Long Island is a densely populated continental island east of Manhattan in southeastern New York state, constituting a significant share of the New York metropolitan area in both population and land area. The island extends from New York Harbor 118 miles (190 km) eastward into the North Atlantic Ocean with a maximum north–south width of 23 miles (37 km). With a land area of 1,401 square miles (3,630 km2), it is the largest island in the contiguous United States.
Long Island is divided among four counties, with Kings (Brooklyn), Queens, and Nassau counties occupying its western third and Suffolk County its eastern two-thirds. Long Island may refer both to the main island and the surrounding outer barrier islands. To its west, Long Island is separated from Manhattan and the Bronx by the East River tidal estuary. North of the island is Long Island Sound, across which lie Westchester County, New York, and the state of Connecticut. Across the Block Island Sound to the northeast is the state of Rhode Island. Block Island, which is part of Rhode Island, and numerous smaller islands extend farther into the Atlantic Ocean. To the extreme southwest, Long Island, at Brooklyn, is separated from Staten Island and the state of New Jersey by Upper New York Bay, The Narrows, and Lower New York Bay.
With a population of 8,063,232 residents as of the 2020 U.S. census, Long Island constitutes 40% of New York state's entire population. Long Island is the most populous island in any U.S. state or territory, the third-most populous island in the Americas after Hispaniola and Cuba, and the 18th-most populous island in the world ahead of Ireland, Jamaica, and Hokkaidō. Its population density is 5,859.5 inhabitants per square mile (2,262.4/km2). Long Island is culturally and ethnically diverse, featuring some of the wealthiest and most expensive neighborhoods in the world near the shorelines, as well as working-class areas in all four counties.
As of 2022, Kings, Queens, Nassau, and Suffolk counties collectively had a gross domestic product of approximately $500 billion. Median household income on the island significantly exceeds $100,000, and the median home price is approximately $600,000, with Nassau County approximating $700,000. Among residents over the age of 25, 42.6% hold a college degree or higher educational degree. Unemployment on Long Island stays consistently below 4%. Biotechnology companies, engineering, and scientific research play a significant role in Long Island's economy, including research facilities at Brookhaven National Laboratory, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Stony Brook University, New York Institute of Technology, Plum Island Animal Disease Center, the New York University Tandon School of Engineering, the Zucker School of Medicine, and the Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research.
As a hub of commercial aviation, Long Island is home to two of the nation's and New York metropolitan area's busiest airports, JFK International Airport and LaGuardia Airport. Also located on Long Island are Long Island MacArthur Airport and two major air traffic control radar facilities, New York TRACON and New York ARTCC. Long Island has nine major bridges and thirteen navigable tunnels, which connect Brooklyn and Queens to the three other boroughs of New York City. Ferries connect Suffolk County northward across Long Island Sound to Connecticut. Long Island Rail Road is the busiest commuter railroad in North America and operates continuously.
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