Queens Economic Dashboard
Live indicators for the borough of Queens, NY, pulled from NYC Open Data, NYS Open Data, MTA, BTS, FAA, Citi Bike, BLS, and the U.S. Census Bureau.
This month in Queens
- Builders pulled 20K construction permits in the past 12 months, down 36.2% from the prior 12.
- 992 new business licenses were issued in the past 12 months, down 17.2% from the prior 12.
- Unemployment was 4.0% in July 2026, down from 5.3% a year earlier.
- Film & TV productions took out 619 shoot permits in Queens over the past 12 months, down 10.0% from the prior 12.
Transportation
Transit ridership, road crossings, and airport traffic: how people and goods move through the borough.
Subway ridership fell 1.7% year-over-year in August 2026, with Flushing-Main St once again the borough's busiest station. Bus boardings are down 6.8%, and bridge and tunnel crossings are down 2.7%. 13.6M passengers have departed JFK and LGA so far in 2026, alongside 173K tons of air cargo out of JFK.
Subway: station ridership & live trains
Aug 2026 · LiveCiti Bike: live availability
LiveSubway ridership: Queens stations
Aug 2026Subway ridership: last 30 days
DailyBus ridership: Q routes
Aug 2026Bridge & tunnel crossings: Queens facilities
Aug 2026LIRR ridership: systemwide
Jul 2026Airport passengers: JFK & LGA
2026 YTDDomestic vs international: JFK + LGA
2026 YTDAir cargo at JFK
2026 YTDAirport status: right now
LiveBusiest stations
Aug 2026| Station | Riders | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Flushing-Main St (7) | 1.3M | ▼ 4.9% |
| Jackson Hts-Roosevelt Av/74 St-Broadway (7,E,F,M,R) | 1.2M | ▼ 0.1% |
| Sutphin Blvd-Archer Av-JFK Airport (E,J,Z) | 635K | ▼ 1.0% |
| Court Sq-23 St (7,E,F,G) | 582K | ▲ 10.8% |
| Forest Hills-71 Av (E,F,M,R) | 543K | ▲ 2.1% |
| Junction Blvd (7) | 517K | ▼ 8.1% |
| Jamaica Center-Parsons/Archer (E,J,Z) | 505K | ▼ 9.4% |
| Mets-Willets Point (7) | 443K | ▼ 28.1% |
| Kew Gardens-Union Tpke (E,F) | 426K | ▼ 1.1% |
| Vernon Blvd-Jackson Av (7) | 402K | ▲ 7.8% |
| 103 St-Corona Plaza (7) | 389K | ▼ 8.9% |
| Woodhaven Blvd (M,R) | 375K | ▲ 2.5% |
Labor market
Employment among Queens residents, and the industries that drive the borough's payrolls.
Unemployment stood at 4.0% in July 2026, 0.5 points below the citywide rate. Health Care & Social Assistance remains the borough's largest private employer with 203K jobs (up 0.2% year-over-year). Educational Services posted the strongest job growth, up 2.9%.
Unemployment rate: Queens vs NYC vs NYS
Jul 2026Employed residents
Jul 2026Employment by industry
Q1 2026| Industry | Jobs | Avg wk wage | Jobs YoY |
|---|---|---|---|
| Health Care & Social Assistance | 203K | $1.1K | ▲ 0.2% |
| Transportation & Warehousing | 78K | $1.8K | ▲ 2.1% |
| Accommodation & Food Services | 56K | $711 | ▼ 3.1% |
| Retail Trade | 53K | $816 | ▼ 5.9% |
| Construction | 46K | $1.8K | ▼ 5.3% |
| Admin & Waste Services | 34K | $1.1K | ▼ 2.2% |
| Other Services | 26K | $794 | ▼ 2.9% |
| Professional & Technical | 19K | $1.6K | ▼ 1.2% |
| Wholesale Trade | 18K | $1.7K | ▼ 7.1% |
| Educational Services | 17K | $1.0K | ▲ 2.9% |
Business activity
Business formation, restaurants and nightlife, film production, and the health of commercial corridors.
992 new business licenses were issued over the past 12 months, down 17.2% from the prior 12. Restaurant pre-permit inspections, a proxy for new openings, rose 125.0% year-over-year in August 2026. Film and TV shoots are down 10.0% over the same period.
Business openings vs lapses
Jul 2026New restaurant openings
Aug 2026New liquor licenses
Aug 2026Film & TV shoot permits
Jun 2026Taxable sales & purchases: NYC
Mar–May 2026Storefront vacancy rate
2024Restaurants by cuisine
Trailing 12 months| Cuisine | Restaurants |
|---|---|
| Chinese | 583 |
| American | 533 |
| Latin American | 395 |
| Coffee/Tea | 281 |
| Pizza | 269 |
| Bakery Products/Desserts | 221 |
| Mexican | 205 |
| Caribbean | 182 |
| Chicken | 157 |
| Korean | 149 |
| Japanese | 131 |
| Donuts | 127 |
Tourism & attractions
Who's coming to Queens: park attendance, hotel capacity, and the region's international gateway.
Gantry Plaza State Park drew 4.2M visitors in 2025, up 40.8% and the most in over a decade of records. Queens counts 226 hotel properties, more than any borough except Manhattan. The borough remains the region's front door: 17.8M international passengers departed JFK and LGA in 2025.
State park attendance
2025International passengers: JFK + LGA
2026 YTDHotel properties in Queens
Tax year 2025| Neighborhood | Hotel properties |
|---|---|
| Queensbridge-Ravenswood-Long Island City | 45 |
| Flushing | 25 |
| Hunters Point-Sunnyside-West Maspeth | 19 |
| Jamaica | 17 |
| Elmhurst-Maspeth | 7 |
| East Elmhurst | 7 |
| Baisley Park | 7 |
| Jackson Heights | 7 |
| Springfield Gardens South-Brookville | 7 |
| Springfield Gardens North | 6 |
Real estate & construction
Home prices, sales volume, and the pace of new construction.
The median Queens home sold for about $840K over the past three months. Builders pulled 20K construction permits in the past 12 months, down 36.2% from the prior 12. Estimated construction spending is down 15.3%.
Construction permits issued
May 2026Median home sale price
Aug 2026Property sales volume
Aug 2026Estimated construction spend
May 2026Quality of life
The everyday conditions behind the economic numbers: 311 complaints, rats, noise, and sidewalk scaffolding.
Queens filed 85K 311 requests in August 2026, up 0.6% year-over-year; illegal parking was the most common complaint. Rat sightings rose 23.1%, and the borough has the second-fewest sightings per capita of the five boroughs. 101 sidewalk sheds stand in the borough today; the longest-standing, at 86-35 235 Court, has been up 6 years.
311 service requests
Aug 2026Rat sightings
Aug 2026Noise complaints
Aug 2026Sidewalk sheds & scaffolding
Jun 2026Longest-standing sidewalk sheds
Active now| Address | Up since | Years |
|---|---|---|
| 86-35 235 COURT | 2020-10-02 | 6 |
| 147-36 26 AVENUE | 2021-12-14 | 4.8 |
| 140-35 BURDEN CRESCENT | 2022-03-31 | 4.5 |
| 86-35 235 COURT | 2022-07-06 | 4.2 |
| 86-50 DONGAN AVENUE | 2022-08-09 | 4.1 |
| 147-27 15 DRIVE | 2022-10-24 | 3.9 |
| 42-42 27 STREET | 2022-10-31 | 3.9 |
| 222-89 BRADDOCK AVENUE | 2022-11-29 | 3.8 |
Top 311 complaint types: last 30 days
Trailing 30 days| Complaint | Requests | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Illegal Parking | 15K | ▼ 7.4% |
| Noise - Residential | 7.5K | ▼ 7.0% |
| Blocked Driveway | 6.0K | ▼ 2.0% |
| Street Condition | 3.1K | ▲ 59.4% |
| Noise - Street/Sidewalk | 3.1K | ▼ 13.3% |
| Abandoned Vehicle | 2.6K | ▼ 3.7% |
| Noise - Vehicle | 1.9K | ▲ 91.6% |
| Sewer Maintenance | 1.9K | |
| UNSANITARY CONDITION | 1.9K | ▲ 25.8% |
| Dirty Condition | 1.8K | ▲ 19.9% |
| Building/Use | 1.4K | ▲ 57.1% |
| Water Maintenance | 1.3K |
By neighborhood
Boroughwide trends broken down to the neighborhood level, over the trailing 12 months.
Flushing-North recorded the most home sales over the trailing year (2.4K), while Long Island City posted the highest median price among high-volume neighborhoods ($1.3M). Bayside leads the borough in construction permits.
Construction permits map
Trailing 12 monthsHome sales by neighborhood
Trailing 12 months| Neighborhood | Sales | Median |
|---|---|---|
| FLUSHING-NORTH | 2.4K | $848K |
| FOREST HILLS | 829 | $550K |
| ASTORIA | 752 | $1.0M |
| BAYSIDE | 706 | $863K |
| JACKSON HEIGHTS | 608 | $470K |
| REGO PARK | 581 | $530K |
| LONG ISLAND CITY | 526 | $1.3M |
| ELMHURST | 487 | $713K |
| FLUSHING-SOUTH | 460 | $686K |
| HOWARD BEACH | 347 | $560K |
| RICHMOND HILL | 333 | $830K |
| SO. JAMAICA-BAISLEY PARK | 321 | $685K |
Construction permits by neighborhood
Trailing 12 months| Neighborhood | Permits |
|---|---|
| Bayside | 672 |
| Flushing-Willets Point | 474 |
| Forest Hills | 426 |
| Murray Hill-Broadway Flushing | 418 |
| Whitestone-Beechhurst | 418 |
| Jamaica | 403 |
| South Ozone Park | 393 |
| Queensbridge-Ravenswood-Dutch Kills | 353 |
| Fresh Meadows-Utopia | 345 |
| Baisley Park | 339 |
| College Point | 337 |
| Auburndale | 328 |