Jackson Heights is among the most diverse neighborhoods in New York City and the nation. Half of the population was foreign-born by the 2000s.[10] It is home to large numbers of South Americans (particularly Colombian, Ecuadorian and Argentinian) and South Asians (Bangladeshis, Pakistanis, Tibetans, Nepalese, and Indians). Because of its large and vibrant Tibetan community, it has been called "the second (if unofficial) capital of the exile Tibetan world, after Dharamsala, India."[81] Most businesses are Asian- and Latino-owned, and there are restaurants, bakeries, specialty shops, legal offices, bars, and beauty salons. There is a Little India on 74th Street and a Little Pakistan and Little Bangladesh on 73rd Street.[82] There is also a large concentration of South Americans east of 77th Street, especially a Little Colombia along 37th Avenue.[82]

Jackson Heights was heavily Colombian during the 1980s, but other immigrant groups have settled in the area, notably Mexicans. Many of the displaced Colombians have moved to adjacent areas such as Elmhurst, East Elmhurst, Corona, College Point and Flushing. Queens County still has the largest concentration of Colombians in the United States of any county (roughly 135,000).

Scrabble street sign
The 2015 documentary In Jackson Heights portrays Jackson Heights as a microcosm of the American melting pot.[83]

The word game Scrabble was co-invented by former architect Alfred Mosher Butts, who lived in Jackson Heights.[84][85] There is a street sign at 35th Avenue and 81st Street that is stylized using letters, with their values in Scrabble as a subscript; it was originally erected in 1995,[86] but after the sign disappeared in 2008,[87] a replacement was put up in 2011.[88]

Community organizations
The Jackson Heights Garden City Society is a historical society, whose founders include local historians, the Queens Borough Historian and local activists. They created and oversee the Jackson Heights Garden City Trail and publish a walking guidebook to Jackson Heights. They also collect artifacts of the community. Periodically, the Society testifies before the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission on issues of concern to the community.

The 82nd Street Partnership is responsible for the business improvement of the area.[89]

In addition, Colombian broadcaster RCN TV has its US-American headquarters in the neighborhood, reflecting the sizable Colombian population in the area.

There is a year-round greenmarket every Sunday morning at Travers Park, as well as various family-oriented spring and summer concerts.

           Public transportation interchange easy to get anywhere in nyc

The intersection of 75th Street and Roosevelt Avenue, under the elevated IRT Flushing Line (7 train)
The following New York City Subway stations serve Jackson Heights:[144]

Jackson Heights–Roosevelt Avenue/74th Street (7, <7>​​, E, ​F, , ​M, and ​R trains)
82nd Street–Jackson Heights (7 train)
90th Street–Elmhurst Avenue (7 train)
Junction Boulevard (7 train)
The following MTA Regional Bus Operations bus routes serve Jackson Heights:[145]

Q47: to LaGuardia Marine Air Terminal or Glendale via 73rd/74th Streets

Q53 SBS: to 61st Street–Woodside (7 and <7>​ trains)/Woodside LIRR or Rockaway Park–Beach

Q70 SBS: to 61st Street–Woodside (7 and <7>​ trains)/Woodside LIRR or LaGuardia Airport Terminals B/C/D via Roosevelt Avenue, Broadway, and Brooklyn-Queens Expressway
Q72: to 63rd Drive–Rego Park (M and ​R trains) or LaGuardia Airport Terminals B/C/D via Junction Boulevard

The Jackson Heights–Roosevelt Avenue/74th Street station is a transportation hub where the subway's 7, <7>​​, E, ​F, , ​M, and ​R trains and the Q32, Q33, Q47, Q49. Q53 SBS and Q70 SBS buses converge.[145] The MTA spent over $100 million on renovations to the Jackson Heights bus terminal, which were completed in 2005.[146] It includes one of the first green buildings in the MTA system, the Victor A. Moore Bus Terminal, which is partially powered by solar panels built into the roof along the length of the sheds above the Flushing Line platforms.[146][49] The terminal, like the Victor Moore Arcade (which it replaced), is named after Jackson Heights resident Victor Moore, a Broadway and film actor from the era of silent film to the 1950s.[146]