Harlem Information

East Harlem reached its historic population high of 210,000 in 1950. Since then, the population began a steady, and sometimes precipitous decline. Today, its population is 110,508. As Figure I indicates, the rate of population decreased dramatically during 1980-1990 as compared to previous decades.

After the fiscal crises of the 1970s, Manhattan slowly began to gain some of the population it had lost (up 4.1 percent from 1980 to 1990) as did New York City (up 3.5 percent from 1980 to 1990). East Harlem, however, continued its population decline (down 3.5 percent from 1980 to 1990).

In comparison to Manhattan and New York City, East Harlem has a significantly higher percentage of its population made up of young people. According to the 1990 U.S. Census, East Harlem contained 25,490 children of school age (ages 5-19) in 1990, comprising 23 percent of the District's total population. This compares to 14 percent of the total population for Manhattan and 19 percent for New York City.

Although the percentage of all youth under 20 years of age actually declined from 35.1 percent in 1980 to 31.2 percent in 1990, the percentage of children under five years of age has increased from 7.1 percent (in 1980) to 8.2 percent (in 1990), which represents an I I percent gain.

The percentage of residents over 65 years increased from 10.4 percent in 1980 to 11. 5 percent in 1990. Much of the increase was found in two categories: females over 65 years and all persons over 75 years. Nevertheless, the number and percentage of senior citizens in East Harlem, as well as the median age, are lower than found in the borough of Manhattan or New York City. The median age went up slightly from 29.4 years in 1980 to 30.6 years in 1990.

In keeping with the historic trend of succession and dispersal that has characterized the growth of East Harlem, a dramatic shift has occurred in ethnic composition between 1970 and 1990. The population was roughly balanced in 1970 between three ethnic groups: whites, blacks and Latinos. By 1990, Latinos, emerged as the predominant population with 53 percent, while blacks grew to 39 percent.

Although district-wide U.S. Census data describe East Harlem's diverse ethnicity, US Census tract data reveals population concentrations within the district. Map 2 shows that the northern portion of East Harlem (above 125th Street) has a predominantly black population, while the southern portion, known as Spanish Harlem or El Barrio, has a predominantly Latino population. The white population is Largely clustered in Census tracts located in the southwest comer of the community district near 96th Street and Central Park.

Within the Latino population there has also been a compositional shift. The number of Puerto Ricans has decreased slightly from 1980 to 1990. At the same time, non-Puerto Rican Latinos have almost doubled from 6,824 in 1980 to 12,161 in 1990.

Immigration data for this area confirms this change. The number of foreign born residents increased from 8.6 percent in 1980 to 11. 1 percent in 1990. There is one notable change in the foreign born population: in 1980, the majority of those foreign born were US citizens (61 percent), but in 1990 the majority of the those foreign born (62 percent) were not.

Caution must be used with all population data, since the 1990 U. S. Census count missed a significant number of immigrants unwilling to participate in the population count as well as in income reporting.