Trivia Quizzes

25 NYC Trivia Quiz Questions & Answers

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How well do you know your Ellis Island from Empire State facts? Test your knowledge with our NYC Trivia Quiz!

NYC is loved for its diverse neighborhoods, striking skyline, tasty food, and book, TV and movie inspiration but there is more to this vibrant city so we’ve created NYC trivia questions on general knowledge, geography, history, culture and landmarks.

You’ll find New York questions and answers at the bottom of this guide. Feel free to use our quiz to build your own.

Note: As with all of our geography quizzes, there are five rounds, each with five questions, making this quiz out of 25 points.

We’ve also included fun New York trivia so you can impress your friends with new facts.

If you’re not sure how to use this quiz, scroll to the bottom for instructions first.

Why not try our 50 States Quiz too?

Free NYC Trivia Quiz Questions

New York Quiz General Knowledge Questions Round

1. How many boroughs does NYC have?

  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
  • 6

2. What is NYC’s nickname?

  • The Big Apple
  • The Big Smoke
  • The Big Towers
  • The Big City

3. How many people live in Manhattan

  • 1 million
  • 1.6 million
  • 2 million
  • 2.5 million

4. What do you call people from NYC?

  • New Yorkees
  • New York Yankess
  • New Yorkers
  • New Yorkies

5. What does MTA stand for?

  • Metropolitan Team America
  • Metropolitan Transitional Art
  • Metropolitan Transportation Authority
  • Metropolitan Tasty Apples

NYC Quiz Geography Questions Round

1. Which town or city is next to NYC on the north side?

  • Middletown
  • Catskill
  • Albany
  • Buffalo

2. What is the least populated borough in NYC?

  • Staten Island
  • Queens
  • Bronx
  • Brooklyn

3. Which of the following rivers does not run through NYC?

  • Hudson
  • East
  • Harlem
  • Delaware

4. Which streets does Central Park run from?

  • 49th and 100th
  • 51st and 105th
  • 59th and 110th 
  • 60th and 100th

5. What neighborhood is next to Little Italy in NYC?

  • Chinatown
  • The Battery
  • Hudson Square
  • Upper Manhattan

NYC Quiz History Questions Round

1. When did the Dutch buy Manhattan from the Lenape people?

  • 1611
  • 1622
  • 1626
  • 1648

2. What was Five Points in NYC?

  • Slum area
  • Food joint
  • Sport song
  • Quiz show

3. Where did Puerto Rican immigrants settle in NYC?

  • East Harlem
  • North Queens
  • South Bronx
  • Lower Manhattan

4. The attack 911 changed the world forever. What year did it happen?

  • 2001
  • 2000
  • 2005
  • 2009

5. What was legalized in NYC in 2011?

  • Marijuana
  • Same-sex marriage
  • Jaywalking
  • No smoking in public places

NYC Quiz Culture Questions Round

1. What is in a BEC?

  • Bacon, egg and cheese
  • Bourbon, egg whites and chocolate
  • Banana, espresso and cream
  • Bread, eggplant and crab

2. What month does the NYC Marathon take place?

  • August
  • September
  • October
  • November

3. Who has not been Governor of NYC?

  • Kathy Hochul
  • Cynthia Nixon 
  • Nelson Rockefeller
  • Franklin D. Roosevelt

4. “But they shuttered your stores, when you opened the doors. To the cops who were bored, once they’d run out of crime” are lyrics from which song about NYC?

  • Empire State of Mind by Jay Z
  • New York, I Love You but You’re Bringing Me Down by LCD Soundsystem
  • Welcome To New York by Taylor Swift
  • New York New York by Frank Sinatra

Are you a music fan?

Try our challenging music quizzes which features decades such as 60s and 70s!

5. What is the name of the financial district in NYC?

  • Bank Street
  • Money Street
  • Wall Street
  • Hedge Street

NYC Quiz Landmark Questions Round

1. Where is the highest natural elevation point in NYC?

  • Battle Hill 
  • Bennett Park
  • Great Hill
  • Todt Hill

2. What would you find at 1000 5th Ave?

  • The Metropolitan Museum of Art
  • The National Jazz Museum
  • Broadway Theatre
  • Union Square Park

3. What happens at Flushing Meadows in Queens?

  • US Open
  • PGA Championship
  • Super Bowl
  • Stanley Cup Playoffs

4. Which is the tallest building out of the following?

  • One Vanderbilt
  • Top of the Rock
  • Empire State Building
  • One World Trade Center

Bonus points if you can order them by height starting with the tallest!

5. What kind of bridge is the Brooklyn Bridge?

  • Arch Bridge
  • Beam Bridge
  • Suspension Bridge
  • Cable-Stayed Bridge

How did you do?

Check the NYC test answers below and share with your friends! 

NYC Quiz Knowledge Quiz Answers 

1. How many boroughs does NYC have?

  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
  • 6

2. What is NYC’s nickname?

  • The Big Apple
  • The Big Smoke
  • The Big Towers
  • The Big City

3. How many people live in Manhattan

  • 1 million
  • 1.6 million
  • 2 million
  • 2.5 million

4. What do you call people from NYC?

  • New Yorkees
  • New York Yankess
  • New Yorkers
  • New Yorkies

5. What does MTA stand for?

  • Metropolitan Team America
  • Metropolitan Transitional Art
  • Metropolitan Transportation Authority
  • Metropolitan Tasty Apples

NYC Quiz Geography Answers

1. Which town or city is next to NYC on the north side?

  • Middletown
  • Catskill
  • Albany
  • Buffalo

2. What is the least populated borough in NYC?

  • Staten Island
  • Queens
  • Bronx
  • Brooklyn

3. Which of the following rivers does not run through NYC?

  • Hudson
  • East
  • Harlem
  • Delawar

4. Which streets does Central Park run from?

  • 49th and 100th
  • 51st and 105th
  • 59th and 110th 
  • 60th and 100th

NYC Trivia: Central Park is 840 acres (340 hectares) and it runs from 59th and 110th and between Fifth and Eighth Avenues.

Central Park officially opened in 1876.

5. What neighborhood is next to Little Italy in NYC?

  • Chinatown
  • The Battery
  • Hudson Square
  • Upper Manhattan

NYC Quiz History Answers

1. When did the Dutch buy Manhattan from the Lenape people?

  • 1611
  • 1622
  • 1626
  • 1648

NYC Trivia: The first area to be built was called New Amsterdam.

Parts of the city were cleared by enslaved people to create space for a fort and industry.

Later, the Brits named the area New York after the Duke of York in England.

They continued to import enslaved people, tightening laws and making life even tougher for them.

Those who fought for the Brits during the American Revolution were granted free status.

Slavery officially ended in NYC in 1827.

NYC was the first capital of the US.

2. What was Five Points in NYC?

  • Slum area
  • Food joint
  • Sport song
  • Quiz show

NYC Trivia: Five Points was a 19th-century neighborhood in Lower Manhattan where four notorious streets, Anthony, Cross, Orange, and Little Water came together.

This is where immigrants were housed in cramped and unsanitary conditions.

It was also the feature of Martin Scorsese’s movie, Gangs of New York.

3. Where did Puerto Rican immigrants settle in NYC?

  • East Harlem
  • North Queens
  • South Bronx
  • Lower Manhattan

NYC Trivia: The area where Puerto Ricans based themselves is known as El Barrio which means ‘neighborhood’.

4. The attack 911 changed the world forever. What year did it happen?

  • 2001
  • 2000
  • 2005
  • 2009

NYC Trivia: On the 11th of September 2001, two hijacked planes crashed into the Twin Towers.

The Twin Towers were part of the World Trade Center and a well known feature in the NYC skyline.

5. What was legalized in NYC in 2011?

  • Marijuana
  • Same-sex marriage
  • Jaywalking
  • No smoking in public places

NYC Quiz Culture Answers

1. What is in a BEC?

  • Bacon, egg and cheese
  • Bourbon, egg whites and chocolate
  • Banana, espresso and cream
  • Bread, eggplant and crab

NYC Trivia: The New York style bacon, egg and cheese sandwich is traditionally eaten in a bagel.

Avoid the Golden Arches and go for a corner store BEC.

2. What month does the NYC Marathon take place?

  • August
  • September
  • October
  • November

3. Who has not been Governor of NYC?

  • Kathy Hochul
  • Cynthia Nixon 
  • Nelson Rockefeller
  • Franklin D. Roosevelt

NYC Trivia: Former STAC actress, Cynthia Nixon, was defeated by the incumbent Andrew Cuomo in 2018.

4. “But they shuttered your stores, when you opened the doors. To the cops who were bored, once they’d run out of crime” are lyrics from which song about NYC?

  • Empire State of Mind by Jay Z
  • New York, I Love You but You’re Bringing Me Down by LCD Soundsystem
  • Welcome To New York by Taylor Swift
  • New York New York by Frank Sinatra

Are you a music fan?

Try our challenging music quizzes which features decades such as 60s and 70s!

5. What is the name of the financial district in NYC?

  • Bank Street
  • Money Street
  • Wall Street
  • Hedge Street

NYC Quiz Landmark Answers 

1. Where is the highest natural elevation point in NYC?

  • Battle Hill (216 feet)
  • Bennett Park (265 feet)
  • Great Hill (135 feet)
  • Todt Hill (401 feet)

NYC Trivia: The original inhabitants, the Lenape people, named Manhattan, Mannahatta which means hilly island.

2. What would you find at 1000 5th Ave?

  • The Metropolitan Museum of Art
  • The National Jazz Museum
  • Broadway Theatre
  • Union Square Park

NYC Trivia: If you said the Met you were correct.

The Met is home to art, exhibitions and the annual The Met Gala/Ball.

Musicians, actors and social media stars walk the steps of ‘Fashions’ Biggest Night’.

3. What happens at Flushing Meadows in Queens?

  • US Open
  • PGA Championship
  • Super Bowl
  • Stanley Cup Playoffs

NYC Trivia: Flushing Meadows is a park in Queens where the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center is located.

4. Which is the tallest building out of the following?

  • One Vanderbilt (1,301 feet)
  • Top of the Rock (850 feet
  • Empire State Building 1,250 feet)
  • One World Trade Center (1,368 feet)

Bonus points if you can order them by height starting with the tallest!

5. What kind of bridge is the Brooklyn Bridge?

  • Arch Bridge
  • Beam Bridge
  • Suspension Bridge
  • Cable-Stayed Bridge

Kind of a trick question as the Brooklyn Bridge is a hybrid between a cable-stayed and suspension.

If you said either of those two options you get the point!

Thanks for taking our NYC quiz. You may like our other quizzes.

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How To Use This Quiz

Please feel free to use our quiz questions and answers to test your trivia knowledge!

There are several ways to play this quiz such as reading through the questions and writing down your answers in notes on your phone or on paper.

You can then check your answers which are in bold in the answers section.

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