New York is situated on the East Coast of the United States and is considered one of the greatest cities in the world. It is home to some of the most renowned sports teams, world-class broadway shows, world-famous museums, and stunning sites including the Statue of Liberty, Empire State Building, and Central Park, to name a few. It is also home to historic neighborhoods, wonderful mountains, beautiful waterfalls and landscapes, hiking trails, and dozens of attractive places to live or visit.
New York is home to one of the most iconic cities in the world, not just the United States. Boasting a population of over 8 million in 2020, New York City is the most populous city in the United States, not just the state of New York. Any time of year and any time of day or night there are an endless array of things to see and do in New York!
Facts About New York State
More facts about New York State originate from the Big Apple, and more specifically, the world-renowned Statue of Liberty. Each month hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers and tourists alike board the ferry from Manhattan to Liberty Island to feast their eyes on the impressive and historical statue.
The statue itself symbolizes America’s liberation from the British Empire and its subsequent change to the United States of America; however, there are some enlightening facts that you may not know about the Statue of Liberty:
- The full name given to the statue is actually Liberty Enlightening the World!
- The statue was actually given to America as a gift from France in 1886.
- The female figure wrapped in robes represents Libertas, the Roman Goddess of Freedom.
- From the top to the bottom, the statue measures 305 feet tall and weighs 225 tons!
- There are 354 steps to the crown and 25 windows in the crown.
- On average, the Statue of Liberty has about 3.5 million visitors a year.
- On the crown, there are seven spikes that represent the seven oceans and the seven continents of the world, reconfirming the concept of liberty.
- It is said that the face of the statue was actually modeled off the sculptor’s mother, her name was Charlotte.
New York has always been one of the most popular states in the U.S. and many believe this is because of the opportunities presented to business owners, both large and small, and the large number of tourists that visit the state each year, with most heading to the iconic city. It has always been a popular tourist destination because of its diversity, beauty, bustling streets, broadway shows, beautiful parks, and the bright lights of the Big Apple – the city that never sleeps!
Here are some more interesting facts about New York State
- On April 30, 1789, Georgia Washington was appointed as the president of the United States in the federal hall in New York City, NY.
- For many years since the state’s inception, New York had led other states in relation to their population and economic indexes, however, in 1960 it was overtaken by California due to the astronomical economic growth California went through.
- The New York state animal is the beaver, an intelligent and incredibly hard-worker, much like the people of the state past and present.
- New York is home to one of the most famous and iconic waterfalls in the world, Niagara Falls.
- The United Nations headquarters is in New York City.
- As New York is one of the few states to border Canada, they are strong economic partners and have a mutually beneficial relationship.
- Like most other states, New York has a state bird and flower which are the rose and eastern bluebird.
- Toilet paper was invented by Joseph Gayetty of New York City!
- New York City is home to the world’s largest railway station – the Grand Central Terminal. The construction of this station was completed in 1913. The station is home to 44 platforms, situated on two underground levels, the whole station covers 48 acres of land!
- While New York City is the largest city in the state of New York, it is not the state capital – the capital city in the state of New York is actually Albany, which has only has 1/80th the population of New York City!
- The maximum speed limit in New York is 65 mph, this is one of the lowest out of all 50 states. To find out what the fastest speed limit in the US is, check out our page on this.
Facts About New York
New York has always had a thriving business climate, however, recent years have witnessed the state’s economy grow from strength to strength. Beautiful landscapes, unique culture, and amazing opportunities are just some things that make New York such a popular place to live. Its economy remains one of the strongest in the world, not just the United States, with an excelling workforce, great infrastructure, access to capital, and opportunities in great abundance. Many people that move to New York do so because of its reputation, if you have a clear business or career goal in mind, usually making the move to New York to pursue it, is the right decision.
If you would like to learn how to register a business in New York so you can start your entrepreneurial journey, we have created a checklist walking you through the process.
With the opportunities this presents to businesses and those looking to start a business in New York, the state’s economy has been steadily and consistently growing. Here are some economic facts about New York state that illustrate the state has one of the leading economies in the United States!
Economic Facts About New York
- A study found that New York is one of the top 20 most attractive state to live in, out of all 50. A major reason being the average income of New Yorkers is $65,323 per year, the 15th highest in the US.
- If New York was its own country, its economy would rank 15th in the world! The state’s economy is only slightly smaller than Spain and Canada!
- New York’s economy is ranked 3rd in the United States, followed closely behind Texas and California.
- According to the Office of the New York State Comptroller, the state’s GDP (Gross Domestic Product) in 2017 was over $1.5 trillion!
- Small businesses make up over 99% of all businesses operating out of New York.
- New York’s small businesses employed over 4.1 million people.
- New York ranks 11th under economic activity (WalletHub 2019).
- The New York minimum wage is $12.50 per hour.
- The sales tax rate in New York is 4%.
- New York has a progressive income tax rate of 4%-8.2%.
- New York is home to over 2.2 million small businesses.
- Just under 50% of the state’s employees are working for small businesses.
- The corporate income tax rate in New York is 6.5%.
This snapshot of the state facts about New York illustrates why it is considered one of the most popular states for people to move to in the U.S. and why 350+ people move to the state each day!
Facts About New York History
When considering the interesting facts about New York history, the best place to begin is how it was originally founded. On July 9, 1776, New York was admitted to the union, becoming the 11th state to help contribute to the inception of all 50 United States. Let’s take a look at some interesting facts about New York.
New York was founded in 1624 when the first permanent Dutch settlement was established at Fort Orange (now Albany, NY). One year after, Peter Minuit purchased Manhattan Island from the native Indians for trinkets worth around 60 Dutch guilders and founded the Dutch colony named, New Amsterdam, which many now know, as New York City (The Big Apple). New York was subsequently surrendered to the British in 1664.
The next set of facts about New York history revolve around the origins of its nickname, in addition to the New York state nickname, there are many other symbols that are used to represent the state past and present. New York’s nickname was given to it for many reasons; however, despite what you may think, it had nothing to do with the iconic Empire State building! The nickname was given to New York due to its integral role in the inception of the United States, and it supplying a multitude of wealth and resources to its creation. If you are interested in finding out more about the New York state nickname, take a look at our page on this.
