Queens County, New York

Queens is a county in New York, United States, coextensive with the New York City borough of the
same name at the western end of Long Island. It had a population of 2,405,464 at the 2020 census,
an estimated 2,316,841 residents as of 2024, and covers 178 square miles (461 km2) — 109
square miles (282 km2) of land and 70 square miles (180 km2) of water — centred near
40°42′49″N 73°49′41″W.

Queens has no single downtown or county seat; borough government sits at Queens Borough Hall in
Kew Gardens, and the postal code is 11415. The county is a consolidated city-county with no
incorporated towns of its own — New York City absorbed Queens’ villages and hamlets when it
consolidated in 1898. It holds well over 100 named neighborhoods grouped into 14 community
districts, and it runs on Eastern Time. Its FIPS code is 36081.

Towns & Villages in Queens

Queens is coterminous with the city and the county — it has no separate towns, so this
table lists its 30 most prominent neighborhoods (of well over 100 named ones citywide), each with
the community district that covers it and its main ZIP code.

Long Island City and Ozone Park each straddle two community districts, and Corona’s boundary
with East Elmhurst and Jackson Heights is drawn differently by the city planning department than
by the post office — the ZIP columns above follow USPS delivery areas, not the community
board lines. Astoria and Long Island City are also frequently used interchangeably for the strip
along the East River near the Queensboro Bridge; both names are correct for overlapping ground.

ZIP Codes

Queens uses 61 ZIP codes across five ranges: 111xx for the northwest
(Astoria/Long Island City/Sunnyside/Woodside through Flushing and Jamaica), 113xx
for the Flushing corridor and northeast, 114xx for the south-central belt
(Kew Gardens through Howard Beach), 116xx for the Rockaway peninsula, and a
handful of Nassau-border ZIPs (11001, 11004, 11005, 11040) shared with Nassau County villages.
Notable codes: 11101 (Long Island City), 11354 (downtown Flushing), 11373 (Elmhurst, one of the
densest ZIPs in the country), 11432 (Jamaica), and 11691 (Far Rockaway). ZIP codes run 11001
through 11005 and 11101 through 11697, with gaps where no delivery zone was ever assigned.

Geography

Queens sits on the western end of Long Island, bounded by the East River and Long Island Sound
to the north, Jamaica Bay and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, and Nassau County to the east. It
is the largest of the five boroughs by land area. The Rockaway peninsula, a narrow barrier spit in
the county’s south, separates Jamaica Bay from the open Atlantic and carries some of the borough’s
oldest beach communities. Flushing Meadows-Corona Park, built from the ash-dump Fitzgerald
immortalized as the “valley of ashes” in The Great Gatsby, is the county’s largest park.

Queens shares a land border with Kings County (Brooklyn) to the west along a line running
through Ridgewood and Woodhaven, and with Nassau County
to the east near Little Neck and Floral Park. It is separated by water from
the Bronx and
Manhattan to the northwest and from
Staten Island to the southwest.

Demographics

Queens had 2,405,464 residents at the 2020 census, an estimated 2,316,841 by 2024, and a
density of roughly 22,100 people per square mile of land. Flushing and Jamaica are its two
largest neighborhood hubs by population. Median household income was $86,100 (2020–2024
American Community Survey estimate), below the statewide figure. Queens is regularly cited as the
most linguistically diverse county in the United States, with more than 160 languages spoken
across its neighborhoods.

Economy & Local Life

Long Island City has become a secondary office and residential hub for Manhattan-based
employers, anchored by JetBlue Airways’ corporate headquarters and a Citigroup office tower.
Aviation and logistics tied to LaGuardia and John F. Kennedy International airports, both located
within the county, employ tens of thousands directly and indirectly. Astoria and Long Island City
host film and television production at Kaufman Astoria Studios and Silvercup Studios. Health care
and education are major employers borough-wide, led by NewYork-Presbyterian Queens, Jamaica
Hospital Medical Center, Elmhurst Hospital Center, St. John’s University, and Queens College. The
borough’s biggest annual event is the US Open tennis championships, held each August and September
at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows-Corona Park.

History

Queens was established in 1683 as one of the original twelve counties of the Province of New
York, named for Catherine of Braganza, queen consort to King Charles II. It began as a
loosely connected cluster of Dutch and English farming settlements — Flushing, Jamaica,
Newtown, and others — each with its own town government. In 1898 Queens joined Brooklyn,
Manhattan, the Bronx, and Staten Island in the consolidation that created modern New York City,
dissolving its towns into a single borough government while the county itself survived as a
judicial district. Flushing Meadows-Corona Park hosted world’s fairs in both 1939 and 1964,
leaving behind the Unisphere as the borough’s best-known landmark. Twentieth-century immigration
from Europe, Latin America, and Asia reshaped Queens into the county it is today, and Rockaway’s
beach bungalow communities, badly damaged by Hurricane Sandy in 2012, remain in long-term
rebuilding.

Getting There

Queens has no interstate highway numbered for it alone but is crossed by I-278 (the
Brooklyn-Queens Expressway), I-495 (the Long Island Expressway), and the Van Wyck and Grand
Central parkways. The New York City Subway serves the county with nine lines, and the Long Island
Rail Road runs through Jamaica, its busiest hub outside Manhattan.

• Manhattan (Midtown) — 8 miles west
• Brooklyn (Downtown) — 7 miles southwest
• Nassau County (Mineola) — 12 miles east
• The Bronx (Co-op City) — 10 miles north

LaGuardia Airport and John F. Kennedy International Airport are both within the county’s
borders. The nearest Amtrak station is Penn Station in Manhattan, reachable from Jamaica by the
LIRR in about 20 minutes.

Frequently Asked Questions

Where is Queens County?
At the western end of Long Island in New York,
bordered by Kings County (Brooklyn), Nassau County, and the waters of the East River, Long Island
Sound, Jamaica Bay, and the Atlantic Ocean.

What is the population of Queens County?
2,405,464 at the 2020 census,
with an estimated 2,316,841 residents in 2024.

How big is Queens County?
178 square miles (461 km2) total, of which 109
square miles (282 km2) are land, making it the largest of New York City’s five boroughs by area.

Does Queens have a county seat?
No. New York City’s five boroughs have no
county seats; Queens Borough Hall, the seat of borough government, is in Kew Gardens.

How many neighborhoods does Queens have?
Well over 100 named
neighborhoods across 14 community districts; this page lists the 30 most prominent.

What ZIP codes are in Queens?
61 codes across five ranges: 111xx, 113xx,
114xx, and 116xx (Rockaway), plus a few Nassau-border codes such as 11001 and 11040.

What are Queens’ major airports?
LaGuardia Airport and John F. Kennedy
International Airport are both located within the county.

More counties in this state: Towns and villages in New York.