Richmond Hill and Ozone Park added jobs and businesses for a decade, but lost 11% of residents, state report finds

Southeast Queens has been quietly adding jobs and businesses, even as it loses residents, according to an economic snapshot of Richmond Hill and Ozone Park released Friday by State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli. The report covers two community districts: Richmond Hill/Woodhaven (Queens CD 9) and South Ozone Park/Howard Beach (CD 10).

Jobs, wages and businesses

• Jobs: private-sector employment grew 14.3% from 2014 to 2024, topping 45,000, led by health care, then leisure and hospitality and transportation and warehousing, the comptroller's office said.
• Wages: total private-sector wages rose 57.1%, from $1.7 billion to $2.6 billion, and the average wage rose 37.5%.
• Businesses: the number of private firms grew 16.2%, outpacing the citywide 14.2%.
• Last year: between 2024 and 2025, jobs fell 1.8% to 44,349 and businesses fell 2.6% to 4,812, according to the full report.

Almost two-thirds of the area's jobs are in Richmond Hill/Woodhaven, while growth in Ozone Park, next to JFK Airport and Resorts World NYC, came mainly from leisure, hospitality and retail. About 19.2% of working residents are in health care and social assistance.

Who lives there

The two districts had 254,860 residents in 2024, about 11% of Queens, but the population fell 10.9% from 2014, far more than the 0.2% decline in Queens and citywide. Households with children fell more than citywide. Nearly half of residents, 47.6%, were born abroad, mainly in South America (including Guyana), Asia (including Bangladesh) and the Caribbean.

The 2024 median household income was $88,967, above the citywide median of $81,228. The share of households below the poverty line fell from 14.6% to 12.6%, and child poverty fell from 21.7% to 12.6%. Homeownership is high: 58.2% of homes are owner-occupied, compared with 44.4% across Queens, though a larger share of households spend 30% or more of income on housing than in the borough or city overall.

Challenges

The report flags public safety, youth unemployment, housing costs and flooding, especially in South Ozone Park and Howard Beach. Major felony crime fell in 2024 and was flat in 2025 but through mid-2026 remained above pre-pandemic levels by more than the citywide increase (49% versus 39%, by the report's measure).

Big projects nearby include the $19 billion JFK Airport redevelopment, the $739 million Kew Gardens Interchange overhaul and the casino expansion at Resorts World NYC, which QNS put at $5.5 billion. "There is much to be excited about in our Southeast Queens communities," DiNapoli said, adding that crime and climate change "require continued attention." Queens Borough President Donovan Richards said in a statement that housing costs "continue to persist and threaten to fracture neighborhoods like these," QNS reported.