Richmond County, New York

Richmond County is a county in New York, United States, coextensive with Staten Island, New
York City’s southernmost borough, across the harbor from Manhattan and Brooklyn. It had a
population of 495,747 at the 2020 census and covers 151.5 km2 (58.48 square miles) of land
centred near 40°34′N 74°09′W, with an additional 114 km2 of water — more water than any
other NYC borough.

St. George is the county seat, home to Staten Island Borough Hall, the Richmond County
Courthouse and the St. George Ferry Terminal; its postal code is 10301. Because Richmond County
and the borough of Staten Island are the same jurisdiction, the county has no separate cities or
incorporated towns of its own — instead it is divided into dozens of named neighborhoods
across three New York City community districts, and it runs on Eastern Time. Its FIPS code is
36085.

Neighborhoods in Richmond County

Richmond County is a consolidated city-county: Staten Island borough and Richmond County
share one government and one set of boundaries, so there is no separate incorporated place list
the way most other counties in this directory have. The table below lists the borough’s
best-known neighborhoods — informal, historically rooted districts rather than Census
Bureau-defined places — grouped by shore.

These 37 are the shore-grouped neighborhoods with the widest name recognition; Staten Island
has dozens more small named districts (Arrochar, Concord, Emerson Hill, Shore Acres, Ward Hill,
Livingston and others) that overlap the boundaries above and are not separately listed here.
Fresh Kills, once the site of the world’s largest landfill, is not a residential
neighborhood — it is being redeveloped as parkland — so it is omitted from the
table.

ZIP Codes

• 10301 — St. George, New Brighton, Grymes Hill, Silver Lake (also serves 10341, a
  St. George PO box ZIP)
• 10302 — Port Richmond
• 10303 — Mariners Harbor
• 10304 — Stapleton, Clifton, Todt Hill
• 10305 — Rosebank, South Beach, Grasmere, Dongan Hills
• 10306 — New Dorp, Midland Beach, Oakwood, Grant City, Bay Terrace
• 10307 — Tottenville
• 10308 — Great Kills
• 10309 — Rossville, Charleston, Richmond Valley, Pleasant Plains, Prince’s Bay
• 10310 — West New Brighton
• 10312 — Eltingville, Annadale, Huguenot, Arden Heights, Greenridge
• 10314 — New Springville, Bulls Head, Travis, Westerleigh

Every named neighborhood on Staten Island falls inside one of these twelve ZIPs, all under
the 103 prefix — the borough is the only part of New York City with its own dedicated ZIP
range.

Geography

Richmond County occupies the whole of Staten Island, separated from the rest of New York
City and from New Jersey entirely by water. Of its 265.5 km2 total area, 151.5 km2 is land and
about 114 km2 is water — the highest water share of any county in the New York City
area. Todt Hill, in the mid-island Staten Island Greenbelt, rises to about 124 metres, the
highest natural point on the Eastern Seaboard south of Maine. The Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge
links the North Shore to Brooklyn across the Narrows; the Outerbridge Crossing, Goethals Bridge
and Bayonne Bridge cross the Arthur Kill and Kill Van Kull to New Jersey.

Richmond County has no land border with any other county. Across the harbor to the northeast
sit Kings County (Brooklyn)
and New York County (Manhattan);
across the Arthur Kill and Kill Van Kull to the west and north lie Hudson, Union and Middlesex
counties in New Jersey.

Demographics

Richmond County had a population of 495,747 at the 2020 census, New York City’s
smallest borough population but its lowest density — roughly 8,618 people per square mile
of land, far below Manhattan or Brooklyn. St. George and the North Shore neighborhoods hold the
densest, most urban settlement; the South Shore is largely low-rise, single-family housing.
Median household income runs $76,244, above New York’s statewide figure of $82,095 (2023 ACS).
Staten Island has the highest owner-occupancy rate of any NYC borough, at about 69.5 percent,
and roughly 22 percent of residents are foreign-born.

Economy & Local Life

Health care, retail and government employ the largest shares of Richmond County workers.
Staten Island University Hospital, with campuses in Ocean Breeze and Prince’s Bay, and
Richmond University Medical Center in West Brighton are the borough’s largest private
employers. Staten Island Mall in New Springville is the borough’s largest retail
center. City government, including the borough president’s office, Richmond County
courts and NYPD’s 120th through 123rd Precincts, accounts for a significant share of local
jobs. The former Fresh Kills Landfill, closed in 2001, is being converted into Freshkills Park,
planned to become New York City’s second-largest public park. The borough’s biggest
annual event is the Great Kills Yacht Club’s summer boating season and the Richmond County
Fair at Historic Richmond Town each Labor Day weekend.

History

New York’s colonial assembly organized Richmond County in 1683 as one of the state’s
original twelve counties. Its name comes from the Staaten Generaal, the Dutch parliament, by way
of the island’s Dutch-era name Staaten Eylandt. On 1 January 1898, Staten Island joined
Brooklyn, Manhattan, Queens and the Bronx to form the consolidated City of Greater New York,
becoming the smallest of the five boroughs by population ever since. The borough voted to
secede from New York City in a non-binding 1993 referendum, a step that required state
legislative approval that never came. From 1947 to 2001, the Fresh Kills Landfill on the West
Shore operated as the largest landfill in the world before its closure and ongoing conversion
into parkland.

Getting There

No interstate other than I-278, the Staten Island Expressway, crosses the county; it links
the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge to the Goethals Bridge. The West Shore Expressway (NY 440)
runs the length of the South Shore, and Hylan Boulevard and Richmond Avenue are the borough’s
main surface arterials.

• Lower Manhattan — about 5 miles north, via the Staten Island Ferry
• Brooklyn (downtown) — about 9 miles northeast, via the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge
• Elizabeth, New Jersey — about 6 miles west, via the Goethals Bridge
• Newark, New Jersey — about 12 miles northwest

The free Staten Island Ferry runs between St. George and Lower Manhattan around the clock,
carrying more than 20,000 riders on an average weekday. Staten Island Railway, a rapid
transit line with no fare-controlled connection to the rest of the subway system, runs the
length of the borough from St. George to Tottenville. Newark Liberty International Airport,
across the Goethals Bridge in New Jersey, is the nearest major commercial airport.

Frequently Asked Questions

Where is Richmond County located?
It is coextensive with Staten Island, New York City’s southernmost borough, separated
from Brooklyn and Manhattan by New York Harbor and from New Jersey by the Arthur Kill and Kill
Van Kull.

What is the population of Richmond County?
495,747 at the 2020 census, the smallest of New York City’s five boroughs.

How big is Richmond County?
151.5 km2 (58.48 square miles) of land and about 114 km2 of water, for 265.5 km2 total.

What is the county seat of Richmond County?
St. George, home to Staten Island Borough Hall and the Richmond County Courthouse, is the
county seat.

Is Richmond County the same as Staten Island?
Yes. Richmond County and the borough of Staten Island share identical boundaries and one city
government, a consolidated city-county arrangement.

What ZIP codes does Richmond County use?
Twelve ZIPs, all beginning with 103, from 10301 in St. George to 10314 in New Springville and
10307 in Tottenville.

What is Richmond County known for?
The free Staten Island Ferry, the Staten Island Greenbelt, and the former Fresh Kills Landfill,
now being rebuilt as Freshkills Park.

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