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InkedMag

Inked Mag Staff

January 3rd, 2020

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Almost One-Third of New Yorkers Are Tattooed

A survey by the Department of Health shows that over 30% of residents have some ink in their skin.

New York City has always been a tattoo town, even during the 37 years when tattooing was illegal. After all, modern electric tattooing was born in the Bowery around the turn of the century, it’s only natural that tattooing remained integral in the lives of New Yorkers. There’s a reason that Inked calls this place home. 

Now a survey by the NYC Department of Health shows that 31.4% of adults residing in Gotham have at least one tattoo. Percentages always seem a little misleading, so to give you the raw number, that means there are roughly 2.7 million people with tattoos in New York City. That’s a staggering number of people. To put it into more perspective, the number of tattooed people in NYC is equal to the entire population of Chicago. That’s pretty damn cool if you ask us. 

Which borough do you think has the highest percentage of tattooed folks? We were guessing that it would be the hipster stronghold of Brooklyn, especially given the prevalence of tattoo shops throughout most of the borough’s neighborhoods. WRONG. Staten Island leads the way with 36.6% of its residents tattooed with the Bronx narrowly behind with 36.4%. Only 32.1% of Brooklyn is tattooed. 

Another thing that the survey shows is that it’s high time we throw out the misconception that tattoos are just for men. We know that Inked readers don’t think this malarkey, but my grandma certainly does. In NYC women lead the way for getting tattoos with 34.9% of them having at least one tattoo, far ahead of the 27.4% of men who can say the same. 

New York City is an amazing place to get a tattoo, even if you don’t live here. The number of amazing artists working within the five boroughs is unprecedented. It’s hard to throw a stone without hitting a rad tattoo studio, including the soon to open Inked NYC. In the gallery below you’ll find tattoos by just a tiny fraction of the phenomenal artists that call NYC home. 

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2019 was special. Thank you for making our dreams come true-And thank you to the best crew on earth, remember…. our next move is our best move… always. #2020 #bangbangforever @zenripper @jtorrestorres @nyc_photographer_am

A post shared by Bang Bang Tattoo (@bangbangnyc) on Dec 31, 2019 at 3:51pm PST

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Tattoo by Rachel Hauer @rachelhauer #rachelhauer #eastrivertattoo

A post shared by East River Tattoo (@eastrivertattoo) on Nov 18, 2019 at 7:31am PST

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It’s a patriotic kinda weekend! Backpiece by @daredevilmichelle on our friend @edwardmillion of the Daredevil build out crew Photo by our good friend and ace photographer @dalemayphoto

A post shared by daredeviltattoo (@daredeviltattoo) on Jul 5, 2019 at 7:45am PDT

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Who can name the person in this tattoo by @itsjustcavan?!⚡️

A post shared by Grit N Glory (@gritnglory) on Nov 22, 2019 at 11:36am PST

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Open up your third eye. #skull #skullart #backpiece #cosmic #paulbooth #tattoos #nyc #premiere #destination #darkart #surrealism #morbid #anatomy #perspective #lastritestattoo #ink #inked #custom #human #blackandgrey #classic #demon #leafman #healedtattoos

A post shared by Last Rites Tattoo Theatre (@lastritestattoo) on Dec 27, 2019 at 11:02am PST

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Statue of liberty on the neck done by @8ukharov For appointments send email to info@firstclasstattoos.com #firstclassnyc

A post shared by First Class Tattoo (@firstclassnyc) on Nov 3, 2019 at 9:47am PST

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@bertkrak

A post shared by Smith St. 718-643-0463 (@smithstreettattooparlour) on Dec 30, 2019 at 1:03pm PST

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By @evgeniitattooer ➕➕➕➕➕➕➕➕➕➕➕➕➕➕➕➕➕➕➕➕➕➕➕➕➕➕➕➕➕➕➕➕➕➕➕➕➕➕➕➕➕➕➕➕➕➕➕➕➕➕➕ #blackworkerssubmission #tttism #tattooartistmagazine #blxckink #inkedmag #darkartists #blacktattooart #tattoodo #radtattoos #equilattera #tattoolife #tattoo2me #btattooing #skinartmag #inkjunkeyz #thebesttattooartists #tattooistartmagazine #TAOT #brooklyn #williamsburg #bushwick #madeinbrooklyn #nyctattoo #williamsburgtattoo #brooklyntattoo #onlyblackart #finelinetattoo #singleneedletattoo #greywashtattoo

A post shared by Fleur Noire Tattoo Parlours (@fleurnoiretattoo) on Jan 2, 2020 at 8:10am PST

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Half fresh / half healed #Lady and #Tiger by @beccagennebacon done at #kingsavetattoo #bowery . . . . . . . . . . . #craftsmanship #kingsavetattoo #legacy #tattoo #tattoos #tattooed #tattoohistory #tattooer #tattooing #shareyourstory #tattoolove #tattooart #ink #inked #kingsave #inspiration #kingsavetattoonyc #kingsavenuetattoo #tattooartist #tattoooftheday #ink #bowery

A post shared by KINGS AVENUE (@kingsavetattoo) on Dec 2, 2019 at 1:53pm PST

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By @tamarasantibanez

A post shared by SAVED TATTOO (@savedtattoo) on Dec 5, 2019 at 12:17pm PST

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Original tape with rainbow color design Flash design. Done at shop @rbitattoo . ( Dm to booking) . . . #colortattoos #tattooinsta #tattooing #tattoos #newyorktattoo #newyorktattooartist #nyctattooer #tattooink #nycinked #tattooed #刺青 #纽约 #纹身 #旅行纹身 #纽约纹身 #문신 #traveltattoos #nyctattoo #tattoodo #tattrx #nyctattooartist #innerarmtattoo #finelinetattoo #linetattoo #tapetattoo #singleneedletattoo #rainbowtattoo #detailstattoo #delicatetattoo

A post shared by ⓜⒾⓀⓄ ◦○◎☉ (@miko_nyctattoo) on Jul 14, 2019 at 9:22am PDT

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By @maredelanoire • Thank you for sitting like a motherfuckin beast Billy! Not one peep✨#nycartist #nycart #singleneedle #grimreaper #deathtarot #nycink #nyctattoo #tarot #ornamentaltattoo #blackworkers #blackworktattoo

A post shared by East Side Ink Tattoo (@eastsideinktattoo) on Nov 25, 2019 at 7:31pm PST

If this gallery contained even one-third of the amazing artists in NYC it would have to be hundreds of pictures long. We don’t have the time, nor the bandwidth, to make an article including every deserving individual. Just get out there and support your local artists, New Yorkers. If we put our minds to it we can make this place the most tattooed city on Earth! 

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