Bronx Demographics

Location of the Bronx (yellow) in New York City (the airports La Guardia in the north and JF Kennedy in the south are colored blue).

The Bronx is the fourth largest of the five boroughs of New York City with 1,385,108 inhabitants (as of April 1, 2010 ) . With a land area of ​​108.8 km², this corresponds to a population density of 12,731 inhabitants per km². The annual population growth is 0.39% (average 2000–2010).

Population development

The Bronx experienced rapid population growth until the early 20th century. In the middle of the 19th century the Bronx still had about 20,000 inhabitants. In the 1890s the population exceeded 100,000, 30 years later one million. Since the 1930s, population growth has been significantly weaker and in some cases also declining. Today's population of just under 1.4 million is roughly the same as in 1940.

Population groups and origins

Geographical distribution of the population groups in the Bronx

Geographical distribution of poverty in the Bronx. In the southwest quadrant, the South Bronx, predominantly inhabited by Hispanics .

In the Bronx numerous different population and groups of origin, however, as in the United States usually largely in their own neighborhoods (live Neighborhoods live). The population consists mainly of Hispanics and blacks; Whites are a relatively small minority in the Bronx. Due to continued high immigration, 42.1% of all residents were born outside the United States, with the majority of immigrants coming from the Caribbean. The proportion of foreigners in the Bronx is 19.4% (ACS 2010).

Hispanics make up the majority of the Bronx with a share of 53.5%. According to skin color, it is 17.0% white, 6.4% black, 4.1% mixed race, 1.1% Indians and native people of Alaska , 0.2% have another and the remaining 24.7% none assigned to the specified skin color. With a population of 21.6%, the Puerto Ricans are the largest group of origin. However, their share is decreasing as immigration from Puerto Rico has declined sharply over the past few decades. Immigration, on the other hand, has shifted to the relatively less prosperous countries in Latin America, with the result that the proportions of Dominicans (17.4%) and Mexicans (5.1% or 71,200 people) have increased significantly. Latinos also include the 23,200 Ecuadorians living in the Bronx , 18,000 Hondurans , 8,800 Cubans , 4,600 Guatemalans , 4,600 Colombians and 4,000 Spanish (Census 2010). The structurally weak southwestern half of the Bronx is particularly dominated by Hispanics. Community District 2 has the highest proportion of Hispanics at 75.8%, while Community District 12 has the lowest with 18.5% ( Census 2000 ).

Blacks and African Americans are the largest population group with a share of 36.5% according to skin color, of which 30.1% are non-Hispanic blacks (Census 2010). 106,000 people or 7.6% of the population are West Indians (not including Spanish-speaking countries), including 57,200 Jamaicans (4.1%), 6,500 Haitians , 5,400 British West Indians and 4,200 Trinidadian and Tobago people . Brooklyn is also home to 60,200 immigrants from sub-Saharan Africa (4.3%), including 14,400 Ghanaians , 3,800 Nigerians and 2,400 Senegalese (ACS 2010). Most of the Afro-American neighborhoods are in the north of the Bronx. Community District 12 has the highest proportion of non-Hispanic blacks with 65.9%, and Community District 8 has the lowest with 12.0% (Census 2000).

27.9% of the population are white, including 10.9% non-Hispanic white (Census 2010). This makes the Bronx a majority-minority county , meaning that non-Hispanic whites make up less than half of the county's population. The most common European groups of origin are Italians with 55,300 people (4.0%), 33,700 Irish (2.4%), 20,200 Germans (1.5%), 10,400 Russians , 9,500 Albanians , 6,500 Poles , 6,300 English , 4,100 French and under other 1,600 Austrians . Furthermore, 5,100 Arabs live in Brooklyn (most of them Egyptians ), who are typically also counted among the whites (ACS 2010). Regardless of national origin, over 40% of non-Hispanic whites are Jewish . The predominantly white neighborhoods are located in the east and northwest of the Bronx. Community District 10 has the highest proportion of non-Hispanic whites with 48.4%, and Community District 3 has the lowest with 1.0% (Census 2000).

73,200 people or 5.3% of the population describe themselves as mixed race, that is, two or more races were stated in the survey. These are 4.1% Hispanics and 1.2% non-Hispanics. According to skin color, 11,400 are mulattos (with black and white ancestors, 0.8%), 4,300 are zambos (black and Indian ancestors), 21,700 have whites and members of an "other race" as ancestors (1.6%), 13,400 have blacks and "other race" ancestors (1.0%), 3,600 have Native American and "other race" ancestors, and 13,100 have ancestors of combinations of two other races. 5,800 people have given ancestors of three or more races. According to the American understanding, the assignment to a race corresponds more to the feeling of belonging to a social group than to making a statement about the exact genetic origin. Because of this sense of identity of the population groups, many mixed race only assign themselves to one race, so that the actual proportion is likely to be much higher. Above all, the group of "other races", to which 25.3% of all residents have assigned themselves, contains a high proportion of mongrels. The same applies to African Americans (for further information see there).

With 49,600 people or a share of 3.6% of the total population, Asians form a small but growing minority. Among them, Indians are the largest group with 15,900 people, furthermore 7,300 Bangladeshis , 6,600 Chinese , 5,600 Filipinos , 3,200 Vietnamese , 2,800 Koreans and 2,400 Pakistanis (Census 2010). Community District 12 has the highest proportion of Asians (including Pacific islanders) with 15.3%, the lowest in Community District 2 with 0.4% (Census 2000).

Until the middle of the 20th century, the population of the Bronx consisted almost exclusively of whites (1940: 98.3%). After that, especially from the 1960s onwards, there was an extensive population exchange known as white flight . The proportion of non-Hispanic whites declined more and more due to the heavy immigration of blacks and Latin Americans in connection with the departure of the white population. The South Bronx , which historically was a working-class neighborhood mainly inhabited by white Jews, was hardest hit by this development . The immigration of blacks and Puerto Ricans from the 1950s onwards was associated with impoverishment and an increase in crime, which made the area known as a slum in the national media. While the influx of African-Americans and Puerto Ricans in the Bronx largely ceased in the 1980s, Mexicans, Dominicans and Africans have increased in recent years.

The tables below provide detailed information on the population of the Bronx. All data are based on surveys conducted by the United States Census Bureau .

languages

Spanish (47.0%) and English (42.6%) are the main speakers in the Bronx . Due to the immigration of Latin Americans, the proportion of Spanish has increased steadily over the last few decades, while the proportion of English speakers is declining. However, English is still the more common lingua franca, as more than half of Spanish speakers speak English as a second language. The remaining 10.4% are in other languages, including 3.5% European, 3.4% Asian and 2.7% African languages. The number of German speakers has been falling sharply for decades. At present, 841 people or 0.07% of the population still speak German as their mother tongue. Indigenous American languages are used by 570 people (0.04%) in the Bronx.

Overall, 75.3% of the Bronx's residents report using English as a first or second language. Accordingly, the proportion of people who do not speak English very well, at 24.7%, is well above the American average (8.6%). The distribution of English proficiency is very different among the population groups. Values ​​of over 90% for English native speakers and over 99% for all people who have a very good command of English are only achieved by groups of origin from English-speaking countries such as Irish and Jamaicans. African Americans and Italians also have relatively good command of English. English is the least widely spoken by Mexicans, Ecuadorians, and Dominicans. In these groups, the proportion of native speakers is less than 5% and, including bilinguals, less than 50%.

Religions

The largest denomination in the Bronx is the Roman Catholic Church with a share of 43.7%. A further 6.3% of the population are Jews and 5.0% Protestants of various directions. 43.7% of the respondents are non-denominational or have not assigned themselves to any of the religions recorded.

Economic situation and education

The Bronx is one of the structurally weak counties in the United States. The annual per capita income of 17,564  US dollars is well below the national average of 27,100 US dollars. In addition, prosperity is very unevenly distributed among the various population groups. The white minority is on average by far the richest group. Blacks and Asians have slightly above-average incomes, the poorest group are Hispanics. Of the statistically recorded groups of origin, Irish are the wealthiest and Mexicans are the poorest, with the income of the former being on average more than three times that of the latter.

The proportion of people living below the poverty line in the Bronx is 27.7%, twice the American average (13.6%). Mexicans (39.9%) and Puerto Ricans (36.8%) are most likely to experience poverty, while white people are least likely to be affected (11.9%). The unemployment rate , at 10.8%, is also significantly higher than the United States as a whole (7.5%). The lowest unemployment is found among whites (6.5%) and Asians (6.8%), and the highest among Puerto Ricans (12.8%) and blacks (12.0%).

The level of education in the Bronx is well below the American average as measured by school leaving certificates. Of those aged 25 and over, 68.8% have a high school degree (USA: 84.9%) and 18.2% have a bachelor’s degree (USA: 27.8%). Asians and whites in general have the best education. Blacks are mostly above average, while Hispanics are the least educated. Of the statistically recorded groups of origin, Irish and sub-Saharan Africans are most likely to have a high school degree, while Asians are most likely to have a bachelor's degree. Mexicans have the worst education for both high school and undergraduate degrees. Asians, on average, are almost nine times more likely to have a bachelor's degree than Mexicans.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q} American Fact Finder: 2010 Census , accessed January 27, 2012
2. ↑ (1) 1860-1990: Article on Population by Nathan Kantrowitz in The Encyclopedia of New York City , edited by Kenneth T. Jackson ( Yale University Press , 1995, ISBN 0-300-05536-6 , cited by the United States Census Bureau The estimates for the censuses up to and including 1910 are the population for the areas that now represent Bronx County.
   (2) 1920–1990: Population of Counties by Decennial Census: 1900 to 1990, compiled and edited by Richard L. Forstall , Population Division, US Bureau of the Census , United States Census Bureau , Washington, DC 20233, March 27, 1995, accessed June 28, 2008
3. ^ US Census Bureau: Population Finder , accessed October 31, 2010
4. ↑ ^{a b c d e f g h i j} Data Sets 2000 Census , accessed on November 19, 2009
5. ↑ ^{a b c d e f} Data Sets 1990 Census , accessed on November 19, 2009
6. ↑ ^{a b} Historical Census Statistics On Population Totals , accessed November 19, 2009
7. ^ Association of Religion Data Archives , accessed October 26, 2010