A recently released map of New York City’s immigrant neighborhoods has prompted broader discussion about which ethnic communities were included or omitted, renewing interest in Astoria’s place within the city’s Greek-American landscape. Rather than weighing in on that debate, this brief asks a different question: What does US Census data tell us about Astoria as a Greek neighborhood today?
By Grigoris Argeros
Using data from the American Community Survey (ACS), this brief examines Astoria using two measures: the number and percentage of residents reporting Greek ancestry. It also shows how the number of residents reporting Greek ancestry has changed since 2010.
The goal is not to determine whether Astoria should or should not be described as a Greek enclave but rather to present demographic evidence that can help inform that discussion.
Where do Greek-Americans live in New York City?
Before examining Astoria in detail, it is useful to place the neighborhood within the broader geography of Greek America in New York City. Figure 1 maps the percentage of residents reporting Greek ancestry across New York City’s Neighborhood Tabulation Areas (NTAs), illustrating where Greek-Americans are most heavily concentrated today.
Figure 1 shows that Greek ancestry is concentrated in a relatively small number of New York City neighborhoods, especially in Queens. Some of the highest concentrations are found in Astoria, with another notable cluster in northeastern Queens, including Whitestone, Beechhurst, Bayside, and Douglaston. Smaller concentrations also appear elsewhere across the city, including parts of Manhattan, Brooklyn, Staten Island, and the Bronx.
The map also shows that the broader Astoria area extends across four Neighborhood Tabulation Areas (NTAs), each with its own demographic profile. The remainder of this brief compares these four areas and shows where they rank among New York City’s Greek-American communities.
Where does Astoria rank today?
Table 1 shows that the broader Astoria area contains several of New York City’s leading Greek-American communities. Because Astoria extends across multiple Neighborhood Tabulation Areas (NTAs), examining these areas separately provides a more detailed picture of differences in the size and concentration of their Greek-American populations.
Astoria (North)-Ditmars-Steinway stands out. In 2024, an estimated 5,519 residents reported Greek ancestry, representing 11.4% of its population. It ranked first among New York City’s 214 populated NTAs in both the number and percentage of residents reporting Greek ancestry.
The other Astoria NTAs also ranked highly. Astoria (Central) and Astoria (East)-Woodside (North) ranked sixth and seventh, respectively, in the number of residents reporting Greek ancestry, while Old Astoria-Hallets Point ranked twenty-second. All three also ranked among the city’s ten most concentrated NTAs by percentage of residents reporting Greek ancestry.
How has Astoria changed since 2010?
Although Astoria remains home to several of New York City’s leading Greek-American communities, change since 2010 has not been uniform. As Figure 2 shows, three of the four Astoria NTAs experienced declines in the estimated number of residents reporting Greek ancestry between 2010 and 2024.
The largest decline occurred in Astoria (North)-Ditmars-Steinway, where the estimated number of residents reporting Greek ancestry fell by 2,641. Astoria (Central) declined by 1,582, while Astoria (East)-Woodside (North) declined by 1,101. In contrast, Old Astoria-Hallets Point gained 259 residents reporting Greek ancestry, although it remained the smallest of the four Astoria NTAs in 2024.
These results show why Astoria should not be treated as a single demographic unit. Different parts of the broader Astoria area have followed different paths since 2010.
Conclusions from data
Recent public discussion has raised the question of whether Astoria should still be regarded as New York City’s Greek enclave. Census data cannot definitively answer that question because the term “enclave” includes historical, cultural, and institutional dimensions that extend beyond demographic statistics. The data can, however, show where residents reporting Greek ancestry live, how concentrated they are, and how those patterns have changed over time.
By those measures, Astoria continues to hold a distinctive place within New York City’s Greek-American landscape. Astoria (North)-Ditmars-Steinway ranks first among the city’s populated NTAs in both the number and percentage of residents reporting Greek ancestry, while the other Astoria NTAs also rank highly.
At the same time, Astoria has changed since 2010. Three of its four NTAs experienced declines in residents reporting Greek ancestry, while one experienced modest growth.
The data, therefore, point to a nuanced conclusion: Astoria remains New York City’s most prominent Greek-American area by several demographic measures, even as its population continues to change.
About the data
This analysis uses the 2010 and 2024 American Community Survey (ACS) 5-year estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau. Greek ancestry is measured using the ACS ancestry question, which asks respondents to report their ancestral origins. Neighborhoods are defined using New York City’s 2020 Neighborhood Tabulation Areas (NTAs), developed by the New York City Department of City Planning. To ensure comparability over time, 2010 ACS estimates were standardized to 2020 census tract boundaries before being aggregated to the 2020 NTA geography. As with all ACS estimates, the figures are subject to sampling error.
Grigoris Argeros is a Professor of Sociology at Eastern Michigan University and founder of “Greek America by the Numbers,” a public-facing research project that uses U.S. Census data to examine demographic and geographic patterns within the Greek-American population. You can find the project at: https://www.greekamericabythenumbers.com/
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