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 associated 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.Unlike some boroughs where white-collar or blue-collar occupations dominate the local economy, Queens is neither predominantly one nor the other. Instead, it has a mixed workforce of both white- and blue-collar jobs. Overall, Queens is a borough of professionals, service providers, and sales and office workers. There are especially a lot of people living in Queens who work in office and administrative support (10.78%), management occupations (9.17%), and sales jobs (8.16%). 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: 11.25% 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 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. Quite often, nautical areas such as these attract visitors and locals who come to enjoy the scenery and various waterfront activities. One downside of living in Queens is that it can take a long time to commute to work. In Queens, the average commute to work is 40.72 minutes, which is quite a bit higher than the national average. On the other hand, local public transit is widely used in the borough, so leaving the car at home and taking transit is often a viable alternative. In addition, it is also a pedestrian-friendly borough. Many of Queens’s neighborhoods are dense enough and have amenities close enough together that people find it feasible to get around on foot. 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 population of Queens is very well educated relative to most cities and towns in the nation, where the average community has 21.84% of its adult population holding a 4-year degree or higher: 35.26% of adults in Queens have a bachelor's degree or even advanced degree. The per capita income in Queens in 2022 was $41,160, 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 $164,640 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 27.90% 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, Jamaican, Guyanese, and German. Foreign born people are also an important part of Queens's cultural character, accounting for 47.57% of the borough’s population. The most common language spoken in Queens is English. Other important languages spoken here include Spanish and Chinese.
