Midtown Manhattan is the largest central business district in the world, and has been ranked as the densest central business district in the world in terms of employees, at 606,108 per square mile (234,020/km). Midtown also ranks among the world's most expensive locations for real estate; Fifth Avenue in Midtown Manhattan has commanded the world's highest retail rents and had been ranked as the most expensive shopping street in the world before falling to second in 2024. Midtown Manhattan is the country's largest commercial, entertainment, and media center, and is also a growing financial and fintech center.
Many of New York City's skyscrapers, including its tallest hotels and apartment towers, are located in Midtown Manhattan. The neighborhood hosts commuters and residents working in its offices, hotels, and retail establishments, tourists and students. Times Square, the brightly illuminated hub of the Broadway Theater District, is a major center of the world's entertainment industry. Sixth Avenue also has the headquarters of three of the four major U.S. television networks.
Midtown's skyline seen in January 2020, constituting one of the world's largest central business districts
Geographically, the northern boundary of Midtown Manhattan is commonly defined to be 59th Street; its southern boundary is less clear, and variously taken to be 34th Street, 23rd Street, or even 14th Street. Midtown spans the entire island of Manhattan along an east–west axis, bounded by the East River on its east and the Hudson River to its west. The Encyclopedia of New York City defines Midtown as extending from 34th Street to 59th Street and from 3rd Avenue to 8th Avenue.
Gramercy from East 23rd Street to East 14th Street and Lexington Avenue to 1st Avenue
Peter Cooper Village from East 23rd Street to East 20th Street and 1st Avenue to Avenue C (parallel the East River)
Stuyvesant Town from East 20th Street to East 14th Street and 1st Avenue to Avenue C
Midtown is the original district in the United States to bear the name and included historical but now defunct neighborhoods such as the Ladies' Mile, along Fifth Avenue from 14th to 23rd Street; and the Tenderloin, from 23rd to 42nd Street and from Fifth Avenue to Seventh Avenue.
The border of Midtown Manhattan is nebulous and further confused by the fact that the term "Midtown Manhattan" can be used to refer either to a district or a group of neighborhoods and districts in Manhattan:
The area between 14th and 86th Streets includes roughly the center of Manhattan; however, the term Midtown Manhattan can also apply to the area between 31st Street and 59th Streets, although there are still office buildings south of 31st Street.
Midtown proper (within the boundaries of Manhattan Community District 5, and excluding overlapping neighborhoods) is located from 34th to 59th Streets between Third Avenue and Eighth Avenue.
The "Plaza District", a term used by Manhattan real estate professionals to denote the most expensive area of midtown from a commercial real estate perspective, lies between 42nd Street and 59th Street, from 3rd Avenue to 7th Avenue, about a square kilometer or half a square mile.
"Midtown South" can refer to the part of Midtown between 23rd Street and around 42nd Street (although its northern boundary is defined differently depending on the source).
"Midtown West" can refer to the area between 34th and 59th Streets, and between 5th and 12th Avenues.
"Midtown East" can refer to the area between 42nd and 59th Streets, and between 5th Avenue and the East River.
In 1982, the City of New York identified the "Manhattan Core" as the area that includes some of the city's most populous neighborhoods, major institutions, parks and transit hubs, and the city's primary Central Business District (CBD), defined as Manhattan below 60th Street. The "Manhattan Core" includes some areas slightly further north of 86th Street in Manhattan, as well as the area below 14th Street; however, this definition is problematic because it ignores the fact that Manhattan has not one but two zones in which people do business within this area separated by a wide swath of low-rise (by New York City standards) residential development — there is Midtown (which is in Midtown Manhattan), and the Financial District, (also known simply as "Downtown" because of its location in southern Manhattan). In other sources, these districts are referred to as separate central business districts.
Cityscape
Midtown Manhattan viewed from Weehawken, New Jersey, in September 2021, in the afternoon.
Haier operates its United States offices in the Haier Building at 1356 Broadway, formerly the headquarters of the Greenwich Savings Bank. Haier held the opening ceremony on March 4, 2002. Sumitomo Corporation operates its New York Office, the headquarters of the corporation's United States operations, at 600 Third Avenue, 10016 in the Murray Hill neighborhood. El Al's North American headquarters are in Midtown. The Air France USA regional headquarters are in 125 West 55th Street in Midtown Manhattan. Hachette Book Group USA has its headquarters in 237 Park Avenue. In 1994 Alitalia considered moving its USA headquarters from Midtown to Lower Manhattan, but decided to keep the offices where they were at the last minute. Global Infrastructure Partners has an office in Midtown Manhattan.
Fifth Avenue in Midtown Manhattan is the most expensive shopping street in the world.
Real estate is a major force in Midtown Manhattan's economy, and indeed the city's, as the total value of all New York City property was estimated at US$914.8 billion for the 2015 fiscal year. Manhattan has perennially been home to some of the nation's, as well as one of the world's, most marketable real estate, including the Time Warner Center, which had the highest-listed market value in the city in 2006 at US$1.1 billion, to be subsequently surpassed in October 2014 by the Waldorf Astoria New York, which became the most expensive hotel ever sold after being purchased by the Anbang Insurance Group, based in China, for US$1.95 billion. In the same year, six of the top ten most expensive zip codes in the United States by median housing price were located in Manhattan, underscoring the borough's dominant position in the real estate market. When 450 Park Avenue was sold on July 2, 2007, for US$510 million, about US$1,589 per square foot (US$17,104/m), it broke the barely month-old record for an American office building of US$1,476 per square foot (US$15,887/m) based on the sale of 660 Madison Avenue. In 2014, Manhattan was home to six of the top ten zip codes in the United States by median housing price. In 2019, the most expensive home sale ever in the United States achieved completion in Midtown Manhattan, at a selling price of US$238 million, for a 24,000 square feet (2,200 m) penthouse apartment overlooking Central Park at 220 Central Park South.
The COVID-19 pandemic and hybrid work models have prompted consideration of commercial-to-residential conversion within the neighborhood's real estate sector. In August 2023, Mayor Eric Adams announced a program aimed at creating "a 24/7, live-work, mixed-use neighborhood" in Midtown South though the conversion of commercial and office space to residential, as part of an effort to create 20,000 new residences citywide in a decade.
Broadway theatre
According to The Broadway League, shows on Broadway sold approximately US$1.54 billion worth of tickets in both the 2022–2023 and 2023–2024 seasons. Both seasons featured theater attendance of approximately 12.3 million each.
Based on data from the 2010 United States Census, the population of Midtown Manhattan was 28,630, a change of 2,823 (9.9%) from the 25,807 counted in 2000. Covering an area of 692.81 acres (280.37 ha), the neighborhood had a population density of 41.3 inhabitants per acre (26,400/sq mi; 10,200/km). The racial makeup of the neighborhood was 64.1% (18,351) White, 4.6% (1,310) African American, 0.1% (34) Native American, 20.8% (5,942) Asian, 0% (8) Pacific Islander, 0.3% (92) from other races, and 2% (569) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino residents of any race were 8.1% (2,324) of the population.
The entirety of Community District 5, which comprises Midtown Manhattan, had 53,120 inhabitants as of NYC Health's 2018 Community Health Profile, with an average life expectancy of 84.8 years. This is higher than the median life expectancy of 81.2 for all New York City neighborhoods. Most inhabitants are adults: a plurality (45%) are between the ages of 25 and 44, while 22% are between 45 and 64, and 13% are 65 or older. The ratio of youth and college-aged residents was lower, at 7% and 12% respectively.
As of 2017, the median household income in Community Districts 4 and 5 (including Chelsea and Hell's Kitchen) was $101,981, though the median income in Midtown individually was $120,854. In 2018, an estimated 11% of Midtown Manhattan residents lived in poverty, compared to 14% in all of Manhattan and 20% in all of New York City. One in twenty residents (5%) were unemployed, compared to 7% in Manhattan and 9% in New York City. Rent burden, or the percentage of residents who have difficulty paying their rent, is 41% in Midtown Manhattan, compared to the boroughwide and citywide rates of 45% and 51% respectively. Based on this calculation, as of 2018, Midtown Manhattan is considered to be high-income relative to the rest of the city and not gentrifying.
Midtown Manhattan is patrolled by two precincts of the NYPD. Midtown North is patrolled by the 18th Precinct, located at 306 West 54th Street, while Midtown South is patrolled by the 14th Precinct, located at 357 West 35th Street. The precincts ranked 69th safest out of 69 patrol areas for per-capita crime in 2010. The high per-capita crime rate can be attributed to the low population of the area, as well as the high number of crimes committed against tourists. As of 2018, with a non-fatal assault rate of 25 per 100,000 people, Midtown Manhattan's rate of violent crimes per capita is less than that of the city as a whole. The incarceration rate of 297 per 100,000 people is lower than that of the city as a whole.
The 18th Precinct has a lower crime rate than it did in the 1990s, with crimes across all categories having decreased by 82.1% between 1990 and 2022. The precinct reported 1 murder, 22 rapes, 154 robberies, 185 felony assaults, 205 burglaries, 2,065 grand larcenies, and 116 grand larcenies auto in 2022. The 14th Precinct also has a lower crime rate than in the 1990s, with crimes across all categories having decreased by 81.2% between 1990 and 2022. The precinct reported 8 murders, 23 rapes, 653 robberies, 502 felony assaults, 660 burglaries, 2,375 grand larcenies, and 68 grand larcenies auto in 2022.
Fire safety
Engine Co. 54/Ladder Co. 4/Battalion 9
The main part of midtown Manhattan, between 34th and 59th Streets from Lexington Avenue to Eighth Avenue, is served by five fire stations of the New York City Fire Department (FDNY):
Engine Company 1/Ladder Company 24 – 215 West 38th Street
Engine Company 23 – 215 West 58th Street
Engine Company 26 – 222 West 37th Street
Engine Company 54/Ladder Company 4/Battalion 9 – 782 8th Avenue
Engine Company 65 – 33 West 43rd Street
The greater Midtown area between 14th Street and 59th Street contains seven additional fire stations.
Health
As of 2018, preterm births and births to teenage mothers in Midtown Manhattan are lower than the city average. In Midtown Manhattan, there were 67 preterm births per 1,000 live births (compared to 87 per 1,000 citywide), and 4 births to teenage mothers per 1,000 live births (compared to 19.3 per 1,000 citywide). Midtown Manhattan has a low population of residents who are uninsured. In 2018, this population of uninsured residents was estimated to be 11%, slightly less than the citywide rate of 12%.
The concentration of fine particulate matter, the deadliest type of air pollutant, in Midtown Manhattan is 0.0113 milligrams per cubic metre (1.13×10 oz/cu ft), more than the city average. Eleven percent of Midtown Manhattan residents are smokers, which is less than the city average of 14% of residents being smokers. In Midtown Manhattan, 10% of residents are obese, 5% are diabetic, and 18% have high blood pressure—compared to the citywide averages of 24%, 11%, and 28% respectively. In addition, 9% of children are obese, compared to the citywide average of 20%.
Ninety-one percent of residents eat some fruits and vegetables every day, which is higher than the city's average of 87%. In 2018, 86% of residents described their health as "good", "very good", or "excellent", more than the city's average of 78%. For every supermarket in Midtown Manhattan, there are 11 bodegas.
Midtown Manhattan is located within six primary ZIP Codes. West of Fifth Avenue, Midtown is located in 10018 between 34th and 41st Streets, 10036 between 41st and 48th Streets, and 10019 between 48th and 59th Streets. East of Fifth Avenue, Midtown is located in 10016 between 34th and 40th Streets, 10017 between 40th and 49th Streets, and 10022 between 49th and 59th Streets. The area southwest of Fifth Avenue and 34th Street, sometimes considered to be in Midtown, is part of 10001. Other areas between 14th and 34th Streets are covered by ZIP Codes 10003, 10009, 10010, and 10011, though these are generally not considered to be part of Midtown proper. There are also thirty-three ZIP Codes assigned to individual buildings or building complexes.
The James A. Farley Station, the city's main post office, is located at 421 8th Avenue. The post office stopped 24-hour service in 2009 due to decreasing mail traffic.
Education
Midtown Manhattan generally has a higher rate of college-educated residents than the rest of the city as of 2018. A majority of residents age 25 and older (78%) have a college education or higher, while 6% have less than a high school education and 17% are high school graduates or have some college education. By contrast, 64% of Manhattan residents and 43% of city residents have a college education or higher. The percentage of Midtown Manhattan students excelling in math rose from 61% in 2000 to 80% in 2011 and reading achievement increased from 66% to 68% during the same time period.
Midtown Manhattan's rate of elementary school student absenteeism is lower than the rest of New York City. In Midtown Manhattan, 19% of elementary school students missed twenty or more days per school year, less than the citywide average of 20%. Additionally, 92% of high school students in Midtown Manhattan graduate on time, more than the citywide average of 75%.
Schools
There are no public elementary or middle schools in Midtown.
The New York Public Library (NYPL) operates the Stephen A. Schwarzman Building (also the Main Branch), a reference branch at 476 Fifth Avenue. The four-story building, constructed in 1911, is known worldwide for its architecture and has several million items in its collections.
There are also five circulating branches in Midtown:
The 53rd Street branch is located at 18 West 53rd Street. The three-level branch opened in 2016, replacing the former Donnell Library Center that had been open from 1955 to 2008.
The 58th Street branch is located at 127 East 58th Street. The branch opened in a Carnegie library building in 1907 and moved to its current two-story space in 1969.
The Grand Central branch is located at 135 East 46th Street. The two-story library opened in 2008.
The Stavros Niarchos Foundation Library (or Mid-Manhattan library) at 455 Fifth Avenue re-opened in its current form in 2021 after renovations. Diagonally opposite the Main Branch, it has occupied this site in various forms since 1970.
The Terence Cardinal Cooke-Cathedral branch is located in the basement of 560 Lexington Avenue, adjacent to the 51st Street subway station. It opened in 1887 and is the second-smallest branch of the NYPL system.
The Port Authority Bus Terminal, located at Eighth Avenue and 41st Street at the western edge of Midtown, is the city's main intercity bus terminal and the world's busiest bus station, serving 250,000 passengers on 7,000 buses each workday. The building opened in 1950 and had been designed to accommodate 60,000 daily passengers. A 2021 plan announced by the Port Authority would spend $10 billion to expand capacity and modernize the facility.
Traffic congestion is common, especially for crosstown traffic. In 2011, a new system of traffic light control, known as "Midtown in Motion" was announced, with the aim of reducing traffic congestion. Approximately 750,000 vehicles enter Midtown Manhattan on a fall business day. According to the 2011 Traffic Data Report for New York State, 777,527 vehicles a day went through select toll facilities into Manhattan.
^ Officially, the precincts are known as the 14th and 18th Precincts. However, they are respectively publicly referred to as the Midtown South and Midtown North Precincts, making them one of the few unnumbered NYPD precincts in New York City.
^ "NYC Planning". communityprofiles.planning.nyc.gov. New York: Department of City Planning. Archived from the original on November 10, 2021. Retrieved March 18, 2019.
^Michael Kimmelman (September 30, 2016). "Penn Station Reborn". The New York Times. Archived from the original on September 30, 2016. Retrieved August 3, 2022.
^Freeman, Jess. "Milan’s Via Montenapoleone Tops Ranking Of World’s Most Expensive Retail Destinations For First Time", Cushman & Wakefield, November 21, 2024. Accessed December 4, 2024. "Milan’s Via Montenapoleone, where rents have risen by nearly a third in the past two years, has overtaken New York’s Upper 5th Avenue to be crowned the world’s most expensive retail destination, according to Cushman & Wakefield (NYSE: CWK).... Synonymous with fashion and luxury, Via Montenapoleone has steadily climbed the rankings in recent years, reaching second for the first time in 2023. Rents rose 11% to US$2,047 per square foot (psf) in the past 12 months, whereas rents on Upper 5th Avenue (US$2,000) remained flat for a second consecutive year."
^"Air France in the United StatesArchived January 6, 2011, at the Wayback Machine." Air France. June 11, 2007. 15 (15/16). Retrieved on February 13, 2010. "The Air France "United States" regional management is located in New York: 125 West 55th Street, New York, NY 10019 Tel: (212) 830–4000."
^"FAQsArchived April 11, 2011, at the Wayback Machine." Machette Book Group. Retrieved on April 17, 2011. "Hachette Book Group
Marketing Department 237 Park Avenue New York, NY 10017"
^"Mayor Adams, DCP Director Garodnick Unveil Proposal to Convert Vacant Offices to Housing Through City Action, Outline Next Step in 'City of Yes' Plan"Archived December 28, 2023, at the Wayback Machine, City of New York, August 17, 2023. Accessed December 28, 2023. "Finally, the Adams administration today kicked off the “Midtown South Neighborhood Plan,” a community planning process that will update zoning rules that currently allow only manufacturing and office space to foster a vibrant, 24/7 live-work community with new homes and good job opportunities.... With the proposed changes — which Mayor Adams first outlined in partnership with the City Council in January 2023 and highlighted again in March and May — office-to-residential conversions could produce 20,000 new homes for 40,000 New Yorkers in the next decade.... Launching today, the Midtown South Mixed-Use Neighborhood Plan will update outdated zoning to foster a 24/7, live-work, mixed-use neighborhood in the area between 23rd Street and 40th Street from Fifth Avenue to Eighth Avenue."
^Senate Committee on the Judiciary. Juvenile Delinquency: Comic Books. Motion Pictures. Obscene and Pornographic Materials. Television Programs. Greenwood Press, 1969. 47. Retrieved on January 25, 2011. "American Comics Group, 45 West 45th Street, New York, NY"
^"Corporate Directory". Archived from the original on January 4, 2002. Retrieved July 28, 2010.. NewKidCo. January 4, 2002. Retrieved on July 27, 2010.
^This does not include five additional branches located between 14th and 59th Streets but are not part of Midtown proper. These are the Columbus, Epiphany, Kips Bay, and Muhlenberg branches and the Heiskell Braille and Talking Book Library.
^McGeehan, Patrick; and Hu, Winnie. "‘Notorious’ Port Authority Bus Terminal May Get a $10 Billion Overhaul"Archived January 24, 2021, at the Wayback Machine, The New York Times, January 20, 2021, updated September 23, 2021. Accessed January 4, 2024. "The bus terminal plan, which has been in the works for more than seven contentious years, would cost as much as $10 billion and could take a decade to complete.... More than 250,000 people passed through it on a typical weekday before the pandemic, according to the Port Authority.... The bus terminal, a brick hulk perched at the mouth of the Lincoln Tunnel, has long exceeded its capacity — when it opened in late 1950, it was expected to handle 60,000 passengers a day."
^Wilson, Colleen. "Port Authority Bus Terminal was once a marvel. Will the next one meet commuters' needs?"Archived January 4, 2024, at the Wayback Machine, The Record, June 30, 2021. Accessed January 4, 2024. "Becoming the busiest bus terminal in the world doesn't happen without also bearing the brunt of blame every time a commute goes horribly wrong — deserved or otherwise.... The popularity of bus commuting over the Hudson River has steadily risen over the last seven decades, with some 260,000 people a day coming through the terminal pre-pandemic.... A more efficient terminal should improve some of the delays through the Lincoln Tunnel and exclusive bus lane (XBL), the dedicated lane in the morning that converges all buses into a single lane from I-495 into the Lincoln Tunnel from New Jersey."
^"Archived copy"(PDF). Archived from the original(PDF) on September 27, 2013. Retrieved September 22, 2013.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
^Manhattan Appellate CourthouseArchived May 5, 2023, at the Wayback Machine, New York City Department of Citywide Administrative Services. Accessed December 31, 2023. "The architect James Brown Lord was given the then unheard of sum of $700,000 to construct the courthouse. Responding to the 'City Beautiful' movement, Lord was instructed to use a large percentage of the construction budget for decoration. Despite spending a third of the total cost on decorative features, like statues and murals, he managed to complete the building under budget by over $60,000."
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