Who Drives NYC: TLC Driver Origins & Languages

In short: New York's TLC drivers are overwhelmingly immigrants. TLC says 93% of its licensees were born outside the U.S. and together speak more than 100 languages. Over half of TLC-licensed drivers come from five countries: Bangladesh, Pakistan, India, the Dominican Republic and China. Over 85% live in the five boroughs, mostly Queens and Brooklyn. These facts come from TLC's Language Access Implementation Plan, published June 7, 2024. Today there are 180,621 active TLC driver licenses (Open Data, October 12, 2026).

The numbers at a glance

93% foreign-born, 100+ languages

TLC's plan describes licensees as reflecting "the diversity of New York City, with 93% of the population born outside of the U.S. speaking more than 100 different languages." The NY Attorney General gave a similar picture in its 2023 Uber and Lyft settlement announcement: "Surveys have shown that in New York City, nine out of ten drivers are immigrants, two-thirds work full-time as drivers, and more than half are the primary breadwinners in their households."

Over half from five countries

The plan names the five countries but not a percentage for each:

Over half of all TLC-licensed drivers hail from five countries: Bangladesh, Pakistan, India, the Dominican Republic, and China.

Because TLC gives only the combined "over half," we don't chart a share for each country. Any site showing exact percentages per country is using a source TLC didn't publish here.

Where drivers live

"Over 85 percent of drivers live within the five boroughs, predominantly in Queens and Brooklyn," the plan says. TLC's licensing center (Long Island City) and its inspection facility (Woodside) are in Queens too.

Top languages

TLC says this ranking is tracked from calls through its phone interpretation vendors, so it reflects who calls TLC, not a full census. Drivers have also asked for Georgian, Nepali, Punjabi and Uzbek, which are outside the 10 languages the city must translate into under Local Law 30. The plan says TLC offers phone interpretation in over 240 languages and posts "interpretation available" signs in 24 languages. In TLC's April 2026 driver survey, 36% of respondents (about 1,400) answered in a language other than English (survey results).

How many people TLC serves

Driver counts from the data

TLC publishes daily lists of active licenses. The TLC driver lists for FHV, medallion and green cab work contain the same people, so the total below is all active TLC driver licenses, not one industry:

These are different kinds of license, so read each number on its own rather than comparing them.

How many drivers actually work in each industry each month is a different number. TLC's industry indicators count drivers who made at least one trip:

In 2025, an average of 83,299 drivers made app (high-volume) trips each month, 13,297 drove yellow taxis, 12,007 black cars, 9,616 livery cars, 1,714 luxury limousines and 627 green cabs.

What the data can't tell you

Language matters at every step, from the exam to a hearing. The plan says TLC translates "essential" documents (information needed to get or keep a TLC license) into the 10 citywide languages, and sends all emails to licensees in those 10 languages plus Punjabi. If you didn't get service because of the language you speak, you can complain to TLC's Language Access Coordinator or through 311, anonymously and "regardless of your immigration status" (TLC Language Access). See TLC in your language and do I need English for a TLC license. At an OATH hearing you can ask for a free interpreter: interpreter at an OATH hearing.

Related: what is on the TLC driver exam, how TLC makes rules, free legal help for drivers, does the TLC inspector have to come to my hearing, asking the destination first (80-20(a)(4)), taxi crashes in NYPD data and the rights topic.