As of the census of 2004, there are 8,168,338 people (up from 7.3 million in 1990), 3,021,588 households, and 1,852,233 families residing in the city.GR2 This amounts to about 40% of New York State’s population and a similar percentage of the New York City metropolitan population.

Recently, New York City has had large numbers of foreign immigrants arriving, many long-standing residents leaving, an increase in the gap between the rich and the poor, and a rise in the black middle class. In some areas of the city there is rapid growth fueled by immigrants and their children. Some areas are undergoing racial and ethnic transition; others are gentrifying.

The population density was 10,194.2/km² (26,402.9/mi²). There were 3,200,912 housing units at an average density of 4,074.6/km² (10,553.2/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 44.66% White, 26.59% Black or African American, 0.52% Native American, 9.83% Asian, 0.07% Pacific Islander, 13.42% from other races, and 4.92% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 26.98% of the population. 35.9% of the population was born outside the United States of America (18.9% born in Latin America, 8.6% Asia, 7.0% Europe). The ethnic makeup was 11.5% African-American, 9.8% Puerto Rican, 8.7% Italian, 5.3% Irish, 5.1% Dominican, 4.5% Chinese, 3.8% South Asian (Indian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi), 2.0% Arab/Persian, 1.8% Filipino and 1.6% Korean.

The two most notable demographic features of the city are its density and diversity. By American standards, the city has an extremely high population density of 26,402.9/mi², about 10,000 more people per square mile than the next densest city, San Francisco. Manhattan’s population density is 66,940.1/mi². New York is also uniquely diverse. 35.9% of its population is foreign born, the third-largest percentage in the United States, after runner-up Los Angeles and first-place Miami. Whereas in Los Angeles the majority of immigrants are from Mexico, and in Miami, from Latin America (especially Cuba), in New York no single country or region of origin dominates. Only the four largest countries of origin, the Dominican Republic, China, Jamaica, and Russia represent groups larger than five percent.

New York City’s estimated daytime population is the largest in the United States at more than 8.5 million persons. In absolute terms the increase of more than half a million people over the nighttime population is larger than anywhere else. However, as a percentage of the city’s total population, the 7% increase puts New York mid-pack among cities with more than a million residents. This is because a disproportionately high number of people both work and live in the city compared with the national average.

Median family income in New York was $44,131 in 2003. The unemployment rate in March of 2005 was 5.2%, identical to the nationwide rate. The median age is 34, a year younger than the figure nationally. Nearly 30% of New York City households have children under 18.

New Yorkers belong to a diverse range of ethnic groups. 11.5% are African-American, 9.8% Puerto Rican, 8.7% Italian, 7.0% West Indian, 5.3% Irish, 5.1% Dominican, 4.5% Chinese, 3.8% South Asian (Indian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi), 2.0% Arab/Persian, 1.8% Filipino and 1.6% Korean. Many of these minority populations have defined certain neighborhoods; examples in Manhattan are Chinatown, Harlem, Koreatown, Little Italy, Little Manila, Spanish Harlem and Washington Heights. The Irish have also had a notable presence in the city, and according to a 2006 genetic survey by Trinity College in Dublin, Ireland, about one in 50 New Yorkers of European origin carry a distinctive genetic signature on their Y chromosomes inherited from Niall of the Nine Hostages, an Irish high king of the fifth century A.D.[15] Additionally, New York City is home to the nation’s largest community of American Jews, both Ashkenazic and Sephardic, with an estimate of just under one million in 2002. The city is the worldwide headquarters of the Hasidic Lubavitch movement and the Bobover and Satmar branches of Hasidism. Even more Jews live in the adjacent suburbs, and only Israel has more Jews within its borders than the New York metropolitan area.

There are also 600,000 Muslims, 250,000 Hindus, and 100,000 Sikhs who call New York City home.