[8] Many of New York City's skyscrapers, including its tallest hotels and apartment towers, are located in Midtown Manhattan.

The neighborhood hosts commuters and residents working in its offices, hotels, and retail establishments, tourists and students.

Times Square, the brightly illuminated hub of the Broadway Theater District,[9][10][11][12][13] is a major center of the world's entertainment industry.

[18] Midtown contains the headquarters of major companies, including 4Kids Entertainment (formerly),[19] Barnes & Noble,[20] Bloomberg L.P.,[21] Ernst & Young,[22] Calvin Klein,[23] Cantor Fitzgerald,[24] CBS Corporation,[25] Citigroup,[26] Colgate-Palmolive,[27] Cushman & Wakefield,[28] DC Comics,[29] Deloitte,[30] Duane Reade,[31] Estée Lauder Companies,[32] Foot Locker,[33] Frederator Studios,[34] JPMorgan Chase,[35] Hess Corporation,[36] Kroll Inc.,[37] L-3 Communications,[38] Marsh & McLennan Companies,[39] Marvel Entertainment,[40] MetLife,[41] MidOcean Partners,[42] Morgan Stanley,[43] Nasdaq, Inc.,[44] NBCUniversal,[45] The New York Times Company,[46] NexCen Brands,[47] Paramount Global,[48] Pfizer,[49] Polo Ralph Lauren,[50] Saks Incorporated (Saks Fifth Avenue),[51] The Sharper Image,[52] Simon & Schuster,[25] Six Flags,[53] TBWA Worldwide,[54] Thomson Reuters,[55] Warner Bros.

[65] In 1994 Alitalia considered moving its USA headquarters from Midtown to Lower Manhattan, but decided to keep the offices where they were at the last minute.

[67] Silicon Alley, the common metonym for New York City's high tech sector, is based in Midtown South, specifically the Flatiron District.

Prominent Silicon Alley companies in Midtown include AppNexus, Blue Apron, Gilt, Betterment, Oscar, SoFi, Rent the Runway, Warby Parker, and WeWork.

[68] The biotechnology sector is also growing in Midtown Manhattan based upon the city's strength in academic scientific research and public and commercial financial support.

By mid-2014, Accelerator, a biotech investment firm, had raised more than US$30 million from investors, including Eli Lilly and Company, Pfizer, and Johnson & Johnson, for initial funding to create biotechnology startups at the Alexandria Center for Life Science, which encompasses more than 700,000 square feet (65,000 m2) on East 29th Street and promotes collaboration among scientists and entrepreneurs at the center and with nearby academic, medical, and research institutions.

[70] Manhattan has perennially been home to some of the nation's, as well as one of the world's, most marketable real estate, including the Time Warner Center, which had the highest-listed market value in the city in 2006 at US$1.1 billion,[71] to be subsequently surpassed in October 2014 by the Waldorf Astoria New York, which became the most expensive hotel ever sold after being purchased by the Anbang Insurance Group, based in China, for US$1.95 billion.

[72] In the same year, six of the top ten most expensive zip codes in the United States by median housing price were located in Manhattan, underscoring the borough's dominant position in the real estate market.

[74] In 2014, Manhattan was home to six of the top ten zip codes in the United States by median housing price.

[76] The COVID-19 pandemic and hybrid work models have prompted consideration of commercial-to-residential conversion within the neighborhood's real estate sector.

[95][96][97] In 1997, Aer Lingus announced that it was moving its North American headquarters from Midtown to Melville, New York, in Suffolk County on Long Island.

[98] Based on data from the 2010 United States Census, the population of Midtown Manhattan was 28,630, a change of 2,823 (9.9%) from the 25,807 counted in 2000.

Based on this calculation, as of 2018[update], Midtown Manhattan is considered to be high-income relative to the rest of the city and not gentrifying.

[100]: 14 The concentration of fine particulate matter, the deadliest type of air pollutant, in Midtown Manhattan is 0.0113 milligrams per cubic metre (1.13×10−8 oz/cu ft), more than the city average.

[129] Midtown Manhattan generally has a higher rate of college-educated residents than the rest of the city as of 2018[update].

[100]: 6  The percentage of Midtown Manhattan students excelling in math rose from 61% in 2000 to 80% in 2011 and reading achievement increased from 66% to 68% during the same time period.

[130] Midtown Manhattan's rate of elementary school student absenteeism is lower than the rest of New York City.

[101]: 24 (PDF p. 55) [100]: 6  Additionally, 92% of high school students in Midtown Manhattan graduate on time, more than the citywide average of 75%.

The La Scuola d'Italia Guglielmo Marconi Italian international school moved to West Midtown in 2016.

[149] Penn Station is considered to be the busiest transportation hub in the Western Hemisphere, servicing around 650,000 people per day.

[158] According to the 2011 Traffic Data Report for New York State, 777,527 vehicles a day went through select toll facilities into Manhattan.

[160] The Puerto Rico Federal Affairs Administration operates its New York office on the 22nd floor at 135 West 50th Street.