Interesting Facts and Trivia about New York State
New York City is also known as "The Big Apple" because John Joseph Fitz Gerald referred to it as that in his column in the New York Morning Telegraph after he heard stables hands in New Orleans refer to New York as "the big apple that all horsemen aspired to race at." [reference]
New York City most Populous and Most Expensive
Who can write about New York State without talking about New York City? New York City located within New York State is the most populous city in the United States with over 8 million residents. Do you know how many people that is?!
There are more people living in New York City than in the entire state of South Dakota. In fact, there are more people living in New York City than all the people in the states of Wyoming, Alaska, Vermont, North Dakota, South Dakota, Delaware, Montana, Rhode Island, and New Hampshire combined! Don't believe me? Add the numbers up yourself here.
Did you know that more people live in New York City than in the entire country of Ireland?
In 2010, New York City was ranked as the most expensive city in the United States.[1]
New York City consists of the five boroughs: Manhattan, Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens, Staten Island.
In Manhattan is Wall Street. Wall Street in New York City is the financial center of the United States. It is home of the New York Stock Exchange, the world's largest stock exchange (based on market capitalization of its listed companies.)
New York City is well known for Times Square where there is always a big celebration on New Year Day. Times Square is sometimes referred to as "The Crossroads of the World". Manhattan's Chinatown contains the highest density of Chinese people in the Western hemisphere.
The New York City Subway operates 27/7 and is one of the most extensive rapid transit systems in the world.
Located on Liberty Island in New York City is the famous Statue of Liberty, which was a gift from France to the United States. It was designed by Frédéric Bartholdi and dedicated on October 28, 1886.
Most Walkable
New York City ranks number one as the most walkable large city of all the 50 largest cities in the United States. It has a "walk score" of 85 (out of a possible 100) according to WalkScore.com. Most walkable neighborhoods within New York City is Little Italy, SoHo, and Flatiron -- such colorful names.
In general, the city is very health conscious. Having already banned trans fats and smoking, it is now the first city the United States to ban over-sized sugary drinks due to the fact that they contribute to the obesity epidemic. Read article on why sugar makes us fat.
Over-sized drinks means anything larger than 16 ounces. You can still drink soda. In fact, you can drink as much as you like and you can buy as much as you like. It is just that they will only come in containers less than 16 ounces.
Income Disparity in New York
Washing D.C (the capital city of the United States) has the greatest income disparity according to article on MainStreet.com.
However, not counting the District of Columbia, New York would the state with the greatest disparity between the rich and the poor. A person at the 95th percentile of incomes makes 10 times more than someone at the 20th percentile. New York has an Gini Index of 0.499 in term of income. The Gini coefficient is a measure of statistical dispersion.
You can see the income disparity within New York City itself. The most impoverished area is the South Bronx with the Melrose-Morrisania section with a median income of $8,694. Whereas, sections of Manhattan has median annual incomes of over $200,000.
References:
- [1] Census Pinpoints City's Wealthiest, Poorest Neighborhoods - WNYC
- [2] New York Fast Facts and Trivia
New York fast facts and trivia in no particular order! Submitted by readers. - [3] New York - Wikipedia
