A busy city street with a large crowd of people and many billboards.

As part of its mission to promote the economic growth of the Times Square district, the Times Square Alliance collects data on a large number of the district's key indicators, including real estate markets, retail opportunities, pedestrian flows, and demographics. This data, which is summarized in annual and monthly reports, allows us to gain a better understanding of how Times Square is progressing as an economic center of New York City.

The Alliance also collects detailed information on the district's commercial real estate, hotel, and entertainment markets. To request this data or more information on any report, please contact Caitlin Falk, Policy & Data Manager.

To access our archive of past reports and chart the long-term evolution of the district along with our recent financial statements, click the link below.

View annual reports and financial statements

Weekly Report

View the latest Times Square Economic Development and Operations Report for the week of 10/28/24 – 11/03/24. These reports include information on pedestrian counts, business, commercial real estate, and public space conditions.

View Report
A busy city street with people walking and standing around.

Monthly Indicator Reports

See financial statements, auditors’ reports, and Take the pulse of Times Square with the Times Square Alliance's monthly indicator reports. These documents provide convenient snapshots of the area's economic progress and quality of life improvements.

Our monthly dashboards track four key economic trends in the Times Square district: commercial real estate, hotels, entertainment, and pedestrian counts. Monthly reports also include a map of new and soon to be open businesses in the Times Square district. of activities.

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Special Reports & Demographics

In addition to our own Annual and Monthly Reporting, the Times Square Alliance commissions stand-alone studies further understand the unique characteristics of our district, our visitors, our employees, and our residents. Below are the Alliance's recent key reports:

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Destination NYC, Understanding the Value of New York’s Tourism Industry

The Times Square Alliance has partnered with the Center for an Urban Future and ABNY to produce a deep dive into the ways tourism touches the lives of New Yorkers not just in Times Square, but in neighborhoods across the city. The study finds that the tourism industry is one of the four key drivers of New York’s economy and that there are now more direct jobs in tourism than in the city’s finance or tech sectors. The report also includes recommendations to strengthen the city’s tourism sector amidst a growing number of threats and challenges.

View the 2018 Report
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Times Square Advertising and Demographics Study

Times Square is a distinctive and extraordinarily effective advertising environment, producing remarkable positive associations and recall with advertising. Want to know more? Check out our survey of over 2,000 people in Times Square.

View the 2017 Report
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ECONOMIC IMPACT OF TIMES SQUARE

Times Square is a small space of enormous consequence. Though it comprises only 0.1% of New York City’s land area, Times Square supports nearly 10% of the city’s jobs and generates 15% of its economic output. With nearly 180,000 workers, 19,000+ hotel rooms, and 31 million SF of office space, the district is a major commercial, retail and entertainment center. Together with HR&A, Inc., the Alliance produced a report in 2016 outlining how Times Square contributes to the New York economy.

View the 2016 Report
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TIMES SQUARE RETAIL STUDY UPDATE

Times Square’s crowds are more than just tourists. The neighborhood contains huge employee and residential populations that come to the district daily. Together with HR&A, Inc., the Alliance produced a report in 2016 outlining the demographics and growing spending potential of these largely untapped markets.

View the 2015 Report

Pedestrian Counts

It should be no surprise that Times Square typically has some of the heaviest foot traffic in all of New York City. However, like the rest of the City, Times Square saw record lows in foot traffic in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Times Square automated counting system — phased in between August 2011 and September 2012 — provides 24/7 data on the number of pedestrians who enter and pass through specific counting zones of the Times Square Bowtie. We have 27 cameras located on seven different buildings, monitoring 33 unique locations in the area. This data allows us to estimate that:

250k-300k

Times Square is regularly seeing between 250,000 and 300,000 pedestrians a day.  In 2020, roughly 125,000 pedestrians entered Times Square each day.

400k

On the busiest days, Times Square has pedestrian counts as high as 400,000.

Times Square District Average Daily Visitors, 2022-2024 (YTD)

Transit Ridership

At the heart of midtown, Times Square is a critical hub in the MTA subway network with five stations within the district boundaries. The number of individuals who commute through Times Square every day is astounding — the average daily ridership of the Times Square-42nd Street station in 2019 was a staggering 340,089.  Due to the coronavirus pandemic, that number decreased by 68.72% in 2020. Today (per the MTA), ridership patterns have shifted and discretionary travel is becoming more prevalent than commutation travel. Increased telecommuting and more flexible work-from-home policies have made traditional five-day commuting less common. However, subway ridership for the our district is now at 67% of 2019 levels and continues to recover.

Historic Transit Ridership

Perhaps even more impressive than current figures is the rate at which the Times Square ridership has skyrocketed over the last two decades. Average daily ridership in the district increased 71% between 1996 and 2019, representing an additional 38,736,605 passengers annually — 106,128 passengers per day.  In 2020, average daily ridership in the district reduced to 103,603 passengers due to the pandemic. Today that number is 228,927 average daily passengers (74 million annually) — a 121% increase.

340k

the average daily ridership of the Times Square-42nd Street station in 2019 was a staggering 340,089

38.7M

the average daily ridership of the Times Square-42nd Street station in 2019 was a staggering 340,089

121%

After recovering from the pandemic, there is now 228,927 average daily passengers (74 million annually) — a 121% increase

Times Square District Average Daily Ridership

District daily average in 2023 represents a 21% increase from 2022, and a 33% decrease from 2019.

Times Square District Annual Ridership 1996-2021

Browse detailed historical data on Times Square’s ridership in our 2011 report, or drag your mouse across the chart below to see how subway ridership in our five district stations has increased over the last twenty years.

District annual subway ridership in 2023 reflects in a 20% increase from 2022 and a 20% decrease from 2019.

Numbers courtesy of the NYC MTA.