all of the above have been ranked amongst the top 35 universities in the world. Rutgers University, a global university located 27 mi (43 km) southwest of Manhattan in New Brunswick, New Jersey, is by far the largest university in the region. New York Institute of Technology is located on two campuses, one in Old Westbury, Long Island and one near Columbus Circle in Manhattan. Hofstra University is Long Island's largest private university. Fordham University, also a Tier-1 university, is the oldest Catholic institution of higher education in the northeastern United States, and the third-oldest university in New York. In Pennsylvania, Lehigh University in Bethlehem is among the best universities in the United States. The New York City Department of Education is the largest school district in the United States serving over 1.2 million students. The overall region also hosts many public high schools, some of which have been described as among the most prestigious in the country.
Transportation
The depth and intricacy of the transportation network in the New York City region parallel the size and complexity of the metropolis itself.
In 2013, the New York-Newark-Jersey City metropolitan statistical area (New York City MSA) had the lowest percentage of workers who commuted by private automobile (56.9 percent), with 18.9 percent of area workers traveling via rail transit. During the period starting in 2006 and ending in 2013, the New York City MSA had a 2.2 percent decline of workers commuting by automobile.
Rail
About one in every three users of mass transit in the United States and two-thirds of the nation's rail riders live in the New York City metropolitan area.
New York City Subway
The New York City Subway is the largest rapid transit system in the world when measured by stations in operation, with 472, and by length of routes. In 2006 it was the third largest when measured by annual ridership (1.5 billion passenger trips in 2006), However, in 2013, the subway delivered over 1.71 billion rides, but slipped to being the seventh busiest rapid transit rail system in the world. New York's subway is also notable because nearly the entire system remains open 24 hours a day, in contrast to the overnight shutdown common to systems in most cities, including Hong Kong, London, Seoul, Tokyo, and Toronto.
PATH
Port Authority Trans-Hudson, abbreviated PATH, is a rapid transit subway system serving Newark, Harrison, Hoboken, and Jersey City in metropolitan northern New Jersey, as well as lower and midtown Manhattan in New York City. The PATH is operated by, and named after, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. PATH trains run 24 hours a day and 7 days a week. The system has a total route length of 13.8 mi (22.2 km), not double-counting route overlaps.[4] As of October 2016, PATH had an average weekday ridership of 276,417.[5] PATH trains use tunnels in Manhattan, Hoboken, and downtown Jersey City.
Commuter rail
The metropolitan area is also fundamentally defined by the areas from which people commute into New York City. The city is served by three primary commuter rail systems plus Amtrak.
Major highways
The following highways serve the region:
Commuter bus
New Jersey Transit, Academy Bus, Coach USA, Spanish Transportation, Trailways of New York, and several other companies operate commuter coaches into the Port Authority Bus Terminal in Manhattan, and many other bus services in New Jersey. Bus services also operate in other nearby counties in the states of New York and Connecticut, but most terminate at a subway terminal or other rail station.
Major airports
The three busiest airports in the New York metropolitan area include John F. Kennedy International Airport, Newark Liberty International Airport, and LaGuardia Airport; 130.5 million travelers used these three airports in 2016, and the metropolitan area's airspace is the busiest in the nation.
Commuter usage
According to the 2010 American Community Survey, 54.3% (5,476,169) of commuters used a car or other private vehicle alone, 7.0% (708,788) used a carpool, 27.0% (2,721,372) used public transportation, 5.5% (558,434) walked to work, 2.0% (200,448) used some other means of transportation such as a bicycle to get to work.
Culture and contemporary life
New York City has been described as the cultural capital of the world by the diplomatic consulates of Iceland and Latvia and by New York's own Baruch College.
Although Manhattan remains the epicenter of cultural life in the metropolitan area, the entire region is replete with prominent cultural institutions, with artistic performances and ethnically oriented events receiving international attention throughout the year.
Sports teams
New York City is home to the headquarters of the National Football League, Major League Baseball, the National Basketball Association, the National Hockey League, and Major League Soccer. Four of the ten most expensive stadiums ever built worldwide (MetLife Stadium, the new Yankee Stadium, Madison Square Garden, and Citi Field) are located in the New York metropolitan area. The New York metropolitan area has the highest total number of professional sports teams in these five leagues.
Listing of the professional sports teams in the New York metropolitan area:
- National Basketball Association (NBA)
- Brooklyn Nets (Brooklyn, New York City, NY)
- New York Knicks (Manhattan, New York City, NY)
- Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA)
- New York Liberty (Manhattan, New York City, NY)
- Major League Baseball (MLB)
- New York Mets (Queens, New York City, NY)
- New York Yankees (The Bronx, New York City, NY)
- Major League Soccer (MLS)
- New York City (The Bronx, New York City, NY)
- New York Red Bulls (Harrison, NJ)
- Minor League Baseball (MiLB)
- International League (AAA)
- Eastern League (AA)
- South Atlantic League (A)
- Lakewood Blue Claws (Phillies) (Lakewood Township, NJ)
- New York-Penn League (SS)
- Brooklyn Cyclones (Mets) (Brooklyn, New York City, NY)
- Hudson Valley Renegades (Rays) (Fishkill, NY)
- Staten Island Yankees (Yankees) (Staten Island, New York City, NY)
- Atlantic League of Professional Baseball (ALPB)
- Bridgeport Bluefish (Bridgeport, CT)
- Long Island Ducks (Central Islip, NY)
- Somerset Patriots (Bridgewater Township, NJ)
- Canadian American Association of Professional Baseball (CanAm League)
- New Jersey Jackals (Little Falls, NJ)
- Newark Bears (Newark, NJ)
- Rockland Boulders (Pomona, NY)
- National Football League (NFL)
- New York Giants (East Rutherford, NJ)
- New York Jets (East Rutherford, NJ)
- National Hockey League (NHL)
- New Jersey Devils (Newark, NJ)
- New York Islanders (Brooklyn, New York City, NY)
- New York Rangers (Manhattan, New York City, NY)
- American Hockey League (AHL)
- Bridgeport Sound Tigers (Islanders) (Bridgeport, CT)
- Lehigh Valley Phantoms (Flyers) (Allentown, PA)
- Professional Indoor Football League (PIFL)
- Lehigh Valley Steelhawks (Allentown, PA)
- Trenton Freedom (Trenton, NJ)
- Major League Lacrosse (outdoor) (MLL)
- New York Lizards (Hempstead, NY)
- College Sports (NCAA Division I)
- Army Black Knights (West Point, NY)
- Columbia University Lions (Manhattan, New York City, NY)
- Fairfield University Stags (Fairfield, CT)
- Fairleigh Dickinson University Knights (Teaneck, NJ)
- Fordham University Rams (The Bronx, New York City, NY)
- Hofstra University Pride (Hempstead, NY)
- Iona College Gaels (New Rochelle, NY)
- Lafayette College Leopards (Easton, PA)
- Lehigh University Mountain Hawks (Bethlehem, PA)
- Long Island University Blackbirds (Brooklyn, New York City, NY)
- Manhattan College Jaspers and Lady Jaspers (The Bronx, New York City, NY)
- Marist College Red Foxes (Poughkeepsie, NY)
- Monmouth University Hawks (West Long Branch, NJ)
- New Jersey Institute of Technology Highlanders (Newark, NJ)
- Princeton University Tigers (Princeton, NJ)
- Quinnipiac University Bobcats (Hamden, CT)
- Rider University Broncs (Lawrenceville, NJ)
- Rutgers University Scarlet Knights (New Brunswick, NJ)
- Sacred Heart University Pioneers (Fairfield, CT)
- St. Peter's University Peacocks and Peahens (Jersey City, NJ)
- St. Francis Brooklyn Terriers (Brooklyn, New York City, NY)
- St. John's University Red Storm (Queens, New York City, NY)
- Seton Hall University Pirates (South Orange, NJ)
- Stony Brook University Seawolves (Stony Brook, NY)
- Wagner College Seahawks (Staten Island, New York City, NY)
- Yale University Bulldogs (New Haven, CT)
Images for kids
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Map of the counties in the four divisions of the New York Metropolitan Area
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Nocturnal view of the New York City metropolitan area, the world's most brightly illuminated conurbation and largest urban landmass. Long Island extends 120 miles eastward from Manhattan, the central core of the conurbation.
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Part of the Palisades Interstate Park, the cliffs of the New Jersey Palisades of Bergen County overlook the Hudson River as well as The Bronx and Upper Manhattan in New York.
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Enveloped by the Atlantic Ocean and Long Island Sound, New York City and Long Island alone are home to approximately 11 million residents conjointly.
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The New York-Newark, NY-NJ-CT-PA Combined Statistical Area
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The Bear Mountain Bridge connecting Westchester and Orange Counties, New York, across the Hudson River, as seen from Bear Mountain
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Downtown Trenton in Mercer County, including the New Jersey State House topped by its golden dome, alongside the Delaware River
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A deer in a suburban street (Highland Park, Middlesex County, NJ)
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The main concourse of Grand Central Terminal, which opened in 1913.
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Chinatown, Manhattan (紐約華埠). The New York metropolitan area is home to the largest population of overseas Chinese outside of Asia, over three-quarters of a million in 2013.
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The Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree, considered the “worldwide symbol of Christmas”, is an annual staple of the New York metropolitan area during the Holiday season
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The New York City Subway is the world's largest rapid transit system by length of routes and by number of stations.
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The Long Island Expressway (I-495), viewing eastbound in Corona, Queens
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Heavy traffic on the Garden State Parkway in Wall Township, Monmouth County, New Jersey
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The Brooklyn Bridge
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The Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge, one of the world's longest suspension bridges, connects Brooklyn and Staten Island across The Narrows.
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The Great South Bay Bridge, in Suffolk County, connects the mainland of Long Island to barrier islands across the Great South Bay.
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Skyline of Six Flags Great Adventure in Jackson Township, Ocean County, New Jersey, the world's largest theme park in 2013. To the far left is Kingda Ka, the world's tallest roller coaster.
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See also
In Spanish: Área metropolitana de Nueva York para niños
