The city is at the centre of international finance, politics, entertainment, and culture, and is one of the world's major global cities with a nearly unrivalled collection of museums, galleries, performance venues, media outlets, international corporations, and financial markets. It is also the global headquarters of the United Nations.

New York City attracts large numbers of immigrants from over 180 countries, as well as people from all over the United States, who come to the city for its culture, energy, cosmopolitanism, and economic opportunity. The city is also notable for currently having the lowest crime rate among major American cities.

The city proper consists of five boroughs: The Bronx, Brooklyn, Manhattan, Queens, and Staten Island. All except Staten Island are home to more than a million people and independently would be counted among the largest cities in the United States.

Manhattan refers both to the Island of Manhattan which borders the lower Hudson River, and also to the Borough of Manhattan. The Empire State Building, Chrysler Building, the theatre district around Broadway, New York University, Columbia University, Yeshiva University, the financial center around Wall Street, Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, Harlem, the American Museum of Natural History, Chinatown, and Central Park are all located on this densely populated island. The phrase "a New York minute" refers to the extremely rapid pace of living in Manhattan. Fifth Avenue roughly bisects Manhattan Island and acts as the demarcation line for latitudinal east/west designations. The Manhattan street-numbering system extends into the western Bronx, using Jerome Avenue as the east-west divider.