Staten Island is a large coastal borough (i.e. on the ocean, a bay, or inlet) located in the state of New York. With a population of 495,747 people and 125 associated neighborhoods, Staten Island is the fifth largest community in New York. Staten Island home prices are not only among the most expensive in New York, but Staten Island real estate also consistently ranks among the most expensive in America.Unlike some boroughs, Staten Island isn’t mainly white- or blue-collar. Instead, the most prevalent occupations for people in Staten Island are a mix of both white- and blue-collar jobs. Overall, Staten Island is a borough of professionals, service providers, and sales and office workers. There are especially a lot of people living in Staten Island who work in office and administrative support (11.49%), management occupations (9.04%), and teaching (8.59%). Also of interest is that Staten Island has more people living here who work in computers and math than 95% of the places in the US. Telecommuters are a relatively large percentage of the workforce: 8.36% of people work from home. While this number may seem small overall, as a fraction of the total workforce it is high relative to the nation. These workers are often telecommuters who work in knowledge-based, white-collar professions. For example, Silicon Valley has large numbers of people who telecommute. Other at-home workers may be self-employed people who operate small businesses out of their homes. One of the nice things about Staten Island is that it is nautical, which means that parts of it are somewhat historic and touch the ocean or tidal bodies of water, such as inlets and bays. Because of this, visitors and locals will often go to these areas to take in the scenery or to enjoy waterfront activities. One downside of living in Staten Island, however, is that residents on average have to contend with a long commute, spending on average 39.11 minutes every day commuting to work. However, local public transit is widely used. For those who would prefer to avoid driving entirely and leave their car at home, it may be an option to use the transit instead. One of the benefits of being a big city like Staten Island is having a public transportation system, but in Staten Island the transit system is the mode of choice for lots of people getting to and from work every day. You will find many people using the bus for their daily commute, even though other transportation options exist. If you ask these commuters, many will tell you that not having to drive in the snarl of big city traffic is one of main reasons for leaving the car at home, or even not owning a car at all. With so many people taking the bus Staten Island benefits from a reduction in air pollution and traffic.The citizens of Staten Island are very well educated compared to the average community in the nation: 35.33% of adults in Staten Island have a bachelor's degree or even advanced degree. The per capita income in Staten Island in 2022 was $43,199, which is upper middle income relative to New York and the nation. This equates to an annual income of $172,796 for a family of four. However, Staten Island contains both very wealthy and poor people as well. Staten Island is an extremely ethnically-diverse borough. The people who call Staten Island home describe themselves as belonging to a variety of racial and ethnic groups. The greatest number of Staten Island residents report their race to be White, followed by Asian. Staten Island also has a sizeable Hispanic population (people of Hispanic origin can be of any race). People of Hispanic or Latino origin account for 18.75% of the borough’s residents. Important ancestries of people in Staten Island include Italian, Irish, German, Polish, and Russian. Staten Island also has a high percentage of its population that was born in another country: 24.84%. The most common language spoken in Staten Island is English. Other important languages spoken here include Spanish and Chinese.
