In short: The best places to meet Italian singles in New York and New Jersey are the feasts (San Gennaro, the Giglio, Ferragosto on Arthur Avenue, St. Ann’s in Hoboken), Sons and Daughters of Italy lodges, NIAF’s Young Professionals Network, and Italian classes and conversation groups. About 2.1 million people in the New York metro area report Italian ancestry.
About one in ten people in the New York metro area has Italian roots.
That’s 2.1 million people, according to the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2024 American Community Survey.
So why does it feel so hard to meet one you’d actually want to date?
Because nobody meets anybody by statistics. You meet people by showing up, in the right places, more than once.
Here’s where to show up.
Where Italian-Americans Actually Live
Little Italy and Arthur Avenue are the famous names, but the community today is strongest in the suburbs and the outer boroughs.
| Area | Residents reporting Italian ancestry |
|---|---|
| Staten Island, NY | 22.9% |
| Monmouth County, NJ | 22.2% |
| Suffolk County, NY | 20.6% |
| Ocean County, NJ | 19.4% |
| Morris County, NJ | 18.2% |
| Nassau County, NY | 15.1% |
| Westchester County, NY | 14.6% |
| Bergen County, NJ | 13.7% |
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2024 (Staten Island and Ocean County: 2020–2024 five-year estimates).
In other words: if you live on Long Island, the Jersey Shore or Staten Island, you’re surrounded. You just need a reason to talk to each other.
The Feasts
Nothing brings Italian New York and New Jersey out like a feast. Go with friends, go hungry, and go more than one night.
- Feast of St. Anthony, the Bronx (mid-June). At Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church, in the heart of Arthur Avenue.
- The Giglio Feast, Williamsburg, Brooklyn (July). Our Lady of Mount Carmel’s feast has run since 1887 and is famous for the lifting of the Giglio.
- St. Ann’s Italian Festival, Hoboken (late July). A Hoboken tradition for more than a century.
- Ferragosto on Arthur Avenue (a Sunday in mid-September). Bronx Little Italy’s end-of-summer street festival.
- Feast of San Gennaro, Little Italy (eleven days in mid-to-late September). The best-known Italian feast in New York fills Mulberry Street every year; 2026 was its 100th.
- Columbus Day Parade, Fifth Avenue (October). Organized by the Columbus Citizens Foundation during Italian Heritage Month.
Clubs, Lodges and Young Professionals
Feasts come once a year. These meet all year long, and seeing the same faces again is how things actually start.
- Order Sons and Daughters of Italy in America. Founded in 1905, with local lodges across New York and New Jersey. Use the lodge finder to see what’s near you.
- NIAF Young Professionals Network. The National Italian American Foundation runs a national network for Italian-American professionals ages 21 to 39.
- Italian Chat (Meetup). A free Italian conversation group in New York City with about 5,000 members that typically meets every other Wednesday.
Culture and Language
If you’d rather meet someone over a film or a lecture than a sausage-and-peppers line:
- Istituto Italiano di Cultura (686 Park Avenue): Italian language courses and cultural events from the Italian government’s cultural institute.
- Casa Italiana Zerilli-Marimò at NYU: talks, films and exhibitions during the academic year.
- John D. Calandra Italian American Institute (CUNY): public lectures and events on Italian-American life.
- Italian American Museum (151 Mulberry Street): in the middle of Little Italy.
An Italian class is the quiet winner here. Same room, same people, every week, and a built-in reason to talk.
The Everyday Places
Don’t overlook the obvious.
- The bakery, the deli and the pork store on a Saturday morning
- The café where the espresso is taken standing up
- Sunday Mass at the parish your family has always gone to
- Any bar showing Serie A or the Azzurri
And the oldest method of all: tell your family you’re open to being introduced. Somebody’s cousin knows somebody. They always do.
How to Actually Meet Someone There
- Go back. One visit is a night out. Three visits and people know your name.
- Volunteer. Feasts and lodges run on volunteers, and working a stand together beats small talk.
- Bring a cousin, not a crowd. One wingperson makes you approachable. Eight makes you a wall.
- Say yes. To the dinner dance, the bocce night, the thing your aunt keeps mentioning.
And for the Rest of the Week
Feasts and festivals are a few weekends a year. Mia is for all the days in between.
Mia is a dating app for Italians and Italian-Americans who want a real relationship. It launches on iPhone in winter 2026–27.
Join the waitlist and we’ll email you the day you can download it.
Good questions
Where can I meet Italian singles in New York City?
Start with the feasts: San Gennaro in Little Italy each September, the Giglio Feast in Williamsburg in July, and Ferragosto on Arthur Avenue in the Bronx. Year-round, try a Sons and Daughters of Italy lodge, the free Italian Chat conversation Meetup, or a language class at the Istituto Italiano di Cultura.
What is the best-known Italian festival in New York?
The Feast of San Gennaro. It runs for eleven days in mid-to-late September along Mulberry Street in Manhattan’s Little Italy, and 2026 marked its 100th year.
Which parts of New York and New Jersey have the most Italian-Americans?
By share of residents reporting Italian ancestry: Staten Island (22.9%), Monmouth County, NJ (22.2%), Suffolk County, NY (20.6%), Ocean County, NJ (19.4%) and Morris County, NJ (18.2%), according to U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey estimates.
Are there groups for young Italian-American professionals?
Yes. The National Italian American Foundation runs a national Young Professionals Network for ages 21 to 39. Locally, Sons and Daughters of Italy lodges and the free Italian Chat Meetup in New York City are good places to start.
