Puerto Rican Population in New York County, NY by City : 2025 Ranking & Insights
Puerto Rican residents in New York County, NY number 85,883, with both incorporated cities - New York (605,226) and Manhattan borough (85,883) - reporting a presence. While the county-level estimate appears slightly lower than the combined city counts, this occasionally happens due to independent census sampling methods. With no presence reported outside these two cities, the Puerto Rican population is clearly concentrated within municipal boundaries. Below, we explore how this pattern of dual-city presence compares to demographic layouts across New York.
Read more
Top 5 cities with the largest Puerto Rican population in New York County
-
1New YorkPuerto Rican population in New York is 605,2267.11% of New York population is Puerto Rican
-
2Manhattan boroughPuerto Rican population in Manhattan borough is 85,8835.28% of Manhattan borough population is Puerto Rican
Overview of Puerto Rican population in New York County
- Population Count and Percentage: American Community Survey data shows New York County contains 85,883 Puerto Rican residents (5.3% of 1.6 million total county population), ranking the jurisdiction at the 99th percentile nationally among counties and 93rd percentile within New York for Puerto Rican demographic concentrations across both absolute and proportional measures.
- Comparison to State and National Averages: Census Bureau's ACS data documents New York County's Puerto Rican demographic representation of 5.3%, corresponding to New York's state average while exceeding the national average of 1.8%, placing the county at state demographic averages while above national concentration levels.
- Share of Total State Population: Official American Community Survey data documents New York County with 85,883 Puerto Rican residents, representing 8.3% of New York's total Puerto Rican population of 1.0 million.
- Population Density per Square Mile: U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey indicate New York County contains $dem_per_sqmi Puerto Ricans per square mile—one hundred seventy-one and three-quarters times New York's average of 22.1 per square mile—placing the county as a demographic outlier with one of the most concentrated Puerto Rican communities documented in United States demographic research.
- Need additional overviews? Extended research data available for purchase and license. ➔
New York County Cities by Puerto Rican Population
ACS [1] population records show New York and Manhattan borough account for 605,226 and 85,883 Puerto Rican residents. The following table shows comprehensive population data, demographic percentages, density measurements, and complete comparison metrics for both cities in New York County, NY.
Methodology
This ranking list is based on data from the American Community Survey (ACS) 5-Year Estimates, conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau. The ACS is one of the most reliable sources for understanding population trends across different locations, and it provides estimates for various racial and ethnic groups at city, county, state and all geography levels down to the Census block group.
This list ranks city in New York County, NY by their Puerto Rican population, using the most recent ACS data available.
How the Census defines Puerto Rican population
The U.S. Census Bureau allows people to self-identify their ancestry, meaning individuals can write upto ancestries when responding to the survey. In this ranking, we include everyone who identifies as having Puerto Rican ancestry, whether alone or in combination with another ancestry.
Here are a few important things to know about how ancestry is reported:
- Some people identify as Puerto Rican alone, while others identify as Puerto Rican along with another race (such as Puerto Rican and German).
- We’ve used the “Puerto Rican alone or in any combination” category unless noted otherwise, which gives a broader picture of the Puerto Rican population in each area.
How We Ranked the Data
This ranking is based on the total number of people who identified as Puerto Rican alone or in combination in city. To provide additional context, we’ve also included two key percentages:
- % of Total City Population – This shows what percentage of the total state population identifies as Puerto Rican .
- % of Total New York County Puerto Rican Population – This tells us how much of the entire U.S. Puerto Rican population lives in that state.
To keep things simple, all population numbers have been rounded to the nearest whole number, and percentages are rounded to one decimal place. Because of rounding, some percentages may not add up to exactly 100%.
Things to Keep in Mind
Like all survey-based data, ACS estimates come with some limitations. Here are a few things to be aware of:
- In places with very small Puerto Rican populations, the numbers may not be reported at all due to privacy protections or sampling variability in the survey.
- Since the ACS is based on a sample, the numbers are estimates, not exact counts. That means they may slightly differ from other sources like the decennial U.S. Census.
- City that don’t have any reported Puerto Rican population are not included in the ranking but are listed separately below for reference.
This ranking is meant to provide a clear, data-driven look at where Puerto Rican populations are most concentrated while keeping the numbers easy to understand.
Sources
- U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey (ACS) 2019-2023 5-Year Estimates.
- U.S. Census Bureau TIGER/Line Shapefiles 2023.