Brooklyn, NY

What Brooklyn is made of: the communities whose institutions are here, the sectors its 12,187 businesses sit in, the franchises already on the ground, and the services a newcomer could start.

12,187 businesses on file · 60 trades · 25 sectors · census population 2,646,306 · registry population 2,646,306 · built from geonet.nyc on 2026-10-07

Businesses12,187
93% carry coordinates
Specialised in11
trades above the national pattern
Best suited tono cohort stands out
on the census signals below
Franchise brands52
already operating here
Known for

The Bronx, EDM, dance music

Visiting rather than moving? The free guidebook for Brooklyn → — the free guidebook for this region: why go, what to see, what is open when it rains.

1

The local economy

What the business base is made of, what it is specialised in against the national pattern, and what that mix implies. This is the part a development office would read first.

Composition, not health. geonet records what trades exist and where; it does not record formation, closure, employment or revenue, so none of those appear here. What makes this economics rather than a directory is the NAICS coding: it lets the local mix be read against the BLS survival curves and against the 323 industry groups this research has screened.

The two biggest markets here

Every industry group on this page links through to its NAICS page, and to the screened market report where this research has one — that is what the trait-to-NAICS coding buys.

Business density4.6
businesses per 1,000 residents, against the 2021 census count of 2,646,306
Breadth of the base1639
moderate — 43 industry groups, top three 60.4%
Survival the mix implies58.7%
at five years, against 51.4% for all private establishments
Coded to NAICS81.3%
of which 94.9% unambiguous

What this city is specialised in

Location quotient is this city's share of a trade divided by the same share across 10 US metro tables. Above 1.25 is the conventional threshold for a local specialisation.

The base against the entry screen

Businesses by the entry signal of the industry group they sit in, from the /markets screen. A large "structure decides" share means most local trades are ones where being better than the incumbent does not by itself win. A trade is matched to the screened record at whatever level the research wrote it — the same code, a broader one, or a narrower one. Where a group holds several screened sub-markets the count is shown, because no single one of them speaks for the whole group.

Enter
1.4%
141 businesses
Caution
62.1%
6,157 businesses
Structure decides
36.5%
3,613 businesses
Not screened
0%
0 businesses

How to read the survival figure

Each sector's five-year establishment survival rate, weighted by how many of this city's businesses sit in that sector. It is a property of the MIX, not of these businesses — it says what survival this composition would imply at US private-sector rates, because no Canadian equivalent series exists.

Weighted over 100% of the coded base — public administration carries no curve. Source: Business Employment Dynamics — Table 7, Survival of private sector establishments by opening year, US Bureau of Labor Statistics.

And what it does not measure

A "mixed" trait is one that genuinely spans codes — "computers" covers systems design, repair and supply. The clear share is how much of this reading rests on unambiguous coding. Business density also reflects how completely the directory covers a place, not only how many businesses are in it — so it compares poorly between a city the register knows well and one it does not.

2

Who lives here, and who the city is for

The census: the only figures on this page that count people rather than businesses, and the three cohort readings they make possible.

The register says what trades exist. The census says who lives here — and it is the only thing on this page that counts people. Figures are American Community Survey 2019–2023 five-year estimates for Brooklyn borough, Kings County, New York, the incorporated place, which is the city proper, and every comparison is against the United States as a whole, from the same ACS tables.

Detailed language is not published for American places. B16001, the table with individual languages, has no place-level rows; C16001 is what exists, and it names six languages and groups the rest into families. A Canadian city on this site names about forty.

Population2,646,306
census 2021
Median age36.3
against 38.7 nationally
Immigrants35.2%
against 13.9% nationally
Median rent$1,784
against $1,348 nationally

Who the city is for

Three readings, each built from real numbers against real benchmarks. This is not an index. Every signal is shown with its own value, its benchmark and which way it points, and the band simply counts how many point the same way — so a reader who disagrees with one signal can drop it and still use the rest.

Seniors

thin

Is this a place to grow old, and is the care here?

Residents 65 and over 15% ▼16.8%
Residents 85 and overthe group that needs care rather than the group that is merely retired 1.9% –1.9%
Median age 36.3 years –38.7 years
Poverty ratethe US poverty threshold — a different definition from the Canadian pages, and not comparable to them 18.9% ▼12.4%
Medical clinics per 1,000 residentsfrom the business register 0.07 –
Pharmacies per 1,000 residentsfrom the business register 0 –
Median rent 1784 $/mo ▼1348 $/mo

A high share of over-65s says other people made this choice; it does not say the care exists. The register has no category for a hospital at all, so distance to an emergency department is still missing.

Students and young adults

thin

Is there a reason to be here between 19 and 25, and can they afford it?

Residents 20 to 24 5.7% ▼6.5%
Residents 15 to 19the cohort arriving next 5.4% ▼6.5%
Renter householdsa rental market is what makes a place possible to move to 70.3% ▲35%
Median rent 1784 $/mo ▼1348 $/mo
Unemployment rate 7.5% ▼5.2%
Degree holders in the adult population 41.3% ▲35%
Drinking places and recreationfrom the register 206 –

Post-secondary institutions in the city are listed further down this page; where there are none, a high 20-to-24 share usually means work rather than study.

Newcomers and other-language speakers

moderate

Is there already a community here, and has anyone built anything for it?

Foreign-born residents 35.2% ▲13.9%
Arrived 2010 or laterthe band the ACS publishes; the Canadian pages use 2016 to 2021, so the two are not comparable 25.9% ▼29.4%
Speak a language other than English at home 41.4% –
Language groups above the reporting floor 12 –
Median household income 78548 $ –78538 $

The American census does not publish individual languages for a city — only the eleven groups below, six of which are single languages. A Canadian city on this site names about forty, so the two sections are not the same depth and should not be read as if they were.

What is spoken at home, and whether anyone built for it

The register-versus-census cross-check on the Canadian pages is not possible here: the ACS publishes language in groups, so "Other Indo-European languages" cannot be matched against an institution that names a community.

Spoken most often at homeSpeakers ShareCommunity in the register Institutions
Spanish 358,954 13.6% not mapped to a marker 0
Chinese (incl. Mandarin, Cantonese) 168,296 6.4% not mapped to a marker 0
Russian, Polish, or other Slavic languages 152,723 5.8% not mapped to a marker 0
German or other West Germanic languages 108,789 4.1% not mapped to a marker 0
Other Indo-European languages 99,515 3.8% not mapped to a marker 0
French, Haitian, or Cajun 84,720 3.2% not mapped to a marker 0
Other and unspecified languages 49,988 1.9% not mapped to a marker 0
Arabic 32,664 1.2% not mapped to a marker 0
Other Asian and Pacific Island languages 24,686 0.9% not mapped to a marker 0
Korean 6,155 0.2% not mapped to a marker 0
Tagalog (incl. Filipino) 5,304 0.2% not mapped to a marker 0
Vietnamese 2,515 0.1% not mapped to a marker 0

The rest of the profile

CharacteristicHereCanada
Residents 65 and over 15% 16.8%
Residents 85 and over 1.9% 1.9%
Residents 20 to 24 5.7% 6.5%
Arrived 2016 to 2021 25.9% 29.4%
Non-permanent residents — —
Speak a non-official language at home 41.4% —
Renter households 70.3% 35%
Spending 30% or more on shelter — —
Participation rate 64.1% 63.5%
Unemployment rate 7.5% 5.2%
Median household income, 2020 78548 $ —
Median after-tax household income, 2020 — —
Prevalence of low income (LIM-AT) 18.9% —
Bachelor degree or higher 41.3% —

The one thing to keep in mind

Five-year estimates pooled over 2019–2023, so a figure is an average of the period rather than a single year, and every value carries a margin of error this extract does not keep. Unlike the Canadian census, which counts everyone, the ACS is a sample — a small place's figures are correspondingly uncertain. ACS five-year estimate for the incorporated place, which is the city proper. It will differ from the figure in wander.regions, which is sometimes a metropolitan population.

Source: American Community Survey 2019–2023 five-year estimates — Table-based summary file, 2023, United States Census Bureau, under the US federal government work, public domain. National comparison: The United States row of the same ACS tables, not an average of places — roughly a third of Americans live outside any incorporated place, so summing places would understate the country.

3

The communities the register shows

A community appears in the business register before it appears in prose — a national church, a society, a credit union, a newspaper. Those are counted as institutions, and they are what suggests residents. A restaurant serving a cuisine is counted separately as trade, because every city has those and they say nothing about who lives nearby. The ranking is by institutions.

CommunityInstitutions WorshipTrade Where it shows
Jewish 2 — 3
Beth Jacob Hebrew Teachers Col · Beth Jacob Hebrew Teachers Clg
Chinese — — 196
trade on Nostrand Ave (11) · 8th Ave (8) · Fulton St (7) · Church Ave (7)
Spanish-speaking — — 43
trade on 5th Ave (5) · 5th Avenue (4) · 4th Ave (3) · Fort Hamilton Pkwy (2)
Caribbean — — 38
trade on Flatbush Ave (5) · Church Ave (5) · Nostrand Ave (2) · Utica Ave (2)
Japanese — — 20
trade on 3rd Ave (3) · Avenue U (2) · Ocean Ave (2) · Montague St (2)
Italian — — 19
trade on 3rd Ave (3) · Avenue U (3) · 13th Ave (2)
Thai — — 9
trade on Manhattan Ave (2)
Russian — — 6
trade on 5th Ave (2)
Polish — — 5
Vietnamese — — 2
trade on 8th Ave (2)
Dutch — — 2
German — — 2
French — — 2
Filipino — — 1
Indonesian — — 1
Greek — — 1
Swedish — — 1
Turkish — — 1
Islamic — — 1
4

Where the communities are

Streets, not neighbourhood names. The data knows that Greek institutions sit on one street and Greek restaurants on another; it does not know the word "Greektown", so it does not use it.

5

What the city is made of

Every business on file, grouped by the sector it trades in. This is the economic-development view: where the 12,187 businesses actually are, and the specific trades inside each sector.

SectorBusinesses ShareWhat is in it
Dining 2,889 23.7% restaurant (2538) · burgers (145) · pizza (88) · diner (64) · pubs (35) · steakhouse (13) · bistro (4) · fruit (1)
Beauty 1,756 14.4% hair stylist (1756)
Realty 1,358 11.1% real estate (1355) · auction (1) · realtor (1) · diner (1)
Automotive 1,232 10.1% auto repair (1155) · auction (2)
Food 1,124 9.2% grocer (1049) · baker (30) · seafood (24) · ice cream (12) · fruit (9)
Food & Beverage 792 6.5% fruit (19) · real estate (1) · vegetable (1)
Travel 770 6.3% travel agent (565) · motel (39) · truck rental (5) · bnb (5) · hotel (4) · real estate (4) · landscaping (2) · airline (2)
Beverage 287 2.4% liquor (272) · beer (15)
Health 283 2.3% medical clinic (196) · fitness club (74) · pharmacy (12)
Entertainment 132 1.1% nightclub (93) · amusement (24) · museum (9) · aquarium (2) · zoo (2)
Living & Home 101 0.8% greenhouse (1)
Education 80 0.7% school (78) · library (2)
Living 65 0.5% summer camp (33) · swimming pools (17) · place of worship (8) · real estate (4) · fire safety (1) · furniture (1) · cleaning (1)
Athletic Sports 51 0.4%
Sports 39 0.3% boating marine (35) · golf course (4)
Fashion 37 0.3% clothing (37)
Logistics 20 0.2% towing (16) · truck transportation (4)
Agribusiness 9 0.1% dairy (9)
Retail 9 0.1% convenience (7) · antiques (2)
Media 6 0% signs (6)
6

The franchises already here

Brands from a register of 2,024 franchise systems, matched into this city by name. A high count is a signal in both directions: the territory works, and it may be taken.

27 of these brands are a single common word — Metro, Avenue, Budget — so their counts include businesses that merely share the word. They are marked rather than dropped.

BrandCategory HereWorldwide
Burger King fastfood 29 11,000
Dollar Rent A Car car 8 600
Enterprise Rent A Car car 8 5,400
Baskin Robbins dessert 7 2,800
7-Eleven convenience 6 30,000
AAMCO Transmissions auto 5 700
Bally Total Fitness fitness 4 390
Taco Bell tacos 4 5,845
Pizza Hut pizza 3 10,000
Rent-A-Wreck car 3 —
Royal Farms convenience 3 100
Au Bon Pain deli 2 250
Cineplex Odeon entertainment 2 —
Food City supermarket 2 —
Jenny Craig fitness 2 640
Shop 'n Save supermarket 2 37
AAA Travel travel 1 —
Carlson Wagonlit Travel travel 1 4,300
Comfort Inn familyhotel 1 —
Dunkin' Donuts donuts 1 6,000
Express Oil Change auto 1 161
U-Haul car 1 13,700
Villa Pizza pizza 1 300
Vintage Cellars liquor 1 —
Z Pizza pizza 1 70
HESS name only fuel 13 1,250
Jacob name only retail 8 200
Limited name only retail 7 —
Champion name only supermarket 6 1,000
Michaels name only retail 6 805
Manor name only retail 5 —
Renaissance name only upscalehotel 4 —
Roots name only retail 4 145
YMCA name only fitness 4 —
Aldo name only retail 3 —
Coach name only luggage 2 —
Diana name only supermarket 2 3
Krystal name only fastfood 2 400
Lexus name only luxurycar 2 —
Progressive name only supermarket 2 150
Sears name only inc 2 2,300
SuperCuts name only inc 2 2,000
Tiffany name only retail 2 150
AllState name only insurance 1 —
Honda name only car 1 —
Hyatt name only upscalehotel 1 —
Jeep name only suv 1 —
Kamay name only retail 1 5
Marriott name only upscalehotel 1 2,800
Roxy name only retail 1 —
Safeway name only supermarket 1 1,767
ShopRite name only supermarket 1 —
7

Real estate as a local trade

Four unrelated jobs share the name: selling existing homes, owning and letting them, managing them for someone else, and building new ones. For anyone weighing a move or a licence these are the counts — and the ownership question goes to /property, which answers it building by building.

Real estate is a local job market in its own right, and four unrelated trades get the same name. Counts are businesses filed under each trade in the register, which lists a brokerage once however many agents work there — so this measures firms, not licensees.

Selling homes

5312
1,368 firms · LQ 1.73

Offices of agents and brokers — the resale market, and the biggest single trade in most Canadian cities.

Named in the register
  • Corcoran Group — 65 Lafayette Ave
  • Deegan Management Co — 185 Marcy Ave
  • Denise Brown Vision Quest Re — 883 Sterling Pl
  • Era Neilrich Realty — 1824 Rockaway Pkwy
  • Gene Kealon Kealon and Beatty — 1402 Park Pl
  • M Wiznit M and B Lincoln Realt — 239 Havemeyer St #202
  • Mary Clemenza Reo Realty and C — 8110 Avenue L #133
  • Max Britvan Britvan Realty A — 26 Court St #1005
  • One Stop Mortgage Bankers — 662 Nostrand Ave
  • Peter Lagios Gateway Homes and — 5509 Avenue N
  • River Creek Realty — 417 Union Ave
  • Steven Elbaz Esquire Managem — 1 Hanson Pl Fl 18
  • Trevor R Holder Trevor Holde — 5606 Church Ave
  • Williamsburgh Affordable Hsng — 321 Rutledge St

On "how many doors"

How many doors a landlord holds is not in any of this. The register files an apartment building under the building, not its owner, and carries no unit count; there is no open dataset of Canadian landlords by portfolio. Where this research has established ownership it is in the /property record for the city, building by building, which is a different and much slower exercise.

8

Work where you go to them

The Ultimate 411 half of local: everything where the customer does not have to come to you.

A shop needs the customer to walk in. These 157 services do the opposite — the mobile mechanic, the mobile groomer, the bookkeeper, the junk haul — and they are the ones a person can start without a lease. 0 of them already match a trait filed in this city's register.

The 157 Service=1 rows in search.local: work where the provider travels to the customer. "present" counts businesses already filed under that exact trait name; a blank is a coverage gap, not proof of absence, because the two vocabularies were built separately.

home services

Short-Term Rental TurnoverAppliance InstallationBabyproofing & Safety InstallsCarpet & Upholstery CleaningDeep CleaningDrywall RepairErrand RunningExterior PaintingFence & Deck StainingFurniture AssemblyGarden Weeding & MaintenanceGrocery Pickup & DeliveryGutter CleaningHandyman (General Repairs)Hedge & Shrub TrimmingHouse CleaningHouse SittingInterior PaintingJunk Removal & Dump RunsLandscape Design & PlantingLawn MowingFall Leaf CleanupMove-In / Move-Out CleaningMoving Help (Labour Only)Moving with TruckOffice CleaningPersonal ShopperPressure WashingMove Things Around the HouseSnow Shovelling & RemovalPacking & UnpackingTV & Picture MountingWardrobe StylingWindow Cleaning

events

BartenderDesignated Driver (Your Car)CateringTents, Tables & ChairsFloristFuneral & Celebration of Life ArrangementsGame-Day Bus or VanBook a Pub for Your GroupKaraoke Machine RentalParty Bus & Group ShuttlePub Crawl HostTaxi to the PubSports & Game PhotographyStag & Doe / Jack & Jill PlanningTailgate Party SetupTrivia Night HostVenue SourcingBig-Game Watch Party SetupWedding OfficiantWedding Planner / Coordinator

pets

Aquarium & Terrarium CleaningCatio (Cat Patio) BuildChicken Coop BuildDog House BuildDog TrainingDog WalkingHome Pet BoardingLost Pet SearchMobile Dog GroomingOvernight Pet SittingBuild & Install a Pet DoorPet Cages & EnclosuresPet Fencing & Dog RunsPet PhotographyPet-Proofing Your HomePet Sitting & Dog WalkingPet TaxiYard Poop Scooping

luxury

Chauffeur & Luxury CarDJ & Sound Gear RentalDJEvent PhotographerEvent PlannerLive MusiciansHair & Makeup ArtistMatchmakerPersonal ConciergePortrait & Headshot PhotographerPrivate ChefVideographerVIP / Social Club MembershipWedding PhotographerYacht & Boat Charter

healthcare

Wheelchair-Accessible TransportGrab Bars, Ramps & Home AccessibilityLight Housekeeping for SeniorsCooking & Meal Prep for SeniorsMedical Appointment EscortMedication & Appointment RemindersMobility Equipment RentalRespite Care for Family CaregiversSenior CompanionshipTech Help for SeniorsWalking Companion

sporting goods

Bike Tune-UpBorrow a Bike or E-BikeBorrow Camping GearBorrow Golf ClubsBorrow Hockey GearBorrow Ice SkatesBorrow a Kayak, Canoe or PaddleboardBorrow Skis, Poles & Ski BootsBorrow a Snowboard & Snow BootsSkate SharpeningSki & Snowboard Tuning

sports

Backyard Rink BuildLocal Fishing GuideGolf CaddieFind Players for a Pickup GamePrivate Sports LessonJoin or Build a Rec League TeamBook Ice, Courts & FieldsWorkout & Sports BuddyRoommates Who Also Like Sports

business

BookkeepingStart a Local BusinessCareer Coaching & RésumésFind a Local ManufacturerFind Local Work / Contract GigsLocal Advertising PlacementPrototype & Small-Batch ProductionTranslation & InterpretationWebsite & Online Presence

outdoors

Brush & Land ClearingChainsaw Rental (from a local owner)Firewood (Cut, Split & Delivered)Log Bucking & Cutting (Chainsaw)Portable SawmillingSmall-Lot Logging & Land ClearingStump GrindingTree FellingWood Splitting

construction

CarpenterElectricianHeating & Cooling (HVAC)Mobile MechanicPlumberRoof RepairSmall Engine RepairWelder / Metal Fabrication

travel

Airport Transfer & Car ServiceCorporate & Business TravelCruise BookingFamily Travel for a WeddingBereavement / Funeral TravelLeisure Travel PlanningLocal Tour Guide

tools

Camera & Lens RentalGenerator RentalLog Splitter RentalParty Equipment RentalPower Tool RentalTrailer & Truck Rental
9

Schools and colleges

wander.schools is a post-secondary table — universities and colleges. K-12 public and private schools are not in it, and only 7 of its 1,686 rows carry coordinates, so these are listed and not mapped.

InstitutionTypeStudentsFounded
LIU Brooklyn University 8,170 1926

In the business register

Where schooling shows up as a business rather than an institution — which is where K-12, tutoring and childcare appear.

school 78
10

Health and care

What a person moving a parent here would ask first. The register files clinics and pharmacies; it has no category for a hospital at all, so hospitals are matched by name and the limit is stated rather than hidden.

Medical clinics196
Pharmacies12
Dental practices0

Matched on the name "hospital"

  • New York Methodist Hospital — 1771 Utica Ave
  • Brooklyn Hospital Center — 166 Battery Ave
  • University Hospital Brooklyn — 450 Clarkson Ave #Ms 97 1-9
  • Victory Memorial Hospital — 699 92nd St
  • Hospital Food Center — 150 55th St
  • St Marys Family Health Center — 540 Atlantic Ave
  • Long Island College Hospital — 397 Hicks St Fl 2
  • Methodist Hospital School — 506 6th St
  • New York Methodist Hospital — 210 Flatbush Ave

geonet carries no 'hospital' trait, so these are matched on the business name. A distance-to-hospital figure needs a source that states hospital locations.

12

What this record cannot tell you

Named in full, because the gaps are the part most likely to be misread as an answer.

  • Census figures are 2021, taken on 11 May 2021: income is for 2020 and the labour figures were measured mid-pandemic, so the unemployment rate on this page is a 2021 reading rather than a current one.
  • wander.schools is now readable, but it holds universities and colleges only and 1,679 of its 1,686 rows have no coordinates. K-12 public and private schools need a separate source — in Ontario the Ministry of Education school finder, in British Columbia the provincial school list. wander.citytowns, hotels and territories remain denied to the ru user.
  • No 'hospital' trait exists in geonet; distance to a hospital needs an external source such as StatCan's Open Database of Healthcare Facilities.
  • 7.3% of businesses here carry no coordinates, so a map or address lookup would miss them. Postal codes reach 100%.

Built from

  • geonet.nyc — the local business register
  • wander.regions — city name, population, metro
  • search.local — trait vocabulary and the come-to-you services
  • search.cozfranchises — 2,024 franchise brands