Languages of New York

The citizens of New York speak around 800 different languages. The city is probably the most linguistically diverse area in the world. This diversity can be explored on a new map from the Endangered Language Alliance, which shows where some of the many minority and Indigenous languages of New York are spoken.

Languages of New York City is a fascinating interactive map which shows where about 650 different languages and dialects are spoken in over 1,000 locations in New York. The result is a snapshot of the linguistic complexity of NYC revealing some of the interesting clusters of different language families spoken around the city. For example there are a number of different West African languages spoken in Harlem and the Bronx, while Queens has a large number of speakers of many different Asian languages.

You can filter the languages spoken on the map by language family, global region or by country. Selecting an individual dot on the map will reveal information about the selected language, who it is spoken by and the language's history in New York.



Languages of New York City is a map of the many languages spoken in New York which aren't necessarily recorded in census returns. You can explore the results of the language data retrieved from the national census on a different map of New York languages. Languages of NYC is another fascinating interactive map of New York languages, this time showing the most frequently spoken languages at home in each census tract.

English and Spanish are the most frequently spoken languages in most New York homes. However Languages of NYC includes the option to exclude English or English & Spanish speakers from the map, which allows you to see what other languages are most frequently spoken in New York neighborhoods.

This interactive map also allows you to view the distribution of individual languages on the map. Using the check boxes in the map side panel you can select to view the census tracts where any language, or combination of languages, is most frequently spoken. It is also possible to hover over individual census tracts on the map to see the most frequently spoken language (excluding English & Spanish).