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Census Says: NYC Population Barely Budged In Ten Years
By
Garth Johnston
Published Mar 24, 2011
Modified Mar 25, 2011
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By
Garth Johnston
Published Mar 24, 2011
Modified Mar 25, 2011
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The 2010 Census numbers were released today and already they are causing consternation in City Hall. According to the Census the city only grew by 166,855 people (or 2.1 percent) since 2000 to a total of 8,175,133 and our mayor is not amused. He and the city think the numbers are off by as much as a quarter million.
"We don't quite understand the numbers," Mayor Bloomberg said at City Hall this morning. "For example, the Census Bureau determined the population of Queens increased by only 1,300 people...Think about that—1,300 people over 10 years. I’m not criticizing them, but it doesn’t make any sense."
And Bloomie wasn't the only pol pissed. "I’m flabbergasted, I know they made a big, big mistake," Brooklyn Beep Marty Markowitz announced today. And in a press release Manhattan Beep Scott Stringer called the numbers "preposterous," and adding that "the impact of this undercounting has severe ramifications for the city, when it comes to redistricting and the distribution of crucial social services to those most in need." According to the Census, Brooklyn only grew by 1.6 percent (to 2,504,700 people) in the past decade while Manhattan reportedly grew by 3.2 (to 1,585,873 people).
What is suspicious about the new numbers, according to Joseph Salvo of the City Planning Department, is that they say the city's population only rose by about 166,000 since 2000 while at the same time the number of homes and apartments in town grew by 170,000. For what it is worth, the city successfully appealed the Census's 1990 numbers for the city and five years ago city demographers persuaded the Census Bureau to up its 2005 estimate to 8.2 million. The city has not decided if it will appeal again.
Other interesting stats include the fact there are now more than one million Asians in the city, with that ethnic group making up 12.6 percent of the population. The Hispanic population also grew, by 8 percent, to make up 28.6 percent of the city's mix. Meanwhile the population of non-Hispanic blacks declined by 5 percent to 22.8 percent of the population and the population of non-Hispanic whites dropped 2.8 percent to 33.3 percent of the population. You can check out all of the city specific numbers below:
Finally, here are some fun tools from the Census Bureau you can explore the New York State numbers with:
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Garth Johnston
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