Feb
14
Valentine’s Day in NYC By the Numbers Valentine’s Day spending in New York City will total approximately $566 million this year. A survey by the National Retail Federation reveals that 60% of adults age 18+ in the Northeast are celebrating the holiday, and that these people will spend $146.30 each, on average. Not surprisingly, the two most common Valentine’s Day purchases after greeting cards are candy and flowers. Survey respondents in the Northeast said that they planned to spend $22.71 on candy and $38.65 on flowers this year. These two industries combined employ approximately 3,000 people in the City. Nearly a third of people celebrating plan to have an evening out – and anyone that has tried booking restaurant reservations for Valentine’s Day in NYC will know that tables are scarce and the occasion is used for marked up prix fixe menus. There are plenty of traditional Valentine’s options for dinner in NYC, but there are bargains to be had at, of all places, White Castle. Photo credit: Malcolm Brown/NYC & Company

Valentine’s Day in NYC By the Numbers

Valentine’s Day spending in New York City will total approximately $566 million this year. A survey by the National Retail Federation reveals that 60% of adults age 18+ in the Northeast are celebrating the holiday, and that these people will spend $146.30 each, on average.

Not surprisingly, the two most common Valentine’s Day purchases after greeting cards are candy and flowers. Survey respondents in the Northeast said that they planned to spend $22.71 on candy and $38.65 on flowers this year. These two industries combined employ approximately 3,000 people in the City.

Nearly a third of people celebrating plan to have an evening out – and anyone that has tried booking restaurant reservations for Valentine’s Day in NYC will know that tables are scarce and the occasion is used for marked up prix fixe menus. There are plenty of traditional Valentine’s options for dinner in NYC, but there are bargains to be had at, of all places, White Castle.

Photo credit: Malcolm Brown/NYC & Company

Jan
20
Ratio of Single Men to Single Women in NYC New York City’s population is 53% female and 47% male. This is a widely cited statistic that often supports an argument that the gender imbalance makes it more difficult for some women to find a partner. Using Census data, we analyzed only the population who are never married singles between the ages of 20 and 34. In this subgroup, men outnumber women—742,400 to 729,500. More interestingly, the ratio varies widely by neighborhood (we used Census Public Use Microdata Areas). On the Upper East Side, young single women outnumber young single men nearly 2 to 1. Jackson Heights, Queens is on the other end of the spectrum—where there are 1.7 males for every female. The neighborhoods with ratios of 1 to 1? Jamaica, Queens and Pelham Gardens in the Bronx. On a related note, spending at the City’s roughly 1,200 bars is approximately $855 million per year. This works out to $140 per resident age 21 and over, which is 58% higher than in the United States as a whole. StatsBee is a column featuring interesting statistics about NYC, written by economists at the Economic Research & Analysis department within NYCEDC’s Center for Economic Transformation.

Ratio of Single Men to Single Women in NYC

New York City’s population is 53% female and 47% male. This is a widely cited statistic that often supports an argument that the gender imbalance makes it more difficult for some women to find a partner. Using Census data, we analyzed only the population who are never married singles between the ages of 20 and 34. In this subgroup, men outnumber women—742,400 to 729,500.

More interestingly, the ratio varies widely by neighborhood (we used Census Public Use Microdata Areas). On the Upper East Side, young single women outnumber young single men nearly 2 to 1. Jackson Heights, Queens is on the other end of the spectrum—where there are 1.7 males for every female. The neighborhoods with ratios of 1 to 1? Jamaica, Queens and Pelham Gardens in the Bronx.

On a related note, spending at the City’s roughly 1,200 bars is approximately $855 million per year. This works out to $140 per resident age 21 and over, which is 58% higher than in the United States as a whole.

StatsBee is a column featuring interesting statistics about NYC, written by economists at the Economic Research & Analysis department within NYCEDC’s Center for Economic Transformation.