Demographics of New York City



The demographics of New York City are evidence of a uniquely large and ethnically diverse metropolis. It is the largest city in the United States with a population defined by a long history of international immigration. New York City is home to more than 8 million people, accounting for about 40% of the population of New York State and a similar percentage of the New York metropolitan area, home to about 20 million. Over the last decade the city has been growing faster than the region. Demographers estimate the New York region's population will reach 30 million by 2030. The New York region continues to be the leading metropolitan gateway for legal immigrants admitted into the United States.

Throughout its history New York City has been a major point of entry for immigrants; the term "melting pot" was first coined to describe densely populated immigrant neighborhoods on the Lower East Side. In 2005, nearly 170 languages were spoken in the city and 36% of its population was foreign born. English remains the most widely spoken language and New York is the largest city in the English-speaking world, although there are massive pockets in Queens and Brooklyn where up to 20% of people who do not speak English at all or not very well. Neighborhoods such as Flushing, Sunset Park and Corona are the least English-speaking communities.

Current demographics
New York is the most populous city in the United States, with an estimated 2009 population of 8,391,881 (up from 8.0 million in 2000 and 7.3 million in 1990). New York's two key demographic features are its population density and cultural diversity. The city's population density of 26,403 people per square mile (10,194/km²), makes it the densest of any American municipality with a population above 100,000. Manhattan's population density is 66,940 people per square mile (25,846/km²), highest of any county in the United States.

New York City is exceptionally multicultural. Throughout its history the city has been a major point of entry for immigrants; the term "melting pot" was first coined to describe densely populated immigrant neighborhoods on the Lower East Side. About 36% of the city's population is foreign-born. Among US cities, this proportion is higher only in Los Angeles and Miami. The ten nations constituting the largest sources of modern immigration to New York City are the Dominican Republic, China, Jamaica, Guyana, Mexico, Ecuador, Haiti, Trinidad and Tobago, Colombia, and Russia. About 170 languages are spoken in the city.

As of the 2000 census, The New York metropolitan area is home to 3,372,512 Italians making them the largest European ethnic group in New York. The New York metropolitan area is home to the largest number of Jews outside Israel. There are more Jews within the city limits of New York City than within the city limits of Jerusalem, making the New York City Jewish community the largest such community in the world after Tel Aviv. About 12% of New Yorkers claim to be Jewish or of Jewish descent. New York is also home to nearly a quarter of the nation's South Asians, and the largest African American community of any city in the country.

The nine largest ethnic groups as of the 2005 census estimates are: African, Puerto Ricans, Italians, West Indians, Dominicans, Chinese, Irish, Russian, and German. The Puerto Rican population of New York City is the largest outside Puerto Rico. Italians emigrated to the city in large numbers in the early 20th century, establishing several "Little Italies". The Irish also have a notable presence, along with Germans.

New York City has a high degree of income disparity. In 2005 the median household income in the wealthiest census tract was reported to be $188,697, while in the poorest it was $9,320. The disparity is driven by wage growth in high income brackets, while wages have stagnated for middle and lower income brackets. In 2006 the average weekly wage in Manhattan was $1,453, the highest and fastest growing among the largest counties in the United States. The borough is also experiencing a "baby boom" among the wealthy that is unique among U.S. cities. Since 2000, the number of children under age 5 living in Manhattan has grown by more than 32%.

In 2000, about 3 out of every 10 New York City housing units were owner-occupied, compared to about 2 owner-occupied units out of every 3 units in the U.S. as a whole. Rental vacancy is usually between 3% and 4.5%, well below the 5% threshold defined to be a housing emergency, justifying the continuation of rent control and rent stabilization. About 33% of rental units fall under rent stabilization, according to which increases are adjudicated periodically by city agencies. Rent control covers only a very small number of rental units. Some critics point to New York City's strict zoning and other regulations as partial causes for the housing shortage, but during the city's decline in population from the 1960s through the 1980s, a large number of apartment buildings suffered suspected arson fires or were abandoned by their owners. Once the population trend was reversed, with rising prospects for rentals and sales, new construction has resumed, but generally for higher income brackets.

Population
New York is the largest city in the United States, with the city proper's population more than double the next largest city, Los Angeles (or roughly equivalent to the combined populations of Los Angeles, Chicago, and Houston, America's second, third, and fourth most populous cities respectively). The city has a population more than that of 39 U.S. states. The estimated 2009 population of New York City is 8,391,881 (up from 7.072 million in 1980). This amounts to about 40% of New York State's population and a similar percentage of the metropolitan regional population. Over the last decade the city has been growing rapidly. Demographers estimate New York's population will reach between 9.4 and 9.7 million by 2030. In 2000 the life expectancy of New Yorkers surpassed that of the United States national average. Life expectancy for females born in 2009 in New York City is 80.2 years and for males is 74.5 years.

New York's two key demographic features are its density and diversity. The city has an extremely high population density of 26,403 people per square mile (10,194/km²), about 10,000 more people per square mile than the next densest large American city, San Francisco. Manhattan's population density is 66,940 people per square mile (25,846/km²).

The city has a long tradition of attracting international immigration and Americans seeking careers in certain sectors. As of 2006, New York City has ranked number one for seven consecutive years as the city most U.S. residents would most like to live in or near.

Immigration
Throughout its history New York City has been a principal entry point for immigration to the United States. These immigrants often form ethnic enclaves, neighborhoods dominated by one ethnicity. The city experienced major immigration from Europe in the 19th century and another major wave in the early 20th century. Since the passage of the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965, and particularly since the 1980s, New York City has seen renewed rates of high immigration. Newer immigrants are from Latin America, the Caribbean, Asia, Eastern Europe and Africa. 36% of the city's population is foreign-born. Among American cities, this proportion is higher only in Los Angeles and Miami. While the immigrant communities in those cities are dominated by a few nationalities, in New York no single country or region of origin dominates. The ten largest countries of origin are the Dominican Republic, China, Jamaica, Guyana, Mexico, Ecuador, Haiti, Trinidad and Tobago, Colombia, and Russia. About 170 languages are spoken in the city. Between 1990 and 2000 the city admitted 1,224,524 immigrants. Demographers and city officials have observed that immigration to New York City has been slowing since 1997. This is mostly due to more and more immigrants choosing directly to locate to the city's suburbs and then commute to the city or work in many of its booming edge cities like Fort Lee, NJ, Jersey City, Morristown, NJ, Stamford, CT, White Plains, NY and others. Despite the slowdown in immigration the city's overall immigrant population has continued to increase and in 2006 it numbered 3.038 million (37.0%) up from 2.871 million (35.9%) in 2000.

Racial and Ethnic composition
According to the 2006-2008 American Community Survey, the racial composition of New York City was as follows:


 * White: 44.6% (Non-Hispanic Whites: 35.1%)
 * Black or African American: 25.1%
 * American Indian: 0.4%
 * Asian: 11.8%
 * Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander: 0.1%
 * Some other race: 16.0%
 * Two or more races: 2.1%


 * Hispanic or Latino (of any race): 27.5%

African Americans make up 25.1% of New York City's population. According to the survey, there were 2,086,566 African Americans residing in New York City.

Native Americans make up 0.4% of New York City's population. According to the survey, there were 29,569 Native Americans residing in New York City. Of 29,569 Native Americans, 2,075 were of the Cherokee tribal grouping. In addition, 213 were of the Navajo tribal grouping. Also, 42 people identified themselves as Chippewa, and 47 people identified themselves as Sioux.

Asian Americans make up 11.8% of New York City's population. According to the survey, there were 976,807 Asian Americans residing in New York City. Of 976,807 Asian Americans, 445,145 were of Chinese descent, representing 5.4% of the city's population. In addition, there were 226,888 Indian Americans residing in the city, representing 2.7% of the population. Approximately 103,660 people identified themselves as "Other Asian", a category that includes people of Cambodian, Laotian, Hmong, and Pakistani descent. Individuals in this category represent 1.2% of the city's population. There were 88,162 Korean Americans residing in the city, representing 1.1% of the population. Other Asian American groups include those of Filipino (68,826, 0.8%), Japanese (26,096, 0.3%), and Vietnamese (18,030, 0.2%) descent.

Pacific Islander Americans make up 0.1% of New York City's population. According to the survey, there were 4,941 Pacific Islander Americans residing in New York City. Of 4,941 Pacific Islander Americans, 1,992 were Native Hawaiian. Approximately 904 were of Samoan descent, and 504 were of Guamanian descent. In addition, 1,541 were of other Pacific Islander ancestries.

Multiracial Americans make up 2.1% of New York City's population. According to the survey, there were 177,643 multiracial Americans residing in New York City. People of black and white ancestry numbered at 37,124, making up 0.4% of the population. People of white and Asian ancestry numbered at 22,242, making up 0.3% of the population. People of white/Native American ancestry (10,762) and black/Native American ancestry (10,221) each made up 0.1% of the city's population.

Hispanics and Latinos make up 27.5% of New York City's population. According to the survey, there were 2,287,905 Hispanic or Latino Americans residing in New York City. The Hispanic/Latino population is categorized with four groups, "Mexican", "Puerto Rican", "Cuban", and "Other Hispanic or Latino".

The following data provides more information on these groups:


 * Mexican: 3.4% (282,965)
 * Puerto Rican: 9.4% (784,065)
 * Cuban: 0.5% (42,209)
 * Other Hispanic or Latino: 14.2% (1,178,666)

The category titled "Other Hispanic or Latino" includes individuals of Central and South American ancestry, such as "Colombian", "Panamanian", and "Uruguayan".

White Americans make up 44.6% of New York City's population. According to the survey, there were 3,704,243 White Americans residing in New York City. White Americans of non-Hispanic origin make up 35.1% of the city's population. There are 2,918,976 non-Hispanic whites residing in the city. Much of New York City's European American population consists of individuals of Italian, Irish, German, Russian, Polish, English, and Greek ancestry.

Source:

NOTE: This source contains all of the numerical information in the data above.

According to the 2006-2008 American Community Survey, the top ten European ancestries were the following:


 * Italian: 8.2%
 * Irish: 5.2%
 * German: 3.4%
 * Russian: 3.0%
 * Polish: 2.7%
 * English: 1.8%
 * Greek: 1.0%
 * French: 0.8%
 * Hungarian: 0.7%
 * Ukrainian: 0.6%

Other smaller European ancestries include:


 * Scottish: 0.5% (38,786)
 * Scotch-Irish: 0.3% (27,646)
 * Dutch: 0.3% (23,828)
 * Norwegian: 0.3% (23,197)
 * Swedish: 0.3% (21,073)

Source:

According to a 2001 study by Claritas, four of the city's five boroughs ranked among the nation's twenty most diverse counties. Queens ranked 1st, Brooklyn 3rd, Manhattan 7th, and The Bronx 17th. In addition, Hudson County and Essex County, New Jersey, both of which are part of the New York Metropolitan Area, ranked 6th and 15th, respectively.

The city has several demographically unique characteristics. Queens is the only large county in the United States where the median income among black households, about $52,000 a year, has surpassed that of whites. It is also the nation's most ethnically diverse county.

The New York City metropolitan area is home to the largest Jewish community outside Israel. It is also home to nearly a quarter of the nation's Indian American population, and the largest African American community of any city in the country. New York City, with about 800,000 Puerto Rican residents, has the largest Puerto Rican population outside of Puerto Rico. Another historically significant ethnic group are Italians, who emigrated to the city in large numbers in the early 20th century. New York City is home to the largest Italian American population in the United States. The Irish and Germans also have a notable presence.

Households
The 2000 census counted 3,021,588 households with a median income of $38,293. 30% of households had children under the age of 18, and 37% were married couples living together. 19% had a single female householder, and 39% were non-families. 32% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10% were single residents 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.59 persons, and the average family size was 3.32.

The age range was as follows: 24% were under the age of 18, 10% between 18 and 24, 33% between 25 to 44, 21% between 45 to 64, and 12% were 65 or older. The median age in New York City in 2000 was 34 years. For every 100 females there were 90 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86 males.

The borough of Manhattan is experiencing a "baby boom" that is unique among U.S. cities. Since 2000, the number of children under age 5 living in Manhattan grew by more than 32%. The increase is driven mostly by affluent white families with median household incomes over $300,000.

Income
Overall, the distribution of household income in New York City is characterized by tremendous disparities. This phenomenon is especially true of Manhattan, which in 2005 was home to the wealthiest U.S. census tract, with a household income of $188,697, as well as the poorest, where household income was $9,320. The disparity is driven in part by wage growth in high income brackets. In 2006 the average weekly wage in Manhattan was $1,453, the highest among the largest counties in the United States. Wages in Manhattan were the fastest growing among the nation's 10 largest counties. Among young adults in New York who work full time, women now earn more money than men—in 2005 approximately $5,000 more. Nationally, women's wages still lag behind men.

New York City's borough of Manhattan is the richest county in the United States. In particular, ZIP code 10021 on Manhattan's Upper East Side, with over 100,000 inhabitants and a per capita income of over $90,000, has one of the largest concentrations of extreme wealth in the United States. The so-called outer boroughs, especially Queens and Staten Island, have large middle class populations.

New York City's per capita income in 2000 was $22,402; men and women had a median income of $37,435 and $32,949 respectively. 21.2% of the population and 18.5% of families had incomes below the federal poverty line; 30.0% of this group were under the age of 18 and 17.8% were 65 and older.

The New Yorker who is listed as the richest individual, oil magnate David H. Koch, was worth an estimated $17 billion in October 2007. The poorest New Yorkers, 1.5 million people with incomes below the poverty line, are collectively worth less than Mr. Koch's net worth. Of Forbes Magazine's 400 richest Americans, 72 live in New York City, and they are each worth at least $1 billion. New York City's present mayor, Michael Bloomberg, is himself one of the nation's richest men. As of 2009 New York has regained the number one spot as the city with most billionaires (55), after losing out to Moscow in 2008.

New York City Income and Poverty in 2007

Population projections
New York has ranked first in population among American cities since the first census in 1790. New York will maintain this position, although there are varying forecasts on how much the population will increase. The most realistic population projections from the Department of City Planning anticipate a 1.1 million increase by 2030, bringing the city's population total to 9.1 million.

While the city's projected 2030 population will be a new high, only two boroughs, Staten Island and Queens have reached their population peak every year for the last 5 years. The study projects that by 2030, Queens will have 2.57 million people and Staten Island 552,000. Manhattan, with 1.83 million, Bronx with 1.46 million and Brooklyn with 2.72 million, will still be below their population peaks.

African Americans and foreign-born black people


According to the 2000 Census, New York City has the largest population of self-defined black residents of any U.S. city, with over 2 million within the city's boundaries. New York City had more Black people than the entire state of California until the 2000 Census. Many of the city´s black residents live in Brooklyn and The Bronx. Several of the city's neighborhoods are historical birthplaces of urban black culture in America, among them the Brooklyn neighborhood of Bedford–Stuyvesant and Manhattan's Harlem and various sections of Eastern Queens and The Bronx. Bedford-Stuyvesant is considered to have the highest concentration of black residents in the United States. New York City has the largest population of black immigrants (at 686,814) and descendants of immigrants from the Caribbean (especially from Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, Barbados, Guyana, Belize, Grenada, and Haiti), and of sub-Saharan Africans. In a news item of April 3, 2006, however, the New York Times noted that for the first time since the American Civil War, the recorded African American population was declining, because of emigration to other regions, a declining African American birthrate in New York, and decreased immigration of blacks from the Caribbean and Africa.

In 2005, the median income among black households in Queens was almost $52,000 a year, surpassing that of whites. However, while some of this is because of middle class African American neighboorhoods in Queens it also is because of white emigration from Queens and comparison to elderly whites who are left behind who may be on retirement or fixed incomes and no longer working.

Chinese
Main articles: Chinatown, Manhattan; Chinatown, Flushing; and Chinatown, Brooklyn The New York metropolitan area contains the largest ethnic Chinese population outside of Asia, enumerating 659,596 individuals as of the 2008 American Community Survey Census statistical data, including at least 6 Chinatowns, comprising the original Manhattan Chinatown, two in Queens (the Flushing Chinatown and the Elmhurst Chinatown), two in Brooklyn (the Sunset Park Chinatown and the Avenue U Chinatown), and one in Edison, New Jersey, not to mention fledgling ethnic Chinese enclaves emerging throughout the New York metropolitan area. Chinese Americans, as a whole, have had a (relatively) long tenure in New York City. The first Chinese immigrants came to Lower Manhattan around 1870, looking for the "gold" America had to offer. By 1880, the enclave around Five Points was estimated to have from 200 to as many as 1,100 members. However, the Chinese Exclusion Act, which went into effect in 1882, caused an abrupt decline in the number of Chinese who immigrated to New York and the rest of the United States. Later, in 1943, the Chinese were given a small quota, and the community's population gradually increased until 1968, when the quota was lifted and the Chinese American population skyrocketed. Manhattan's Chinatown is one of the largest Chinese communities outside of Asia. Within Manhattan's expanding Chinatown lies a "Little Fuzhou" on East Broadway and surrounding streets, occupied predominantly by immigrants from the Fujian Province of Mainland China. Areas surrounding the "Little Fuzhou" consist mostly of Cantonese immigrants from Guangdong Province, the earlier Chinese settlers, and in some areas moderately of Cantonese immigrants. In the past few years, however, the Cantonese dialect that has dominated Chinatown for decades is being rapidly swept aside by Mandarin Chinese, the national language of China and the lingua franca of most of the latest Chinese immigrants. The energy and population of Manhattan's Chinatown are fueled by relentless, massive immigration from Mainland China, both legal and illegal in origin, propagated in large part by New York's high density, extensive mass transit system, and huge economic marketplace.

The early settlers of Manhattan's Chinatown were mostly from Taishan and Hong Kong of the Guangdong Province of China, which are the Cantonese speakers, and also from Shanghai. They form most of the Chinese population of the area surrounded by Mott and Canal Streets. The later settlers, from Fuzhou, Fujian, form the Chinese population of the area bounded by East Broadway. Chinatown's modern borders are roughly Grand Street on the north, Broadway on the west, Chrystie Street on the east, and East Broadway to the south. The Flushing Chinatown, in the Flushing area of the borough of Queens in New York City, is one of the largest and fastest growing ethnic Chinese enclaves outside of Asia, as well as within New York City itself. Main Street and the area to its west, particularly along Roosevelt Avenue, have become the primary nexus of Flushing Chinatown. However, Chinatown continues to expand southeastward along Kissena Boulevard and northward beyond Northern Boulevard. In the 1970s, a Chinese community established a foothold in the neighborhood of Flushing, whose demographic constituency had been predominantly non-Hispanic white. Taiwanese began the surge of immigration, followed by other groups of Chinese. By 1990, Asians constituted 41% of the population of the core area of Flushing, with Chinese in turn representing 41% of the Asian population. However, ethnic Chinese are constituting an increasingly dominant proportion of the Asian population as well as of the overall population in Flushing and its Chinatown. A 1986 estimate by the Flushing Chinese Business Association approximated 60,000 Chinese in Flushing alone. Mandarin Chinese, Fuzhou dialect, Min Nan Fujianese, Wenzhounese, Shanghainese, Cantonese, Taiwanese, and English are all prevalently spoken in Flushing Chinatown. Even the relatively obscure Dongbei style of cuisine indigenous to Northeast China is now available in Flushing Chinatown. Given its rapidly growing status, the Flushing Chinatown may surpass in size and population the original New York City Chinatown in the borough of Manhattan within a few years, and it is debatable whether this has already happened. By 1988, 90% of the storefronts on Eighth Avenue in Sunset Park, Brooklyn, were abandoned. Chinese immigrants then moved into this area, not only new arrivals from China, but also members of Manhattan's Chinatown, seeking refuges from high rents, who fled to the cheap property costs and rents of Sunset Park and formed the Brooklyn Chinatown, which now extends for 20 blocks along 8th Avenue, from 42nd to 62nd Streets. This relatively new but rapidly growing Chinatown located in Sunset Park was originally settled by Cantonese immigrants like Manhattan's Chinatown in the past. However, in the recent decade, an influx of Fuzhou immigrants has been pouring into Brooklyn's Chinatown and supplanting the Cantonese at a significantly higher rate than in Manhattan's Chinatown, and Brooklyn's Chinatown is now home to mostly Fuzhou immigrants. In the past, during the 1980s and 1990s, the majority of newly arriving Fuzhou immigrants were settling within Manhattan's Chinatown, and the first Little Fuzhou community emerged in New York City within Manhattan's Chinatown; by the first decade of the 21st century, however, the epicenter of the massive Fuzhou influx had shifted to Brooklyn Chinatown, which is now home to the fastest growing and perhaps largest Fuzhou population in New York City. Unlike the Little Fuzhou in the Manhattan Chinatown, which remains surrounded by areas which continue to house significant populations of Cantonese, all of Brooklyn's Chinatown is swiftly consolidating into New York City's new Little Fuzhou. Also in contrast to Manhattan's Chinatown, which still successfully continues to carry a large Cantonese population and retain the large Cantonese community established decades ago in the western section of Manhattan's Chinatown, where Cantonese residents have a communal gathering venue to shop, work, and socialize, Brooklyn Chinatown is very quickly losing its Cantonese community identity.

Elmhurst, another neighborhood in Queens, also has a large Chinese community. Previously a small area with Chinese shops on Broadway between 81st Street and Cornish Avenue, this new Chinatown in Elmhurst, Queens has now expanded to 45th Avenue and Whitney Avenue.

Avenue U in Homecrest, Brooklyn supports New York City's newest Chinatown, as evidenced by the growing number of Chinese-run fruit markets, restaurants, beauty and nail salons, and computer and general electronics dealers.


 * Chinatown, Manhattan
 * Chinatown, Flushing
 * Chinatown, Brooklyn
 * Elmhurst, Queens
 * Avenue U, Brooklyn

Colombian
Colombians have come in small numbers to New York City since the 1960s. The major exodus of Colombians from Colombia came in the early 1980s when many of Colombias cities were facing hardships from drug traffickers, crime and lack of emplyoment. 75% of Colombians in New York City live in Queens, specifically in Jackson Heights, Corona, Elmhurst and Murray Hill.

Dominican
Immigration records of Dominicans in the United States date from the late 19th century, and New York City has had a Dominican community since the 1930s. From the 1960s onward, after the fall of the Rafael Trujillo military regime, large waves of migration have thoroughly transnationalized the Dominican Republic, metaphorically blurring its frontier with the United States.

The most recent data released by the U.S. Census Bureau for 2007 indicate that New York City’s Dominican population decreased by 1.3% from 2006, and this is the first time since the 1980s this has occurred, they continued as New York’s second largest national group (602,093) and 25.8% of all Latinos.

Areas with high a concentration of Dominicans are in Washington Heights, Corona, and certain areas in the Bronx. Certain areas seeing an increasing number of Dominicans are in Bushwick, Brooklyn and Ridgewood, Queens.

Filipino
New York City is home to about 68,000 Filipinos. Immigration from the Philippines began mainly after 1965, when immigration quotas that prevented Filipino immigration for many years were abolished. While there was earlier immigration from the Philippines, it was in low numbers and mainly concentrated in Hawaii and California. Since then, Filipinos have settled in Northeastern cities, mainly in New York City. Most of these immigrants have been professionals (doctors, nurses, other medical professions, accountants and engineers).

New York City annually hosts the Philippine Independence Day Parade, which is traditionally held on the first Sunday of June at Madison Avenue. The celebration occupies nearly twenty-seven city blocks which includes a 3.5-hour parade and an all-day long street fair and cultural performances.

A "Little Manila" can be found in Woodside, in the borough of Queens.

Filipinos are also concentrated in Jackson Heights and Elmhurst. There are also smaller Filipino communities in Jamaica and parts of Brooklyn. The Benigno Aquino triangle is located in Hillside Avenue of Hollis to commemorate the large Filipino American population in the area.

Queens Village is seeing a growing Filipino population.

German

 * See also: German Americans

Carl Schurz, a refugee from the unsuccessful first German democratic revolution of 1848, served as United States Secretary of the Interior and as United States Senator from Missouri. Carl Schurz Park in Manhattan is named after him.

The influence of German immigration can still be felt in areas of New York City. The Yorkville neighborhood on the Upper East Side of Manhattan was a center of German-American culture. As of the 2000 census 255,536 New Yorkers reported German ancestry.

In the middle of the 19th century, Little Germany, in what is now termed Alphabet City, was the first non-English-speaking urban enclave in the United States.

Greeks
Greek immigration to New York City began mainly in the 1890s. The push factors for immigration were hardship under Ottoman rule, the Balkan Wars and World War I. Greek immigration to New York City took place between 1890 until around 1917. In the latter years more women arrived and communities began to grow, especially in Astoria, Queens. Greeks again began to arrive in large numbers after 1945, as they fled the economic devastation caused by World War II and the Greek Civil War.

In the first immigration wave, most of the Greek immigrants were men. Many of them worked in industrial labor jobs and others created a niche in the fur business. This immigration wave brought 450,000 Greeks to the Northeast, largely concentrated in New York City. The second immigration wave taking place after 1945 and 1982, was smaller with a total of 211,000 immigrants, mostly within the Northeast. However, new immigrants helped revive assimilating Greek communities and added new energy to a sense of ethnic identity.

The largest concentration of Greeks can still be found in Astoria. The Greek community there was established in the early 20th century immigration. The neighborhood still has many Greek food stores and restaurants. Residents of Greek descent make up 1.0% of New York City's population.

Irish
The Irish community is one of New York's major ethnic groups and has been a significant proportion of the City's population since the waves of immigration in the mid-19th century. New York City's St. Patrick's Day Parade dates to 1762.

During the Irish Potato Famine (1845–1849), Irish families were forced to emigrate from the country. By 1854, between 1.5 and 2 million people left Ireland. In the United States, most Irish became city dwellers as that was where work was. In addition, arriving with little money, many settled in the cities at which their ships made port. By 1850, the Irish made up a quarter of the population in Boston, New York City, Philadelphia, and Baltimore. Their arrival in the United States before other waves of Catholic immigrants meant that ethnic Irish long dominated the Roman Catholic Church in America. They created a strong network of churches and parochial schools to support their communities.

The Irish have long played a significant role in city politics, the Roman Catholic Church, and the New York City Fire Department and Police Department. As of the 2000 census, 420,810 New Yorkers reported Irish ancestry.

According to a 2006 genetic survey by Trinity College in Dublin, Ireland, about one in 50 New Yorkers of European origin carry a distinctive genetic signature on their Y chromosomes inherited from Niall of the Nine Hostages, an Irish high king of the 5th century A.D.


 * Woodlawn, Bronx, New York
 * Woodside, Queens, New York
 * Maspeth, Queens, New York
 * Sunnyside, Queens, New York
 * North Riverdale, Bronx
 * Riverdale, Bronx
 * Bay Ridge, Brooklyn
 * Marine Park, Brooklyn
 * Gerritsen Beach, Brooklyn
 * Vinegar Hill, Brooklyn
 * Belle Harbor, Queens
 * Breezy Point, Queens
 * Rockaway Beach, Queens
 * Roxbury, Queens
 * St. George, Staten Island
 * Middle Village, Queens, New York

Italian

 * See also: Italian-Americans



New York City has a large population of Italian Americans, many of whom inhabit ethnic enclaves in Brooklyn, the Bronx, Queens, and Staten Island.

The largest wave of Italian immigration to the United States took place in the late 19th century and early 20th century. Between 1820 and 1978, 5.3 million Italians immigrated to the United States, including over two million between 1900 and 1910. Only the Irish and Germans immigrated in larger numbers. Italian families first settled in Little Italy's neighborhoods, the first and most famous one being the one around Mulberry Street, in Manhattan. This settlement, however, is rapidly becoming part of the adjacent Chinatown as the older Italian residents die and their children move elsewhere. As of the 2000 census, 692,739 New Yorkers reported Italian ancestry, making them the largest European ethnic group in the city. New York metropolitan area is home to 3,372,512 Italians, which is among the largest concentration in the world after Sao Paulo, Buenos Aires, Milan and Rome metropolitan areas.

Italian communities in New York hold some widely attended celebrations and parades, including feasts for regional patron saints, most notably Feast of San Gennaro (September 19) by those claiming Neapolitan heritage, and Santa Rosalia (September 4) by Sicilians. Columbus Day is also widely celebrated in these communities.


 * Arthur Avenue (Bronx), New York
 * Bensonhurst, Brooklyn, New York
 * Morris Park, Bronx, New York
 * Cobble Hill, Brooklyn, New York
 * Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn, New York
 * Mulberry Street, Manhattan (New York's Little Italy)
 * Pleasant Avenue, East Harlem, Manhattan, New York
 * Howard Beach, Queens, New York
 * Staten Island, New York
 * Mill Basin, Brooklyn,New York
 * Whitestone, Queens,New York
 * Ozone Park, Queens,New York
 * Bergen Beach, Brooklyn,New York

Jewish


The New York metropolitan area is home to the largest Jewish population in the world outside Israel. The New York metropolitan area's Jewish population in 2001 was approximately 1.97 million, 600,000 fewer than in Israel's largest metropolitan area, denoted as Gush Dan. In 2002, an estimated 972,000 Ashkenazic Jews lived in New York City and constituted about 12% of the city's population. New York City is also home to the world headquarters of the Hasidic Chabad-Lubavitch group and the Bobover and Satmar branches of Hasidism, ultra-Orthodox sects of Judaism.

The Jewish presence in New York City dates to the 17th century, when a Jewish community relocated from Recife in Brazil, seeking freedom of worship. Major immigration of Jews to New York began in the 1880s, with the increase of antisemitic actions in Central and Eastern Europe. The number of Jews in New York City soared throughout the beginning of the 20th century and reached a peak of 2 million in the 1950s, when Jews constituted one-quarter of the city's population. New York City's Jewish population then began to decline because of low fertility rates and migration to suburbs and other states, particularly California and Florida. A new wave of Ashkenazi, Bukharian, and Georgian Jewish immigrants from the former Soviet Union began arriving in the 1980s and 1990s. Sephardic Jews including Syrian and other Jews of non-European origin have also lived in New York City since the 17th century. Many Jews, including the newer immigrants, have settled in Queens, south Brooklyn, and the Bronx, where at present most live in middle-class neighborhoods such as Riverdale.

19th-century Jewish immigrants settled mainly in the tenement houses of the Lower East Side of Manhattan. Today New York City's Jewish population is dispersed among all the boroughs; Brooklyn's Jewish population in 2003 was estimated as 456,000, and Manhattan's as 243,000.

While three-quarters of New York Jews do not consider themselves religiously observant, the Orthodox community is rapidly growing due to the high birthrates of Hasidic sects, while the numbers of Conservative and Reform Jews are declining.

Like the Irish, the Jewish community has played an important role in New York City's politics; Jewish voters traditionally vote in large numbers and have often supported politically liberal policies.

Polish
Polish immigration to New York City began at the end of the 19th century. In the 1980s, as a result of the Polish government's crackdown on the burgeoning Solidarnosc labor and political movement, Polish migration to the U.S. swelled. Polish-Americans and Polish immigrants in the city generally reside in Brooklyn (Greenpoint and Williamsburg) *Ridgewood, Queens, & *Maspeth, Queens. The combined neighborhood of Greenpoint/Williamsburg is sometimes referred to as "Little Poland" because of its large population of primarily working-class Polish immigrants, reportedly the second largest concentration in the United States, after Chicago. As of the 2000 census, 213,447 New Yorkers reported Polish ancestry.

Polish-American culture and press

New York is home to a number of Polish and Polish-American cultural, community, and scientific institutions, including the Polish Institute of Arts and Sciences of America (PIASA) and the Polish Cultural Institute. Polish-language publications with circulation reaching outside the city include The Polish Review, an English-language scholarly journal published since 1956 by PIASA; Nowy Dziennik, founded in 1971, considered the leading Polish-language daily newspaper in the U.S.; and Polska Gazeta , a Polish-language daily newspaper with headquarters in Brooklyn. The Polish Newspaper SuperExpress, covering New York, New Jersey & Connecticut started publication in 1996.

 Polish TV in the USA 
 * Dish Network
 * KinoPolska-604
 * Polsat 2-607
 * ITVN-608
 * TVN24-609
 * DirecTV
 * Polonia-2171
 * TVinfo-2172
 * Polskie Radio1-2174
 * Polskie Radio3-2172
 * Tele5-2713

 Pulaski Day Parade

Pulaski Day Parade in New York on Fifth Avenue has been celebrated since 1937 to commemorate Kazimierz Pułaski, a Polish hero of the American Revolutionary War. It closely coincides with the October 11 General Pulaski Memorial Day, a national observance of his death at the Siege of Savannah. In these parades march Polish dancers, Polish soccer teams and their mascots, Polish Scouts - ZHP and Polish school ambassadors and representatives, such as Mikolaj Pastorino (Nicholas Pastorino) and Lech Wałęsa. The Pulaski Day Parade is one of the largest parades in New York City.

It is held on the first Sunday of October. In 2008 it was held on October 5.

Puerto Rican
New York City has the largest Puerto Rican population outside of Puerto Rico. Puerto Ricans, because of the changing citizenship status of the island's residents, can technically be said to have come to the City first as immigrants and subsequently as migrants. The first group of Puerto Ricans moved to New York in the mid-19th century, when Puerto Rico was a Spanish colony and its people Spanish subjects. The following wave of Puerto Ricans to move to New York did so after the Spanish-American War of 1898 made Puerto Rico a U.S. possession and after the Jones-Shafroth Act of 1917 gave Puerto Ricans U.S. citizenship, which allows travel without the need of a passport between the island and the United States mainland. The largest wave of migration came in the 1950s, in what became known as "The Great Migration"; as a result, more than a million Puerto Ricans once called New York City home. Presently the Puerto Rican population is around 800,000.

Puerto Ricans have historically lived in neighborhoods such as  the Lower East Side (known in the  community as Loisaida), Spanish Harlem (East Harlem) and Williamsburg, Brooklyn since the  1950s.

Romanian

 * See also: Romanian Americans

The Romanian community of New York City is the largest such community in North America. The 2000 Census reported 161,900 Romanians were living in New York City. They are mainly concentrated in The Bronx, as well as in parts of Manhattan and Staten Island. The Romanian Day Festival, for which the City closes a section of Broadway, demonstrates the strong sense of community of Romanians living in New York.

Russian
New York City contains a very large, and growing Russian population.

South Asian
According to 2007 American Community Survey estimates, New York City is home to approximately 315,000 people from the Indian subcontinent, which includes the countries of India (236,117), Pakistan (39,002), Bangladesh (34,332), and Sri Lanka (5,010). South Asians constitute 3.8% of New York City's population. A majority of the South Asian residents are concentrated in Queens neighborhoods such as Jackson Heights, Flushing, Glen Oaks, Kew Gardens, and Elmhurst. In the borough of Queens, the South Asian population is approximately 186,000, where they constitute 8.2% of the population. South Asians from the Caribbean majority from Guyana, Trinidad, and a small number from Jamaica are also large in number.

Ukrainian
New York City contains a large and growing Ukrainian population. New York's Ukrainian population was traditionally centered around the East Village in Manhattan, as well as Little Odessa, also known as Brighton Beach, in Brooklyn. Urban flight and recent waves of new immigration have spread Ukrainians throughout the boroughs, with a heavy concentration in Brooklyn.