New York City is one of the most ethnically diverse cities in the world, and has a long history of absorbing immigrants from nations all over the globe.

German New York

See also: German Americans

Heavy German immigration to the United States occurred between 1848 and World War I, during which time nearly 6 million Germans immigrated to the U.S. The Germans became widespread throughout the Northern half of the country, especially the Midwestern states. Today German-Americans are the largest self-reported ethnic group in the United States.

Carl Schurz, a refugee from the unsuccessful first German democratic revolution of 1848 (see also German Confederation), served as U.S. Secretary of the Interior. Carl Shurz 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.

Little Germany, in what is now Alphabet city was in the middle of the nineteenth century the first non English Speaking urban enclave in the United States.

Irish New York

see also: Irish American 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 late 1800s.

As a result of the potato famine in Ireland, many Irish families were forced to emigrate from the country. By 1854, between 1.5 and 2 million Irish left their country. In the United States, most Irish became city-dwellers. With little money, many had to settle in the cities that the ships they came on landed in. By 1850, the Irish made up a quarter of the population in Boston, New York City, Philadelphia, and Baltimore.

Italians in New York

See also: Italian-American

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 in the years 1900-1910 alone. Only the Irish and Germans immigrated in larger numbers. In the 2000 US Census , Italian-Americans constituted the sixth largest ancestry group in America with about 16 million people (5.3% of the total U.S. population).

In some Italian-American communities, Saint Joseph's Day March 19) is marked with celebrations and parades. Columbus Day is also widely celebrated in these communities, as are the feasts of some regional Italian patron saints, most notably San Gennaro (September 19) by those claiming Neapolitan heritage, and Santa Rosalia (September 4) by Sicilians.

Italian families first settled in Little Italies neighborouds, the most famous one being the one around Mulberry street, in Manhattan. However, since the 1960s, Italian-American families tend to spread to the suburbs, mainly Westchester county, Nassau (where a quarter of the population is of Italian origins), and in Staten Island, with almost half of the Borough residents having Italian blood.

• Bensonhurst, Brooklyn, New York
• Cobble Hill, Brooklyn, New York
• Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn, New York
• Manhattan Beach, Brooklyn, New York
• Mulberry Street, Manhattan (New York's Little Italy)
• Pleasant Avenue, East Harlem, Manhattan, New York
• Arthur Avenue, Bronx, New York

Jewish Community

See also: American Jews.

New York City is home to the nation's largest community of American Jews, with an estimate of 972,000 in 2002 (12% of the city's population). The city also contains the worldwide headquarters of the Hasidic Lubavitch sect and the Bobover and Satmar branches of Hasidism.

The Jewish presence in the City dates back to the 1600's, when a Jewish community relocated from Recife seeking freedom of worship.

Major immigration of Jews in New York started in the 1880s, with the increase of anti-semitism in Central and Eastern Europe. Therefore, the number of Jews in New York soared throughout the begining of the 20th Century to reach a peak of 2,000,000 Jews in New York in the 1950s, then one-quarter of the city's population. This number has since plummeted because of a low fertility rate and migration to other states (mainly California and Florida) and the suburbs.

The first Jewish immigrants setteled mainly in the Lower East Side's slums, but now Jews live almost everywhere in the city: Brooklyn's Jewish population is estimated in 2003 at 456,000, and Manhattan's at 243,000. The most recent wave of Jewish immigrants to New York occurred in the 1980s and the 1990s, with immigration from the former Soviet Union (mainly Russia and Ukraine to south Brooklyn.

While a quarter of New York Jews are not religious, the Orthodox community is rapidly growing, while the numbers of Conservative and Reform Jews are declining.

Like the Irish, the Jewish community has an important role in the city's politics: Indeed, Jews traditionally vote in important numbers, and the community has mainly supported politically liberal ideas.

Chinese in New York

See also Chinese American and Chinatown,_Manhattan.

Current Demographics

As of the census2 of 2000, there are 8,008,278 people, 3,021,588 households, and 1,852,233 families residing in the city. The population density is 10,194.2/km² (26,402.9/mi²). There are 3,200,912 housing units at an average density of 4,074.6/km² (10,553.2/mi²). The racial makeup of the city is 44.66% White, 26.59% Black or African American, 0.52% Native American, 9.83% Asian, 0.07% Pacific Islander, 13.42% from other races, and 4.92% from two or more races. 26.98% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race. 35.9% of the population is foreign born (18.9% born in Latin America, 8.6% Asia, 7.0% Europe).

There are 3,021,588 households with a median income of $38,293; 29.7% contain children under the age of 18 and 37.2% are married couples living together. 19.1% have a single female householder, and 38.7% are non-families. 31.9% of all households are made up of individuals and 9.9% are single residents 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 2.59 and the average family size is 3.32.

Per capita income is $22,402; men and women have a median income of $37,435 and $32,949 respectively. 21.2% of the population and 18.5% of families are below the poverty line, of whom 30.0% are under the age of 18 and 17.8% are 65 and older.

In the city the population is spread out with 24.2% under the age of 18, 10.0% from 18 to 24, 32.9% from 25 to 44, 21.2% from 45 to 64, and 11.7% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 34 years. For every 100 females there are 90.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 85.9 males.