How many people ride the NYC subway?
The New York City subway carried about 1.16 billion rides in 2023, or about 3.15 million on an average day and 3.57 million on an average weekday [1][2]. That makes it the busiest rapid transit system in the United States, though it is still below its pre-pandemic level: annual ridership was nearly 1.7 billion in 2019 [3]. The record for a single day is more than 6.2 million riders, set on 29 October 2015 [3].
The chart above, built from NYC Open Data, shows where those riders get on: overwhelmingly in Manhattan, with Times Sq, Grand Central and 34 St-Herald Sq the busiest stations of 2023.
NYC subway ridership by borough
We totalled the MTA’s hourly ridership data for every hour of 2023 by borough [1]. Manhattan is the clear leader, with more than half of all entries:
| Borough | 2023 entries | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Manhattan | 643.2 million | 55.3% |
| Brooklyn | 261.2 million | 22.4% |
| Queens | 173.9 million | 14.9% |
| Bronx | 83.0 million | 7.1% |
| Staten Island | 2.1 million | 0.2% |
Source: MTA Subway Hourly Ridership, our sums for 2023 [1]. The totals include the Staten Island Railway (2.1 million) and the Roosevelt Island Tram (2.9 million, counted in Manhattan), which the dataset lists as separate modes.
Manhattan’s lead is about where people go rather than where they live. Brooklyn and Queens have more residents than Manhattan, but most trips end in Manhattan’s business districts, and a ride is counted where the rider enters. Every commuter heading home from Midtown adds an entry to Manhattan.
The chart gives higher shares for Manhattan (61.1%) and Brooklyn (23.2%) and a lower one for Queens (9.5%) than the data supports. Its printed borough totals add up to about 1.9 billion, well above the 1.16 billion entries the MTA records for the year, so use the figures in the table above instead (our check) [1].
The busiest NYC subway stations
The busiest station complexes in 2023, by entries in MTA open data, were [1]:
- Times Sq-42 St, about 43.2 million
- Grand Central-42 St, about 30.8 million
- 34 St-Herald Sq, about 23.6 million
- 14 St-Union Sq
- Fulton St
- 34 St-Penn Station
All six are in Manhattan, and they share something: each is a hub where several lines meet, and Grand Central and Penn Station also connect with commuter rail. Outside Manhattan, the busiest stations include Atlantic Av-Barclays Ctr and Jay St-MetroTech in Brooklyn, Queensboro Plaza and Court Sq in Queens, and 161 St-Yankee Stadium and Fordham Rd in the Bronx, which all appear among the larger names on the chart.
Has subway ridership recovered since the pandemic?
Not fully. Ridership collapsed in 2020 during COVID-19 and did not pass one billion a year again until 2022 [3]. The 2023 total of about 1.15 billion trips in the MTA’s daily estimates [2] was still roughly a third below (our arithmetic) the nearly 1.7 billion of 2019 [3]. Weekdays remain the busiest days: an average weekday in 2023 saw about 3.57 million riders against 3.15 million across all days [2].
How the subway compares with the rest of the MTA
The subway is by far the MTA’s biggest service. In 2023 the MTA’s estimates averaged about 3.15 million subway riders a day, against about 1.17 million on buses, around 178,000 on the Long Island Rail Road and about 159,000 on Metro-North [2]. Put another way, about two in every three of those daily trips were on the subway (our arithmetic).
Where the ridership figures come from
The MTA’s ridership figures count entries: each time someone pays at a turnstile with OMNY or a MetroCard. A rider changing lines inside the system is not counted again, so the figures measure trips into the system rather than every train ridden. The MTA publishes the counts by station and hour on the New York State open data portal [1], and separate daily estimates for the whole system [2], which is why totals from the two datasets differ slightly.
Questions about NYC subway ridership
How many people ride the NYC subway every day?
About 3.15 million on an average day in 2023, and about 3.57 million on an average weekday [2].
What is the busiest subway station in New York?
Times Sq-42 St, with about 43.2 million entries in 2023, followed by Grand Central-42 St (30.8 million) and 34 St-Herald Sq (23.6 million) [1].
Which NYC borough has the most subway riders?
Manhattan, with about 643.2 million entries in 2023, or 55.3% of the total. Brooklyn followed with 22.4%, Queens 14.9% and the Bronx 7.1% [1].
How many people rode the NYC subway in 2019?
Nearly 1.7 billion, the level before the pandemic [3].
How many people ride the MTA daily?
In 2023 the MTA averaged about 3.15 million subway riders and 1.17 million bus riders a day, plus about 178,000 on the LIRR and 159,000 on Metro-North [2].
Sources
- Metropolitan Transportation Authority, MTA Subway Hourly Ridership, 2020 to 2024, data.ny.gov. Totals for 2023 are our sums from the dataset.
- Metropolitan Transportation Authority, MTA Daily Ridership Data, 2020 to 2025, data.ny.gov. Averages for 2023 are our calculations.
- Wikipedia, New York City Subway.
Last reviewed 2 November 2026
