How America Moves

Queens County, NY

Migration of people and income, 20222023 filing years

At a glance (2023)

Cost of living
113
13% above the U.S. average
Median home value
$699,200
national $303,400
Home prices, 5 years
+25.0%
over the 5 years to 2023
Monthly rent
$1,915
national $1,348
Homeownership
45%
national 65%
Unemployment
4.4%
national 3.6%
Household income
$84,961
national $78,538
Median age
40.4 yrs
national 38.7

Cost of living is the metro-area price level for New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ.

The cost of living runs about 13% above the national average. The median home is valued at $699,200 (nominal). Home prices have risen about 25% over the five years to 2023. Median rent is about $1,915 a month. Unemployment averaged 4.4% in 2023 (national 3.6%). Median household income is $84,961. These figures describe all residents, not just tax filers, come from separate sources than the migration data on this page, and do not indicate why anyone moved.

Between the 2022 and 2023 filing years, Queens County, NY saw a net loss of 17,613 tax-filing households and a net loss of 41,024 individuals. Against a population of about 2,252,196, that is a net outflow of about 18 per 1,000 residents. On net, the area lost $1.9B in associated adjusted gross income (AGI, nominal dollars). The largest inflow, about 12,183 households, came from Kings County; the largest outflow, about 10,413 households, went to Nassau County. In the prior (2022) filing year, the area saw a net loss of 56,057 individuals. These figures cover federal income tax filers only and do not indicate why people moved.

Net income (AGI)
-$1.9B
nominal dollars
Net households
-17,613
tax returns
Net people
-41,024
exemptions

-18.2 net people per 1,000 residents (population 2,252,196)

Income (AGI) in and out

Moved in$3.4B
Moved out$5.2B
Net -$1.9B (nominal)
HowAmericaMoves.com

Queens County within New York

Queens County is outlined, with arrows tracing its largest moves to and from other New York counties. Hover any county for its figures; click to open it.

Net outNet in(AGI $)
Hover an area to trace its top 5 inbound (in) and outbound (out) moves.
Net income (AGI) that moved in minus out, in nominal dollars (not adjusted for inflation).Net tax returns (filing households) that moved in minus out.Net people per 1,000 residents, so larger and smaller areas compare fairly.
Loading map…

Where movers came from

  1. 1Kings County, NY12,183$734.3M
  2. 2New York County, NY6,844$677M
  3. 3Nassau County, NY4,717$331.6M
  4. 4Bronx County, NY2,729$128.7M
  5. 5Suffolk County, NY1,858$129.2M
  6. 6Hudson County, NJ908$76.6M
  7. 7Westchester County, NY806$61.8M
  8. 8Los Angeles County, CA584$44.9M
  9. 9Bergen County, NJ583$42.3M
  10. 10Richmond County, NY500$29.5M
HowAmericaMoves.com

Where movers went

  1. 1Nassau County, NY10,413$985.2M
  2. 2Kings County, NY8,138$482.1M
  3. 3New York County, NY4,241$450.3M
  4. 4Suffolk County, NY4,036$359.1M
  5. 5Bronx County, NY2,173$95.2M
  6. 6Hudson County, NJ1,625$163.3M
  7. 7Westchester County, NY1,501$184.7M
  8. 8Bergen County, NJ1,421$149.8M
  9. 9Essex County, NJ767$64.6M
  10. 10Middlesex County, NJ755$57.1M
HowAmericaMoves.com

Churn by county · both directions at once

The biggest two-way exchanges of filing households, 20222023. Moved in and moved out are gross one-way counts; net is the difference. Click a column to sort.

Kings County, NY12,1838,138+4,045+$252.2M
Nassau County, NY4,71710,413-5,696-$653.6M
New York County, NY6,8444,241+2,603+$226.7M
Suffolk County, NY1,8584,036-2,178-$230M
Bronx County, NY2,7292,173+556+$33.5M
Hudson County, NJ9081,625-717-$86.7M
Westchester County, NY8061,501-695-$122.9M
Bergen County, NJ5831,421-838-$107.5M
Los Angeles County, CA584748-164-$6.7M
Richmond County, NY500661-161-$9M
Essex County, NJ386767-381-$42.4M
Broward County, FL305745-440-$35.8M

Counts are filing households (IRS returns), matching the lists above; income is nominal AGI. A dash means the IRS published only one direction of that exchange (small flows are suppressed), so no net is computed.

HowAmericaMoves.com

Net migration by year

Net 2012–2023: -$17.6B (-437,102 people)
20122023
HowAmericaMoves.com
Net AGI and net people by year (nominal dollars)
YearNet AGINet people
2012-$719.6M-17,836
2013-$513M-18,905
2014-$760.9M-20,836
2015-$651.9M-19,101
2016-$1.1B-30,065
2017-$1.7B-47,189
2018-$1.4B-38,389
2019-$1.4B-35,759
2020-$2.1B-50,401
2021-$2.9B-61,540
2022-$2.4B-56,057
2023-$1.9B-41,024
Migration in context

How big is this move, relative to the county?

In the 20222023 filing year, about 41,024 more people left Queens County, NY than moved in (counting tax filers and their dependents) — a net loss of about $1.9B in income (nominal) — in a county of 2,314,747 people.

Population
2,314,747
Census 2023 estimate
Net migration rate
-17.7
net people per 1,000 residents
A town of 10,000 would net about -177 people.
Net income per resident
−$813
nominal dollars
-$1.9B total across 2,314,747 residents.

The rate lets you compare Queens County, NY with a countyof any size: it’s the net flow divided by population. The IRS counts tax filers; population counts all residents, so read the rate as a scale indicator, not a literal share of people.

HowAmericaMoves.com

Components of population change · 2023 (Census)

Where the county’s overall change came from. Census counts all residents; the IRS migration above is one slice of the domestic-migration component.

Births
+23,978
Deaths
-15,122
Net domestic migration
-36,877
Net international migration
+51,176
Total change
+23,384

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates Program. Figures are people, not tax filers.

HowAmericaMoves.com
Income & cost of living

What a dollar is worth here

Prices around Queens County, NY run about 13% above the national average. In plain terms: $100 spent here buys about what $89 buys in the average American community. The figures below apply that to income, each compared to the U.S. average of $70,002 per person.

Income per person
$60,307
what people here earn (BEA 2023, nominal)
14% below the U.S. average
Price level
112.6
100 = U.S. average prices (BEA price parity)
everyday costs about 12.6% higher than average
What that income buys
$53,537
local income restated at U.S.-average prices
24% below the U.S. average
Cheaper than U.S. avgU.S. average (100)Pricier

Cost of living shown for the New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ metro area (BEA publishes price parities by metro, not by county).

HowAmericaMoves.com

Where the cost comes from · price parity by category

Index where 100 = U.S. average for that category. Housing is usually what separates one place from another.

Housing & rents149.7
Goods108.3
Utilities129.1
Other services106.7

Housing is measured from rents (including an estimated rental value for owner-occupied homes), so a run-up in purchase prices shows here only as it reaches rents. Source: U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis. Covers all residents, a separate universe from the IRS filer income above. How the data works.

HowAmericaMoves.com
Who lives here

The people of Queens County, NY

American Community Survey, 2019–2023 (a 5-year average of all residents, not just tax filers).

Median age
40.4
years
Median household income
$84,961
per household (ACS 2019–2023, nominal)
8% above the U.S. median
College degree
35%
adults 25+ with a bachelor's or higher
Poverty rate
12.2%
residents below the poverty line
Average commute
43 min
mean travel time to work
Broadband at home
91%
households with any broadband
Race and ethnicity (share of residents)
White 24%Hispanic 28%Black 17%Asian 26%Other 6%

White, Black, and Asian counts are people who are not Hispanic or Latino; Hispanic or Latino can be of any race. Shares are rounded and may not total 100.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates. Covers all residents, a separate universe from the IRS filer data. A 5-year estimate is an average over 2019–2023; compare years at least five apart, since consecutive windows overlap. How the data works.

HowAmericaMoves.com

Housing · what it costs to live here (ACS 2019–2023)

Median home value
$699,200
owner-occupied homes
130% above the U.S. median
Median rent
$1,915
gross rent per month
42% above the U.S. median
Homeownership
45%
of occupied homes are owner-occupied
Home-price appreciation · FHFA index, 2023
Past year
+3.9%
price change, 2022 to 2023
Past 5 years
+25%
price change, 2018 to 2023

A repeat-sales index (how much the same homes changed in price), so it tracks the market over time rather than the current level. Source: Federal Housing Finance Agency, annual all-transactions HPI; the county series is FHFA’s developmental index.

New home construction · building permits, 2023
7,931new housing units authorized in 2023
Single-family 1%Multifamily 99%

Units authorized by residential building permits (new supply), summed from counties for the state and U.S. Permits are authorizations, not completions. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Building Permits Survey.

Home value is what owners estimate their homes are worth, not recent sale prices. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates (2019–2023), nominal dollars. How the data works.

HowAmericaMoves.com
Local economy & risk

Jobs and natural hazards

Unemployment rate
4.4%
BLS 2023 annual average
Labor force
1,177,404
1,125,384 employed
Disaster declarations
major federal, 2023

Sources: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (LAUS) and FEMA. A disaster declaration marks federal assistance eligibility, not damage severity, and says nothing about why anyone moved. How the data works.

HowAmericaMoves.com
Unemployment now
4.3%
April 2026 · ▲ 0.2 points vs April 2025
January 2024April 2026

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (LAUS). Monthly unemployment for this county, not seasonally adjusted. Updated every month, so it moves faster than the annual average above. How the data works.

HowAmericaMoves.com

How Queens County, NY has voted. Certified returns, popular vote only. This is a separate dataset from the migration figures on this page.

YearDemocraticRepublicanOtherMarginTotal
2024437,282264,62810,281D +24.2712,191
2020569,038212,66512,795D +44.9794,498
2016517,220149,34119,832D +53.6686,393
2012461,391108,86424,818D +59.2595,073
2008447,906145,8983,794D +50.5597,598
2004422,609157,94824,505D +43.7605,062
2000416,967122,05216,911D +53.0555,930

Source: MIT Election Data and Science Lab county returns (CC0). Margins are the popular-vote gap as a share of all votes cast.

Get the next update for Queens County, NY

The IRS releases new migration data once a year. Drop your email and we will send the refreshed numbers when they land. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.