- New York City contains dozens of neighborhoods across its five boroughs: Brooklyn, Manhattan, Staten Island, Queens, and the Bronx.
- Residents of those neighborhoods speak an abundance of languages.
- Using census data from the Minnesota Population Center, we found the three most commonly spoken languages in each neighborhood.
New York is a city of neighborhoods, and those neighborhoods have a diverse array of people from all over the world.
The Census Bureau’s American Community Survey provides a picture of several demographic, economic, and social characteristics of the US population. One of the questions on the survey asks respondents which language they mainly speak at home. Using data from the Minnesota Population Center’s 2011-2015 ACS Integrated Public Use Microdata Series, we found the top three languages spoken in each New York neighborhood.
For our working definition of neighborhood, we used the Census Bureau’s Public Use Microdata Areas, which are designed to allow small-scale geographic analyses of individual-level ACS data. In New York, these areas mostly correspond to the city’s community districts (or groups of two for areas with smaller populations), so they’re a pretty good proxy for neighborhoods.
Here are the three most common languages spoken at home in each New York City neighborhood.
Manhattan CD 1 & 2: Battery Park City, Greenwich Village & Soho
Most commonly spoken language at home: English
Second most common language: Spanish
Third most common language: Chinese
Manhattan CD 3: Chinatown & Lower East Side
Most commonly spoken language at home: English
Second most common language: Spanish
Third most common language: Chinese
Manhattan CD 4 & 5: Chelsea, Clinton & Midtown Business District
Most commonly spoken language at home: English
Second most common language: Spanish
Third most common language: Chinese
Manhattan CD 6: Murray Hill, Gramercy & Stuyvesant Town
Most commonly spoken language at home: English
Second most common language: Spanish
Third most common language: French
Manhattan CD 7: Upper West Side & West Side
Most commonly spoken language at home: English
Second most common language: Spanish
Third most common language: French
Manhattan CD 8: Upper East Side
Most commonly spoken language at home: English
Second most common language: Spanish
Third most common language: French
Manhattan CD 9: Hamilton Heights, Manhattanville & West Harlem
Most commonly spoken language at home: English
Second most common language: Spanish
Third most common language: Chinese
Manhattan CD 10: Central Harlem
Most commonly spoken language at home: English
Second most common language: Spanish
Third most common language: French
Manhattan CD 11: East Harlem
Most commonly spoken language at home: English
Second most common language: Spanish
Third most common language: Chinese
Manhattan CD 12: Washington Heights, Inwood & Marble Hill
Most commonly spoken language at home: Spanish
Second most common language: English
Third most common language: Russian
Brooklyn CD 1: Greenpoint & Williamsburg
Most commonly spoken language at home: English
Second most common language: Spanish
Third most common language: Yiddish
Brooklyn CD 2: Brooklyn Heights & Fort Greene
Most commonly spoken language at home: English
Second most common language: Spanish
Third most common language: Chinese
Brooklyn CD 3: Bedford-Stuyvesant
Most commonly spoken language at home: English
Second most common language: Spanish
Third most common language: Yiddish
Brooklyn CD 4: Bushwick
Most commonly spoken language at home: Spanish
Second most common language: English
Third most common language: Chinese
Brooklyn CD 5: East New York & Starrett City
Most commonly spoken language at home: English
Second most common language: Spanish
Third most common language: Bengali
Brooklyn CD 6: Park Slope, Carroll Gardens & Red Hook
Most commonly spoken language at home: English
Second most common language: Spanish
Third most common language: French
Brooklyn CD 7: Sunset Park & Windsor Terrace
Most commonly spoken language at home: Spanish
Second most common language: English
Third most common language: Chinese
Brooklyn CD 8: Crown Heights North & Prospect Heights
Most commonly spoken language at home: English
Second most common language: Spanish
Third most common language: French/Haitian Creole
Brooklyn CD 9: Crown Heights South, Prospect Lefferts & Wingate
Most commonly spoken language at home: English
Second most common language: French/Haitian Creole
Third most common language: Spanish
Brooklyn CD 10: Bay Ridge & Dyker Heights
Most commonly spoken language at home: English
Second most common language: Spanish
Third most common language: Chinese
Brooklyn CD 11: Bensonhurst & Bath Beach
Most commonly spoken language at home: English
Second most common language: Chinese
Third most common language: Russian
Brooklyn CD 12: Borough Park, Kensington & Ocean Parkway
Most commonly spoken language at home: English
Second most common language: Yiddish
Third most common language: Spanish
Brooklyn CD 13: Brighton Beach & Coney Island
Most commonly spoken language at home: Russian
Second most common language: English
Third most common language: Spanish
Brooklyn CD 14: Flatbush & Midwood
Most commonly spoken language at home: English
Second most common language: Spanish
Third most common language: French/Haitian Creole
Brooklyn CD 15: Sheepshead Bay, Gerritsen Beach & Homecrest
Most commonly spoken language at home: English
Second most common language: Russian
Third most common language: Chinese
Brooklyn CD 16: Brownsville & Ocean Hill
Most commonly spoken language at home: English
Second most common language: Spanish
Third most common language: French/Haitian Creole
Brooklyn CD 17: East Flatbush, Farragut & Rugby
Most commonly spoken language at home: English
Second most common language: French/Haitian Creole
Third most common language: Spanish
Brooklyn CD 18: Canarsie & Flatlands
Most commonly spoken language at home: English
Second most common language: French/Haitian Creole
Third most common language: Spanish
Queens CD 1: Astoria & Long Island City
Most commonly spoken language at home: English
Second most common language: Spanish
Third most common language: Greek
Queens CD 2: Sunnyside & Woodside
Most commonly spoken language at home: Spanish
Second most common language: English
Third most common language: Chinese
Queens CD 3: Jackson Heights & North Corona
Most commonly spoken language at home: Spanish
Second most common language: English
Third most common language: Bengali
Queens CD 4: Elmhurst & South Corona
Most commonly spoken language at home: Spanish
Second most common language: English
Third most common language: Chinese
Queens CD 5: Ridgewood, Glendale & Middle Village
Most commonly spoken language at home: English
Second most common language: Spanish
Third most common language: Polish
Queens CD 6: Forest Hills & Rego Park
Most commonly spoken language at home: English
Second most common language: Russian
Third most common language: Spanish
Queens CD 7: Flushing, Murray Hill & Whitestone
Most commonly spoken language at home: English
Second most common language: Chinese
Third most common language: Spanish
Queens CD 8: Briarwood, Fresh Meadows & Hillcrest
Most commonly spoken language at home: English
Second most common language: Spanish
Third most common language: Chinese
Queens CD 9: Richmond Hill & Woodhaven
Most commonly spoken language at home: English
Second most common language: Spanish
Third most common language: Punjabi
Queens CD 10: Howard Beach & Ozone Park
Most commonly spoken language at home: English
Second most common language: Spanish
Third most common language: Bengali
Queens CD 11: Bayside, Douglaston & Little Neck
Most commonly spoken language at home: English
Second most common language: Chinese
Third most common language: Korean
Queens CD 12: Jamaica, Hollis & St. Albans
Most commonly spoken language at home: English
Second most common language: Spanish
Third most common language: Bengali
Queens CD 13: Queens Village, Cambria Heights & Rosedale
Most commonly spoken language at home: English
Second most common language: Spanish
Third most common language: French/Haitian Creole
Queens CD 14: Far Rockaway, Breezy Point & Broad Channel
Most commonly spoken language at home: English
Second most common language: Spanish
Third most common language: Russian
Bronx CD 1 & 2: Hunts Point, Longwood & Melrose
Most commonly spoken language at home: Spanish
Second most common language: English
Third most common language: French
Bronx CD 3 & 6: Belmont, Crotona Park East & East Tremont
Most commonly spoken language at home: Spanish
Second most common language: English
Third most common language: Kru
Bronx CD 4: Concourse, Highbridge & Mount Eden
Most commonly spoken language at home: Spanish
Second most common language: English
Third most common language: Kru
Bronx CD 5: Morris Heights, Fordham South & Mount Hope
Most commonly spoken language at home: Spanish
Second most common language: English
Third most common language: Kru
Bronx CD 7: Bedford Park, Fordham North & Norwood
Most commonly spoken language at home: Spanish
Second most common language: English
Third most common language: Bengali
Bronx CD 8: Riverdale, Fieldston & Kingsbridge
Most commonly spoken language at home: English
Second most common language: Spanish
Third most common language: Russian
Bronx CD 9: Castle Hill, Clason Point & Parkchester
Most commonly spoken language at home: Spanish
Second most common language: English
Third most common language: Bengali
Bronx CD 10: Co-op City, Pelham Bay & Schuylerville
Most commonly spoken language at home: English
Second most common language: Spanish
Third most common language: Italian
Bronx CD 11: Pelham Parkway, Morris Park & Laconia
Most commonly spoken language at home: English
Second most common language: Spanish
Third most common language: Albanian
Bronx CD 12: Wakefield, Williamsbridge & Woodlawn
Most commonly spoken language at home: English
Second most common language: Spanish
Third most common language: Kru
Staten Island CD 1: Port Richmond, Stapleton & Mariner's Harbor
Most commonly spoken language at home: English
Second most common language: Spanish
Third most common language: Arabic
Staten Island CD 2: New Springville & South Beach
Most commonly spoken language at home: English
Second most common language: Spanish
Third most common language: Russian
Staten Island CD 3: Tottenville, Great Kills & Annadale
Most commonly spoken language at home: English
Second most common language: Spanish
Third most common language: Italian
