It is bounded by Whitestone to the northwest, the Long Island Sound and Little Neck Bay to the northeast, Douglaston to the east, Oakland Gardens to the south, and Fresh Meadows to the west.

CNN Money ranked Bayside as one of the most expensive housing markets nationally when analyzing comparable detached homes throughout the United States.

During the 19th century, Bayside was primarily farmland, where wealthy people from Manhattan would visit it as a rural resort.

After the end of World War II, residential development of Bayside increased dramatically, particularly because of its station on the Long Island Rail Road's Port Washington Branch, where a commuter could ride one train straight to Manhattan.

[9] William Lawrence, of England, built the first permanent building, a stone farmhouse, when he settled Bayside in 1644.

[9] Twenty years later, England took control of New Amsterdam, renamed it the Province of New York, and English people began settling the area.

During the American Revolutionary War, whaleboatmen from Connecticut raided the Bayside–Little Neck area, and Town of Flushing was occupied by the British military.

When Hollywood emerged as the capital of the movie industry during the 1920s, many actors left Bayside to pursue careers in California.

[11] After the end of World War II, residential development of Bayside increased dramatically, particularly because of its station on the Long Island Rail Road's Port Washington Branch, where a commuter could ride one train straight to Manhattan without requiring a transfer at Jamaica station.

Michael Pappadio of Bayside managed the Lucchese crime family's interests in the Garment District of Manhattan, in secrecy from his wife.

[12] His wife reported Michael as missing, and three years later she learned about his death and his life in organized crime from the FBI.

The homes in Bayside Hills, many of which were built by Gross Morton, are generally more upscale and have higher property values.

[21] Much of the public green space is maintained by the NYC Parks Department and the Bayside Hills Civic Association.

The gated estate community of the "Bayside Gables" is also located within the Bay Terrace neighborhood, being the site of some of the only single family homes in the area.

[23] Bay Terrace overlooks the East River and the approaches to the Throgs Neck Bridge from the Clearview Expressway and Cross Island Parkway.

[27] Fredrick Newbold Lawrence built a mansion in the area in 1847 called "The Oaks", and the neighborhood's name probably derives from that estate.

[34] In 2018, an estimated 14% of Bayside and Douglaston–Little Neck residents lived in poverty, compared to 19% in all of Queens and 20% in all of New York City.

Based on this calculation, as of 2018[update], Bayside and Douglaston–Little Neck are considered to be high-income relative to the rest of the city and not gentrifying.

Pacific Islander Americans were almost nonexistent in the neighborhood as there were only seven individuals of this ethnic group residing in Bayside at the 2000 Census.

Also, due to a large community of foreign-born European Americans, 15.2% speak an Indo-European language other than Spanish at home.

The northern part of Bayside, including Bay Terrace, has a large concentration of European Americans, particularly people of Italian heritage.

In 2018, this population of uninsured residents was estimated to be 5%, lower than the citywide rate of 12%, though this was based on a small sample size.

[31]: 14 The concentration of fine particulate matter, the deadliest type of air pollutant, in Bayside and Douglaston–Little Neck is 0.0069 milligrams per cubic metre (6.9×10−9 oz/cu ft), less than the city average.

[31]: 6  The percentage of Bayside and Douglaston–Little Neck students excelling in math rose from 70% in 2000 to 88% in 2011, though reading achievement stayed at around 73% during the same time period.

[58] Bayside and Douglaston–Little Neck's rate of elementary school student absenteeism is less than the rest of New York City.

[32]: 24 (PDF p. 55) [31]: 6  Additionally, 95% of high school students in Bayside and Douglaston–Little Neck graduate on time, more than the citywide average of 75%.

[31]: 6 Bayside is home to Queensborough Community College, a branch of the City University of New York (CUNY) system, established in 1959.

The north end of the Brooklyn–Queens Greenway is in Little Bay Park, under the Throgs Neck Bridge approaches, with a connection to the Utopia Parkway bicycle lane.

Francis Lewis Boulevard is a major street notorious for drag racing, which resulted in several fatalities to drivers and pedestrians over the years.

After the MTA began extending the 7 and <7>​ trains of the IRT Flushing Line westward into Manhattan in 2007, the 2012 fiscal year Community District Needs of Queens report suggests extending the line eastward from Flushing–Main Street to relieve congestion in Downtown Flushing.