Being home to high-profile events like New York Fashion Week and the US Open and to some of the world’s best hotels and trendiest restaurants — it’s no wonder NY is also the hub for some of the country’s top influencers.
New York took third place in the new nationwide ranking of US states with the most Instagram influencers, with an average of 76.7 influencers per capita — behind Washington, DC, and California, respectively.
The Empire State — which has a population of almost 8.468 million — is home to a reported 1,496 Instagram influencers, with many millions of loyal followers hanging on their every posted word, wellness tip and saucy thirst trap.
To create their new ranking of the influencer influx, researchers at Casino.org pulled data on 18-and-older Instagram “creators” with credible verified accounts.
To be counted, social media superstars were required to have a minimum of 10,000 followers — and at least a 2% engagement rate (the industry average) for their content.
The site exclusively confirmed to The Post the list of the top 10 New York-based influencers with engaged followers. Read on for the surprisingly fresh-faced results — some of which might shock even the most diehard star tracker.
Top Ten New York influencers
Breakout rapper Ice Spice, whose real name is Isis Naija Gaston, boasts an astonishing 9.7 million followers on Instagram.
The 23-year-old grew up in the Bronx and began releasing music in 2021. Last August, she dropped her song “Munch (Feelin’ U),” which went viral and catapulted her to mainstream music fame.
Pop culture proof: Lil Nas X dressed like her for Halloween last year, she’s hung out with Kim Kardashian, and been featured on a Taylor Swift song, and she now has a drink named after her at Dunkin’ Donuts — the Ice Spice Munchkins Drink. Yes, that was Ben Affleck freestyling with Ice in a nationally televised commercial aired during the MTV VMAs.
Taking second place: Vanessa Morgan is a Canadian performer with 8.9 million Instagram followers.
She made her acting debut in the VH1 film “A Diva’s Christmas Carol” in 2000 and was cast in her first recurring role in 2007 as Amanda Pierce in the teen comedy series “The Latest Buzz.”
The 31-year-old brunette stunner is now best known for her role as Toni Topaz in the popular teen drama “Riverdale,” which ran from 2017 until this last August.
Landing in the No. 3 spot: Popular TV personality Trevor Noah, 39, with 8.6 million devotees on Instagram who follow along for his smart and funny political and cultural commentary.
The comedian hosted “The Daily Show” from 2015 to 2022 after taking over from Jon Stewart. He’s also released books, several comedy specials and a podcast, and hosted the Grammy Awards ceremony in 2021, 2022 and 2023.
Noah most recently made headlines for selling his swanky NYC penthouse for a jaw-dropping $9.5 million.
Ranked a solid No. 4: Chloe Bailey is followed by over 7 million people on Instagram.
The 25-year-old rose to fame as one half of the musical duo Chloe x Halle with her sister Halle, 23, with whom she released two albums before the latter went on to solo fame as “The Little Mermaid” in the live-action Disney remake.
The musicians’ talents grabbed the attention of many including Beyoncé, who signed the girls to her company, Parkwood Entertainment, in 2015.
Bailey also has several acting credits under her name most commonly known for her recurring role as Jazlyn “Jazz” Forster on the Freeform sitcom “Grown-ish” alongside her sister and Yara Shahidi.
Landing exactly halfway through the top 10: Lil Tecca, whose real name is Tyler-Justin Anthony Sharpe, is the fourth-most influential New Yorker, with 4.9 million Instagram followers.
The American rapper and singer from Queens rose to fame with the 2019 release of his single “Ransom,” which currently has over 1 billion streams on Spotify.
The 23-year-old then released his debut studio album, “Virgo World,” which debuted at number 10 on the Billboard 200, the next year.
Ella Mai has amassed an Instagram following of 4.3 million people to earn the No. 6 slot.
The 28-year-old uploaded a four-track solo E.P. of original songs to SoundCloud titled “Troubled” in 2015, which led to her being signed to DJ Mustard’s label, 10 Summers Records, and Interscope Records.
The Queens-based, UK-born R&B singer has released two albums and collaborated with big names, including Chris Brown, John Legend and H.E.R.
Actor on-the-rise Christopher Briney, 25, has already racked up 3.3 million Instagram followers.
The rising star is best known for his role as Conrad Fisher in 2022’s breakout teen drama series “The Summer I Turned Pretty,” based on the best-selling books of the same name.
Born in Hartford, Connecticut, Briney relocated to NYC to attend Pace University. He went on to graduate with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in acting in 2020 and currently resides in Brooklyn.
It’s not all Gen Z and millennials ruling this pack: Barbara Costello, better known as “Brunch With Babs” online, has 3.1 million adoring Instagram followers.
Lovingly nicknamed “everyone’s grandmother,” the 74-year-old has become a popular influencer sharing her helpful tips on everything from how to make egg salad to how to send your loved ones off to college.
Like many others, she began posting on TikTok during the pandemic and quickly went viral. She now has 3.9 subscribers — nearly 60 million video views — to her name.
“I was totally surprised and humbled,” Costello told The Post. “I’m a wife, mom, a grandmother, and live a very normal life, so this is beyond anything I could have imagined. Being able to grow this amazing community through social media has been an unexpected blessing!”
Another relative newcomer lands at No. 9: Mama Tarima also goes by La Perversa on Instagram, where she is followed by 3 million people.
The singer from the Dominican Republic has 341.5 thousand monthly streams on Spotify.
She became famous after going viral with a dancing video and then releasing her two best-known songs, “Que te lo de” and “Fisicamente,” according to Terra Chile.
Finally, rounding out the top 10: LeJuan James, whose real name is Juan Atiles, has gathered 2.8 million Instagram followers.
The 33-year-old content creator and author of “Definitively Hispanic” first began posting comical videos on Vine, a precursor to TikTok, and YouTube.
He’s known for poking fun at his Hispanic heritage and upbringing — with his mother usually the lighthearted butt of the jokes.
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