During the Wisconsin glaciation, 75,000 to 11,000 years ago, the New York City area was at the edge of a big ice sheet over deep. Erosion and the ice moving lead to the creation of what is now Long Island and Staten Island. It also left bedrock at a shallow depth, providing a solid foundation for most of Manhattan's skyscrapers.
New York City is located in the Northeastern United States, in southeastern New York State, approximately halfway between Washington, D.C. and Boston. The city includes all of Manhattan Island and Staten Island, and the western end of Long Island. There are also many smaller islands.
Water divides several parts of the city. The Hudson River flows through the Hudson Valley into New York Bay. Between New York City and Troy, New York, the river is an estuary. The Hudson River separates the city from the U.S. state of New Jersey. Part of the Hudson River forms the border between Manhattan and the Bronx on one side, and the State of New Jersey on the other side. The East River forms the border between Manhattan on one side, and Brooklyn and Queens on the other side. The Harlem River forms the border between Manhattan and the Bronx (except for a small part of Manhattan that is on the mainland). Part of Long Island Sound separates the Bronx and Queens. Newtown Creek is part of the border between Brooklyn and Queens. Some parts of the city are very separate from the others because of water, such as Rockaway in Queens and City Island in the Bronx. A small piece of land in Manhattan is international territory and belongs to the United Nations Headquarters. The country of Somalia is the only country whose national flag copied the colors of the UN. The Bronx River, which flows through the Bronx and Westchester County, is the only entirely fresh water river in the city.
The city's total area is , including of land and of this is water. The tallest place in the city is Todt Hill on Staten Island. It is at above sea level, and it is the tallest place on the Eastern Seaboard that is south of Maine. The summit of the ridge is mostly woodland as part of the Staten Island Greenbelt.
The hallmark of New York city is its many skyscrapers, especially in Manhattan. In New York City there are about 5600 skyscrapers. 48 of them are over 200 metres tall, which is the highest number of skyscrapers in one area in the world.
New York City has five boroughs: Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx, and Staten Island.
Manhattan (New York County) is the geographically smallest and most densely populated borough. It has Central Park and most of the city's skyscrapers. It is sometimes locally known as "The City".
Brooklyn (Kings County), on the western end of Long Island, has the most people living in it than any other borough. Brooklyn is known for its cultural, social, and ethnic diversity, an independent art scene, unique neighborhoods, and unique architecture.
Queens (Queens County), on Long Island north and east of Brooklyn, is geographically the biggest borough and the most ethnically diverse county in the United States. It is also the most ethnically diverse urban area in the world.
The Bronx (Bronx County) is New York City's northernmost borough. It is the only New York City borough with most of the land being on the mainland United States. The Yankee Stadium, the baseball park of the New York Yankees, and the biggest cooperatively owned housing complex in the United States, Co-op City, are in the Bronx. The Bronx Zoo, the world's largest metropolitan zoo, is also in the Bronx. It is big and has more than 6,000 animals. Rap and hip hop culture were created in the Bronx. Pelham Bay Park is the biggest park in New York City, at .
Staten Island (Richmond County) is the most suburban of the five boroughs. Staten Island is connected to Brooklyn by the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge. It is connected to Manhattan by way of the free Staten Island Ferry, a daily commuter ferry which has clear views of the Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island, and Lower Manhattan. In central Staten Island, the Staten Island Greenbelt is about big, including of walking trails and one of the last untouched forests in the city.
Under the Köppen climate classification, New York City experiences a humid subtropical climate ("Cfa") that borders a humid continental climate ("Dfa"). The average temperature in January, the area's coldest month, is . However, temperatures in winter could for a few days be as low as and as high as . Summers are typically hot and humid with a July average of . New York City gets some snow in winter.
New York City currently has over 9 million people. Over 20 million people live in the New York metropolitan area including the city. The majority of the people in New York City belong to ethnic groups that are minorities in the US. New York City has had large numbers of immigrants for centuries. In the early 19th Century, they came from Ireland and Germany. Later in the 19th century, they came from Italy, Russia and Eastern Europe. Today, many are from Puerto Rico, Haiti, the Dominican Republic and Colombia. Other ethnic groups living in New York City are Gypsies, Albanians, Indians, Mexicans, Filipinos, Eastern Europeans, Jamaicans, Trinidadians, Caribbeans and Chinese.
New York City is a global hub of business and commerce, as a center for banking and finance, retailing, world trade, transportation, tourism, real estate, new media, traditional media, advertising, legal services, accountancy, insurance, theater, fashion, and the arts in the United States. The Port of New York and New Jersey is also a big part of the economy. It received a record cargo volume in 2017, over 6.7 million TEUs. New York City's unemployment rate fell to its record low of 4.0% in September 2018.
Many Fortune 500 companies are headquartered in New York City, as are many multinational corporations. One out of ten private sector jobs in the city is with a foreign company. New York City has been ranked first among cities around the world in getting capital, business, and tourists. New York City's role as the top global center for the advertising industry can be seen with "Madison Avenue". The city's fashion industry has about 180,000 employees with $11 billion in annual wages.
Chocolate is New York City's biggest specialty-food export, with up to $234 million worth of exports each year. Entrepreneurs were creating a "Chocolate District" in Brooklyn , while Godiva, one of the world's biggest chocolatiers, continues to be headquartered in Manhattan.
New York City's most biggest economic part is the U.S. financial industry, also known as "Wall Street". The city's securities industry, which has 163,400 jobs in August 2013, continues to be the biggest part of the city's financial sector and an important economic part. In 2012, Walls Street made 5.0 percent of the city's private sector jobs, 8.5 percent ($3.8 billion) of its tax revenue, and 22 percent of the city's total wages, including an average salary of $360,700.
In Lower Manhattan, there is the New York Stock Exchange, on Wall Street, and the NASDAQ, at 165 Broadway, representing the world's biggest and second biggest stock exchanges, respectively. Investment banking fees on Wall Street totaled about $40 billion in 2012, while in 2013, senior New York City bank officers who manage risk and compliance functions earned as much as $324,000 every year. In fiscal year 2013–14, Wall Street's securities industry made 19% of New York State's tax revenue.
Many of the world's biggest media conglomerates are also in the city. Manhattan had more than 500 million square feet (46.5 million m) of office space in 2018, making it the biggest office market in the United States. Midtown Manhattan, with 400 million square feet (37.2 million m) in 2018, is the biggest central business area in the world.
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