Data from Launching Low-Income Entrepreneurs

Data - April 2013

Selected charts and graphs from the Center for an Urban Future's major April 2013 report on low-income entrepreneurs. The report found that with middle-income jobs in decline, entrepreneurship offers an increasingly promising pathway out of poverty; but few low-income New Yorkers are currently taking this route to economic self-sufficiency.

Tags: economic growth economic opportunity entrepreneurship low income human capital boroughs

Self-Employment by ZIP Code

Click the buttons below to see data for each of New York City's five boroughs. Darker colors indicate higher self-employment rates.

Interactive map created by Cesar Bustamante

Self-Employment Rates in New York City’s 55 Census-Defined Neighborhoods

Neighborhoods with the lowest self-employment rates are predominantly low-income and native-born, while those in the middle range are still low-income but with much higher percentages of foreign-born residents.

Bottom Third: Neighborhoods with Lowest Self Employment Rates
Neighborhood	% self employed	Median income for persons 15+ years (2010)	% of population that is foreign-born
East New York/Starrett City	3.9%	$20,572	33.6%
Brownsville/Ocean Hill	4.0%	$19,939	27.9%
Throgs Neck/Co-op City	4.3%	$31,441	18.9%
Williamsbridge/Baychester	4.8%	$27,524	38.4%
East Harlem	4.8%	$19,153	25.4%
Soundview/Parkchester	5.6%	$22,698	29.8%
East Flatbush	5.8%	$26,705	53.0%
North Shore	6.2%	$30,513	24.6%
Jamaica	6.5%	$25,958	40.0%
Mott Haven/Hunts Point	6.8%	$13,022	28.7%
Queens Village	6.9%	$33,032	42.0%
Rockaways	7.0%	$25,240	27.2%
Flatlands/Canarsie	7.1%	$32,873	41.0%
Pelham Parkway	7.1%	$27,086	35.0%
Morrisania/Belmont	7.2%	$13,741	28.1%
South Shore	7.2%	$41,180	14.3%
Coney Island	7.3%	$20,582	51.3%
Bedford Stuyvesant	7.4%	$21,441	20.1%
Average	6.1%	$25,150	32.2%

Middle Third: Neighborhoods with Middle Range of Self-Employment Rates
Neighborhood	% self employed	Median income for persons 15+ years (2010)	% of population that is foreign-born
Bushwick	7.4%	$18,432	37.2%
Washington Heights/Inwood	7.8%	$19,201	49.4%
South Crown Heights	7.9%	$24,036	45.4%
South Ozone Park/Howard Beach	7.9%	$27,083	46.5%
North Crown Heights/Prospect Heights	8.1%	$27,357	30.9%
Kingsbridge Heights/Mosholu	8.1%	$18,319	40.5%
Middle Village/Ridgewood	8.2%	$28,592	37.4%
Highbridge/South Concourse	8.8%	$16,001	39.4%
Riverdale/Kingsbridge	8.9%	$31,599	32.0%
Bensonhurst	9.0%	$21,870	52.9%
Sunset Park	9.1%	$21,286	46.8%
Elmhurst/Corona	9.3%	$22,384	66.9%
University Heights/Fordham	9.3%	$14,811	40.4%
Sunnyside/Woodside	9.4%	$28,700	58.5%
Bay Ridge	9.4%	$30,048	37.1%
Jackson Heights	9.6%	$22,916	63.4%
Astoria	9.7%	$28,479	43.7%
Flatbush	9.8%	$25,817	45.8%
Average	8.8%	$23,718	45.2%

Top Third: Neighborhoods with Highest Self-Employment Rates
Neighborhood	% self employed	Median income for persons 15+ years (2010)	% of population that is foreign-born
Sheepshead Bay/Gravesend	10.0%	$26,925	45.7%
Central Harlem	10.1%	$23,621	22.1%
Mid-Island	10.1%	$34,466	25.4%
Ozone Park/Woodhaven	10.1%	$27,531	49.9%
Hillcrest/Fresh Meadows	10.8%	$30,236	46.4%
Rego Park/Forest Hills	10.9%	$39,867	51.3%
Morningside Heights/Hamilton Heights	10.9%	$22,389	34.7%
Williamsburg/Greenpoint	11.4%	$24,655	24.9%
Flushing/Whitestone	11.7%	$27,695	54.7%
Borough Park	11.9%	$21,329	34.3%
Lower East Side/Chinatown	12.1%	$24,839	35.6%
Brooklyn Heights/Fort Greene	12.3%	$40,540	18.9%
Stuyvesant Town/Turtle-Bay	13.4%	$63,499	23.5%
Bayside/Little Neck	13.5%	$36,422	41.3%
Upper East Side	13.7%	$70,675	21.4%
Chelsea/Clinton/Midtown	14.8%	$51,129	25.8%
Park Slope/Carroll Gardens	16.1%	$47,011	17.2%
Greenwich Village/Financial District	17.9%	$60,680	23.1%
Upper West Side	18.3%	$59,584	21.2%
Average	12.6%	$38,583	32.5%

Source: 2007-2011 American Community Survey

Establishments per Capita in NYC’s 50 Poorest ZIP Codes

Low-income ZIP codes with high foreign born populations have significantly more local businesses.

ZIP Codes with Fewest Establishments per Capita
ZIP Code	Neighborhood	Number of Establishments	Population	Establishments / capita (%)	Population that is foreign-born (%)	Median Individual Income
11692	Arverne	90	18,540	0.5%	25.72%	$21,176
11233	Stuyvesant Heights	364	67,053	0.5%	24.2%	$24,008
11239	Starett City	76	13,393	0.6%	30.06%	$16,328
10456	Morrisania	581	86,547	0.7%	32.03%	$13,351
11221	Bushwick / Bedford-Stuyvesant	566	78,895	0.7%	26.56%	$20,667
10039	Central Harlem, North	183	24,527	0.7%	19.53%	$19,210
10472	Soundview	506	66,358	0.8%	37.73%	$17,621
11208	Cypress Hills	745	94,469	0.8%	35.46%	$21,082
10453	Morris Heights	630	78,309	0.8%	39.08%	$14,769
11691	Far Rockaway	490	60,035	0.8%	32.62%	$19,940

Zip Codes with Most Establishments per Capita
ZIP Code	Neighborhood	Number of Establishments	Population	Establishments / capita (%)	Population that is foreign-born (%)	Median Individual Income
11355	Flushing / Murray Hill	1,832	85,871	2.1%	70.41%	$21,999
11220	Sunset Park	2,175	99,598	2.2%	53.03%	$18,721
11204	Parkville / Bensonhurst	1,902	78,134	2.4%	44.05%	$21,281
11223	Gravesend / Homecrest	1,948	78,731	2.5%	45.4%	$22,269
11219	Borough Park	2,581	92,221	2.8%	39.84%	$18,870
11211	Williamsburg	2,766	90,117	3.1%	20.68%	$22,408
10002	Chinatown / Lower East Side	2,872	81,410	3.5%	44.57%	$20,103
11232	Industry City / Sunset Park	1,174	28,265	4.2%	45.51%	$20,973
11354	Flushing / Murray Hill	2,704	54,878	4.9%	61.9%	$23,920
10474	Hunts Point	663	12,281	5.4%	26.57%	$13,928