The New York metro area has 20.1 million people, and all its growth is outside the city
See more of our coverage in your search results.
The New York-Newark-Jersey City metro area had 20,112,448 residents in 2025, according to the Census Bureau's latest population estimates. It is the largest metro area in the United States by a wide margin, with 7.3 million more people than second-place Los Angeles.
That total is up 0.2 percent from the 2020 census count of 20,081,935. New York City itself went the other way. The five boroughs counted 8,804,190 people in 2020 and are estimated at 8,584,629 in 2025, a drop of about 220,000, while the suburban counties grew enough to more than make up the difference.
The 22 counties in the metro
The New York metro area is made up of 10 counties in New York and 12 in New Jersey. The New York side holds 13.0 million people and the New Jersey side 7.1 million.
| County | 2025 estimate | Change since 2020 |
|---|---|---|
| Kings (Brooklyn), NY | 2,653,963 | -3.0% |
| Queens, NY | 2,358,182 | -2.0% |
| New York (Manhattan), NY | 1,664,862 | -1.7% |
| Suffolk, NY | 1,546,090 | +1.3% |
| Bronx, NY | 1,406,332 | -4.5% |
| Nassau, NY | 1,398,939 | +0.2% |
| Westchester, NY | 1,015,743 | +1.1% |
| Bergen, NJ | 977,026 | +2.2% |
| Essex, NJ | 896,379 | +3.8% |
| Middlesex, NJ | 883,335 | +2.3% |
| Hudson, NJ | 735,033 | +1.4% |
| Ocean, NJ | 673,746 | +5.7% |
The four boroughs that shrank are the four biggest losers in the metro. The Bronx fell the most, 4.5 percent. Staten Island, the fifth borough, grew 1.1 percent to 501,290.
Every county outside New York City gained people. Ocean County, New Jersey, grew fastest at 5.7 percent, followed by Rockland County, New York, at 5.6 percent and Union County, New Jersey, at 4.6 percent. The smallest county in the metro is Putnam County, New York, with 99,028 people.
How the metro compares
| Metro area | 2025 estimate | Change since 2020 |
|---|---|---|
| New York | 20,112,448 | +0.2% |
| Los Angeles | 12,844,441 | -2.7% |
| Chicago | 9,434,123 | -0.2% |
| Dallas | 8,477,157 | +11.0% |
| Houston | 7,904,627 | +10.6% |
New York's size lead is not in danger. Dallas and Houston are growing about 50 times faster in percentage terms, but they would need to more than double to catch up.
Who lives there
The metro has changed a great deal since 1990, when it had 16.8 million people and 15.5 percent of residents were Hispanic. In the 2020 to 2024 American Community Survey, the white share was 42.8 percent, the Hispanic share 25.7 percent, the Black share 14.9 percent, and the Asian share 11.9 percent. About 30.1 percent of residents were born in another country.
Median household income in the metro was $102,164, and 43.9 percent of adults 25 and older had a bachelor's degree, up from 25.1 percent in 1990. The poverty rate was 12.7 percent, almost unchanged from 12.0 percent in 1990.
How metro areas are drawn is explained in what is a metropolitan area, and the full list is at the largest metro areas by population.
Sources
2025 figures are from the U.S. Census Bureau's Vintage 2025 Population Estimates for counties, summed by CensusEasy using the current Office of Management and Budget delineation of the New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ metropolitan statistical area. 2020 figures are from the 2020 census. Race, income, education, and poverty figures are from the 2020-2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates, with 1990 figures from the 1990 census. Estimates and census counts use different methods, so small changes should be read with caution.
Add CensusEasy as a preferred source on Google to see our stories first.
GENERALBusiness applications hit a September record, and hiring plans ticked up for the first time this year
Americans filed 534,947 business applications in September, the most for any September since 2004. Applications with planned wages rose for the first time in 2026, and Missouri jumped 22.1 percent.
GENERALThe most populated ZIP code in every state, led by Katy's 77494
Katy, Texas's 77494 has 140,157 residents, the most of any ZIP code in America, just ahead of Lakewood, New Jersey's 08701. Here is the biggest ZIP code in all 50 states and D.C.
GENERALNearly 56,000 comments filed on the 2030 census noncitizen rule as critics expect a court fight
The proposal to leave noncitizens without green cards out of the 2030 apportionment count has drawn 55,915 public comments. The deadline moved to November 2, and opponents say the rule will likely end up in court.
What is the population of the New York metro area?
The New York-Newark-Jersey City metro area had an estimated 20,112,448 residents in 2025, according to the Census Bureau's Vintage 2025 estimates. That is up 0.2 percent from 20,081,935 in the 2020 census, and it is the largest metro area in the country.
Which counties are in the New York metro area?
Twenty-two counties: 10 in New York, including the five boroughs, Long Island's Nassau and Suffolk, Westchester, Rockland, and Putnam, and 12 in New Jersey, including Bergen, Essex, Middlesex, Hudson, and Ocean. The New York side holds about 13.0 million people.
Is the New York metro area growing or shrinking?
Barely growing. The metro added about 30,000 people from 2020 to 2025. New York City fell by about 220,000, led by the Bronx at 4.5 percent, while every county outside the city grew, led by Ocean County, New Jersey, at 5.7 percent.
