Queens County

Queens County, New York – Key Demographics

Population size

• 2,405,464 (2020 Census, official count)
• Approximately 2.33 million (2023 Census Bureau estimate)

Age

• Median age: 39.6 years (ACS 2018–2022)
• Under 18: 20.8%
• 18 to 64: 63.6%
• 65 and over: 15.6%

Sex

• Female: 51.6%
• Male: 48.4%

Race/ethnicity (Race/Hispanic origin; 2020 Census)

• Hispanic or Latino (any race): 28.1%
• Non-Hispanic Asian: 27.5%
• Non-Hispanic White: 24.9%
• Non-Hispanic Black or African American: 16.3%
• Non-Hispanic other/two or more races: 3.2%

Households (ACS 2018–2022)

• Total households: ~800,000
• Average household size: ~2.9
• Family households: ~69%
• Tenure: ~44% owner-occupied, ~56% renter-occupied

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, 2020 Census (DHC), 2018–2022 American Community Survey 5-year estimates, and 2023 Vintage Population Estimates.

Queens County (Queens), NY email usage snapshot

• Estimated adult email users: ~1.62 million. Basis: ~2.4M residents, ~79% adults; ~93% of adults use the internet and ~92% of internet users use email.
• Gender split of email users: 52% women (0.84M), 48% men (0.78M), mirroring Queens’ population.
• Age distribution of adult email users (estimated): 18–29: ~25%; 30–49: ~37%; 50–64: ~22%; 65+: ~17%. Email penetration by age is high: ~98% (18–29), ~96% (30–49), ~92% (50–64), ~86% (65+).
• Digital access trends:
  • Home broadband subscription: ~86% of households; ~11–14% lack home broadband but many rely on smartphones.
  • Smartphone-only internet households: ~14% (citywide pattern), indicating strong mobile-first communication, including email.
  • Ongoing narrowing of the digital divide through public assets (Queens Public Library’s 60+ branches offer free Wi‑Fi and computers) and LinkNYC kiosks.
• Local density/connectivity facts:
  • Population density ≈22,000 residents per square mile supports robust network investment.
  • Multiple fixed providers (fiber and cable) and ubiquitous 5G coverage from major carriers enable reliable, always-on email access for residents and businesses.

Overall, Queens exhibits near-ubiquitous email adoption among connected adults, with usage heaviest in the 30–49 cohort and only modestly lower among seniors.

Queens County, NY mobile phone usage — key facts and trends (most recent publicly available data through 2023–2024)

Topline user estimates

• Population and users: Queens has about 2.4 million residents; an estimated 2.0–2.2 million residents use smartphones regularly. This estimate reflects borough-scale smartphone adoption in the low-to-mid 90% range among adults, consistent with ACS and major research benchmarks for large, dense urban counties.
• Active mobile connections: On a per-capita basis, New York State sustains more than one mobile connection per resident. Applying that to Queens’ population yields on the order of 3.0–3.3 million active mobile connections in the borough (smartphones, tablets, watches, hotspots, and IoT lines combined).

Device ownership and access (ACS 2023, “Types of Computers and Internet Subscriptions”)

• Households with a smartphone: Queens ≈ 92–94% of households; New York State ≈ 90–92%. Queens sits a couple of points higher than the state average, reflecting strong urban smartphone penetration.
• Households with a cellular data plan: Queens ≈ mid-80s% vs State ≈ low-80s%. Cellular plans are slightly more common in Queens households.
• Mobile-only internet households (cellular data plan but no fixed home broadband): Queens ≈ high-teens percent; State ≈ low-teens percent. Reliance on mobile as the primary/only home internet access is materially higher in Queens than statewide.
• Households with no internet subscription of any kind: Queens ≈ high-single digits; State ≈ low double digits. Despite higher poverty pockets, overall unconnected share is somewhat lower in Queens than the state average, with many households relying on smartphones.

Demographic usage patterns (how Queens differs from New York State)

• Age: Adoption is near-saturation among residents under 35 and remains high among 35–64. Among 65+, smartphone adoption in Queens is a few points higher than the statewide senior average, aided by multilingual devices, family support networks, and carrier programs targeting seniors.
• Income and housing: Lower-income renters in Queens show a clearly higher rate of mobile-only internet use than their counterparts statewide. Public-housing and crowded-household areas in western and central Queens contribute disproportionately to smartphone-only connectivity.
• Immigration and language: With one of the nation’s highest foreign-born shares, Queens users lean more heavily on over-the-top messaging (WhatsApp, WeChat, Viber, Telegram) and international calling/eSIM options than the state average. Multilingual device settings and MVNO/prepaid plans are more prevalent than statewide norms.
• Commute and mobility: A larger share of workers depend on transit, walking, and for-hire vehicles than the state average, driving heavier daytime mobile usage near subway corridors, bus hubs (Jamaica, Flushing), and commercial districts.

Network and digital infrastructure

• 5G footprint: All three national carriers operate dense 5G NR deployments across Queens, with extensive mid-band coverage and targeted millimeter-wave nodes in high-traffic zones (downtown Flushing, Long Island City, airports, stadiums). Compared with the statewide map, Queens has substantially denser small-cell grids and more contiguous mid-band 5G coverage.
• Macro and small cells: The borough combines several hundred macro sites with thousands of small cells on utility poles/streetscapes. Density is highest along Queens Blvd, Northern Blvd, Main St (Flushing), Roosevelt Ave, Astoria/LIC waterfront, and airport perimeters.
• Venues and transit:
  • Airports: JFK and LaGuardia feature modern distributed antenna systems (DAS) and private/LTE/5G networks to handle surging traveler demand; Queens bears a much larger airport-driven mobile load than the state overall.
  • Stadiums/campuses: Citi Field and the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center run enhanced venue DAS and carrier capacity augments around event windows, with spillover capacity along the Whitestone/Van Wyck corridors.
  • Subway: Station cell/Wi‑Fi coverage is borough-wide, with tunnel coverage expanding; this produces higher underground mobile utilization than most of the state.
  • Public Wi‑Fi: Hundreds of LinkNYC kiosks in Queens provide free Wi‑Fi and device charging along major corridors, complementing cellular networks in ways uncommon outside NYC.
• Backhaul and fiber: Verizon Fios fiber and Charter Spectrum coax/fiber backhaul underpin dense 5G and small-cell deployments across the borough. Fiber presence and competitive backhaul options are notably stronger than in most upstate counties, supporting higher mobile capacity and faster 5G rollout.

Performance and usage implications

• Capacity and speeds: Queens’ dense mid-band 5G and robust fiber backhaul yield higher median urban mobile speeds and lower latency than the statewide median, especially in western Queens and airport-adjacent zones. Event surges are common but mitigated by venue DAS and temporary capacity adds.
• Mobile dependence: Queens’ higher mobile-only share means smartphones shoulder a larger share of homework, telehealth, and work-from-home tasks than the state average. This elevates off-peak and evening mobile traffic relative to typical suburban/rural patterns.
• Plan mix: Prepaid and MVNO lines account for a larger slice of subscriptions than statewide, reflecting cost sensitivity, credit constraints, and the needs of multilingual/immigrant households. International roaming/eSIM uptake is also higher due to frequent cross-border travel and communication.

What stands out versus New York State overall

• Smartphone ownership is slightly higher, but the standout difference is reliance on mobile-only internet at home, which is materially above the state average.
• Far denser 5G and small-cell infrastructure supports higher-capacity urban usage patterns than most of the state, with unique airport/stadium-driven peaks.
• Demographics (immigrant, multilingual, transit-centric) shape usage toward OTT messaging, prepaid/MVNO plans, and international connectivity more than elsewhere in the state.

Notes on sources and vintage

• Ownership and subscription figures reflect the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2023 American Community Survey (ACS) county-level indicators for device ownership and internet subscription; mobile-only share derives from households reporting a cellular data plan without a fixed broadband subscription.
• Infrastructure descriptions synthesize FCC licensing/coverage filings, NYC digital infrastructure programs, carrier public 5G buildouts, and venue DAS deployments current through 2023–2024. Figures are rounded and expressed as ranges where appropriate.

Social media in Queens County, NY — concise snapshot (2025)

User base (size and composition)

• Population baseline: 2.40M residents (U.S. Census, 2020). Adults 18+ ≈ 1.91M (≈79% of residents).
• Estimated social media users (13+): ≈1.50M
  • Adults 18+: ≈1.38M (assumes 72% of adults use at least one platform; Pew Research Center, 2023)
  • Teens 13–17: ≈0.13M (assumes ~95% use; Pew)
• Gender among users: ≈52% female, 48% male (tracks Queens’ population split; ACS)
• Foreign-born share (driver of messaging-app usage): ~47% of Queens residents (ACS), boosting WhatsApp and WeChat relative to U.S. averages

Most-used platforms (adult penetration, best available estimates)

• YouTube: ~83% of adults
• Facebook: ~68%
• Instagram: ~47%
• TikTok: ~33%
• WhatsApp: ~28–35% in Queens (above U.S. adult average ~21% due to high foreign-born share)
• LinkedIn: ~30%
• Snapchat: ~27%
• X/Twitter: ~23%
• Pinterest: ~32%
• Community/diaspora platforms with concentrated use: WeChat (Chinese-speaking communities), Telegram and Viber (Eastern European/Central Asian), KakaoTalk (Korean). Penetration is high within these groups but smaller countywide.

Age patterns (adult usage by platform, applying Pew usage rates to Queens)

• 18–29: Very high social use overall; YouTube ~95%, Instagram ~75–80%, Snapchat ~65%, TikTok ~60%+, Facebook ~65–70%
• 30–49: Heavy multi-platform use; YouTube ~90%+, Facebook ~70%+, Instagram ~50%, TikTok ~35–40%
• 50–64: YouTube ~80%+, Facebook ~70%+, Instagram ~25–30%, TikTok ~20%
• 65+: Facebook (~50%) remains the anchor; YouTube ~60% with lighter use of newer apps

Gender breakdown by platform (directional skews)

• Women over-index on Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest
• Men over-index on YouTube, Reddit, and X/Twitter
• Messaging (WhatsApp, WeChat, Telegram) is relatively gender-balanced in Queens due to family/diaspora use

Behavioral trends in Queens

• Messaging-first communities: WhatsApp groups are central for family, school, faith, and neighborhood coordination across Spanish-, Chinese-, Bengali-, Korean-, and Russian-speaking communities; WeChat is a primary hub for Chinese-language news, commerce, and services.
• Local groups and marketplaces: Facebook Groups and Marketplace are widely used for sub-neighborhood life (buy/sell/trade, housing, childcare, hyperlocal alerts). Nextdoor has pockets of adoption in lower-density neighborhoods.
• Short-form video discovery: TikTok, Instagram Reels, and YouTube Shorts drive discovery for food, events, and services; creators and local businesses in Flushing, Jackson Heights, Astoria, and LIC lean into video for reach.
• Commuter-timed consumption: Peaks around morning and evening commutes; short video and audio-friendly content perform best during these windows.
• Civic and service updates: X/Twitter and Instagram carry transit, weather, and emergency updates; multilingual shares via WhatsApp and WeChat help information spread across language lines.
• Commerce: Instagram and Facebook power storefronts for restaurants, beauty, and retail; WhatsApp is used for customer messaging, reservations, and order coordination in immigrant-owned businesses.

Notes on sources and method

• Population and demographics: U.S. Census/ACS (Queens County). Social media adoption percentages: Pew Research Center, “Social Media Use in 2023.” WhatsApp elevation in Queens is inferred by applying platform usage by nativity/ethnicity to Queens’ high foreign-born share. Percentages reflect adult penetration unless noted.