Languages Spoken in New York City

New York City has no single language. It is one of the world's most linguistically diverse cities, with over 800 languages spoken across the five boroughs.

Most Common Languages (by household, ACS estimates)

1. English – ~51%
2. Spanish – ~25%
3. Chinese (Mandarin, Cantonese, others) – ~6%
4. Russian – ~2%
5. Yiddish – ~1.5%
6. Bengali – ~1.5%
7. Haitian Creole – ~1.5%
8. Korean – ~1%
9. Arabic – ~1%
10. Polish – ~1%

Plus significant communities speaking Italian, French, Urdu, Hebrew, Tagalog, Punjabi, Albanian, Greek, and dozens more. The MTA provides announcements in multiple languages; city agencies offer interpretation in 180+ languages.

This diversity reflects NYC's history as a global immigration gateway and its role as a cultural/economic magnet.