The City of New York, usually called either New York City (NYC) or simply New

York (NY), is the most populous city in the United States. With an estimated 2018
population of 8,398,748 distributed over a land area of about 302.6 square miles
(784 km2), New York is also the most densely populated major city in the United States.
[10] Located at the southern tip of the state of New York, the city is the center of the New
York metropolitan area, the largest metropolitan area in the world by urban
landmass[11] and one of the world's most populous megacities,[12][13] with an estimated
19,979,477 people in its 2018 Metropolitan Statistical Area and 22,679,948 residents in
its Combined Statistical Area.[3][4] A global power city,[14] New York City has been
described as the cultural,[15][16][17][18][19] financial,[20][21] and media capital of the world,
[22][23] and exerts a significant impact upon commerce, [21] entertainment, research,
technology, education, politics, tourism, art, fashion, and sports. The city's fast pace[24][25]
[26] has inspired the term New York minute.[27] Home to the headquarters of the United
Nations,[28] New York is an important center for international diplomacy.[29][30]

Situated on one of the world's largest natural harbors,[31][32] New York City consists of
five boroughs, each of which is a separate county of the State of New York.[33] The five
boroughs – Brooklyn, Queens, Manhattan, The Bronx, and Staten Island – were
consolidated into a single city in 1898.[34] The city and its metropolitan area constitute the
premier gateway for legal immigration to the United States.[35] As many as 800 languages
are spoken in New York,[36][37][38] making it the most linguistically diverse city in the world.
[37][39][40] New York City is home to more than 3.2 million residents born outside the United
States,[41] the largest foreign-born population of any city in the world.[42] As of 2019, the
New York metropolitan area is estimated to produce a gross metropolitan product (GMP) of
US$1.9 trillion.[8] If greater New York City were a sovereign state, it would have the 12th
highest GDP in the world.[43] New York is home to the highest number of billionaires of any
city in the world.[44]
New York City traces its origins to a trading post founded by colonists from the Dutch
Republic in 1624 on Lower Manhattan; the post was named New Amsterdam in 1626.
[45] The city and its surroundings came under English control in 1664 [45] and were
renamed New York after King Charles II of England granted the lands to his brother,
the Duke of York.[46] New York was the capital of the United States from 1785 until 1790,
[47] and has been the largest US city since 1790. [48] The Statue of Liberty greeted millions
of immigrants as they came to the U.S. by ship in the late 19th and early 20th
centuries[49] and is an international symbol of the U.S. and its ideals of liberty and peace.
[50] In the 21st century, New York has emerged as a global node
of creativity and entrepreneurship,[51] social tolerance,[52] and environmental
sustainability,[53][54] and as a symbol of freedom and cultural diversity.[55] In 2019, New
York was voted the greatest city in the world per a survey of over 30,000 people from 48
cities worldwide, citing its cultural diversity.[15]
Many districts and landmarks in New York City are well known, including three of the
world's ten most visited tourist attractions in 2013; [56] a record 62.8 million tourists visited
in 2017.[57] Several sources have ranked New York the most photographed city in the
world.[58][59] Times Square, iconic as the world's "heart"[60] and "crossroads",[61] is the
brightly illuminated hub of the Broadway Theater District,[62] one of the world's
busiest pedestrian intersections,[63][64] and a major center of the world's entertainment
industry.[65] The names of many of the city's landmarks, skyscrapers,[66] and parks are
known internationally. Manhattan's real estate market is among the most expensive in the
world.[67][68] New York is home to the largest ethnic Chinese population outside of Asia,[69]
[70] with multiple signature Chinatowns across the city.[71][72][73] Providing continuous 24/7
service,[74] the New York City Subway is the largest single-operator rapid transit system
worldwide, with 472 rail stations.[75][76][77] The city has over 120 colleges and universities,
including Columbia University, New York University, and Rockefeller University, ranked
among the top universities in the world.[78][79] Anchored by Wall Street in the Financial
District of Lower Manhattan, New York has been called both the most economically
powerful city and world's leading financial center,[21][80][81][82] and is home to the world's
two largest stock exchanges by total market capitalization, the New York Stock
Exchange and NASDAQ.[83][84]
Manhattan (/ mænˈhætən , mən -/), (or the City),[1] is the most densely populated of the
five boroughs of New York City, and coextensive with the County of New York, one of
the original counties of the U.S. state of New York. Manhattan serves as the city's
economic and administrative center, cultural identifier,[5] and historical birthplace.[6] The
borough consists mostly of Manhattan Island, bounded by the Hudson, East,
and Harlem rivers; several small adjacent islands; and Marble Hill, a small neighborhood
now on the U.S. mainland, physically connected to the Bronx and separated from the rest
of Manhattan by the Harlem River. Manhattan Island is divided into three informally
bounded components, each aligned with the borough's long axis: Lower, Midtown,
and Upper Manhattan.
Manhattan has been described as the cultural, financial, media, and entertainment capital
of the world,[7][8][9][10] and the borough hosts the United Nations Headquarters.
[11] 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,[12][13][14][15][16][17] and Manhattan is home to the world's two largest stock
exchanges by total market capitalization: the New York Stock Exchange and NASDAQ.[18]
[19] Many multinational media conglomerates are based in Manhattan, and the borough
has been the setting for numerous books, films, and television shows. Manhattan real
estate has since become among the most expensive in the world, with the value of
Manhattan Island, including real estate, estimated to exceed US$3 trillion in 2013; [6]
[20] median residential property sale prices in Manhattan approximated US$1,600 per
square foot ($17,000/m2) as of 2018,[21] with Fifth Avenue in Midtown
Manhattan commanding the highest retail rents in the world, at US$3,000 per square foot
($32,000/m2) in 2017.[22]
Manhattan traces its origins to a trading post founded by colonists from the Dutch
Republic in 1624 on Lower Manhattan; the post was named New Amsterdam in 1626.
Manhattan is historically documented to have been purchased by Dutch
colonists from Native Americans in 1626 for 60 guilders, which equals roughly $1038 in
current terms.[23][24][25] The territory and its surroundings came under English control in
1664[25] and were renamed New York after King Charles II of England granted the lands to
his brother, the Duke of York.[26] New York, based in present-day Manhattan, served as
the capital of the United States from 1785 until 1790.[27] The Statue of Liberty greeted
millions of immigrants as they came to the Americas by ship in the late 19th and early
20th centuries[28] and is a world symbol of the United States and its ideals of liberty and
peace.[29] Manhattan became a borough during the consolidation of New York City in 1898.
New York County is the United States' second-smallest county by land area (larger only
than Kalawao County, Hawaii), and is also the most densely populated U.S. county.[30] It is
also one of the most densely populated areas in the world, with a census-estimated 2017
population of 1,664,727[2][31] living in a land area of 22.83 square miles (59.13 km2),[32] or
72,918 residents per square mile (28,154/km2), higher than the density of any individual
U.S. city.[33] On business days, the influx of commuters increases this number to over 3.9
million,[34] or more than 170,000 people per square mile (65,600/km2). Manhattan has the
third-largest population of New York City's five boroughs, after Brooklyn and Queens, and is
the smallest borough in terms of land area.[35]
Many districts and landmarks in Manhattan are well known, as New York City received a
record 62.8 million tourists in 2017,[36] and Manhattan hosts three of the world's 10 most-
visited tourist attractions in 2013: Times Square, Central Park, and Grand Central Terminal.
[37] The borough hosts many prominent bridges, such as the Brooklyn Bridge and
the Williamsburg Bridge; tunnels such as the Holland Tunnel; skyscrapers such as
the Empire State Building and the Chrysler Building;[38] and parks, such as Central
Park. Chinatown incorporates the highest concentration of Chinese people in the Western
Hemisphere,[39] and the Stonewall Inn in Greenwich Village, part of the Stonewall National
Monument, is considered the birthplace of the modern gay rights movement.[40][41] The
City of New York was founded at the southern tip of Manhattan, [6] and the borough
houses New York City Hall, the seat of the city's government.[42] Numerous colleges and
universities are located in Manhattan,[43] including Columbia University, New York
University, Cornell Tech, Weill Cornell Medical College, and Rockefeller University, which
have been ranked among the top 40 in the world.