Demographic history of New York City

The racial and ethnic history of New York City has varied widely; from its sale to the Dutch by Native American residents, to the modern multi-cultural period.

The population of New York City was over 90% White until the post-World War II era.

[1] Large numbers of African Americans, Mixed people and Asians began settling in Manhattan in the 1920s and in the rest of NYC after World War II.

[1] The large Black migration to New York City helped cause the Harlem Renaissance, a rich cultural period for the African Americans living in New York (especially in Harlem neighborhood, the namesake) between the end of World War I and the Great Depression.

[1] Brooklyn's population grew at a much slower rate during this time period, while Manhattan actually had fewer people in 2010 than in 1900.

[1] New York City has always had a much greater percentage of immigrants as part of its total population than the whole United States has.

[5] Large numbers of Irish people arrived in New York City during the Great Famine in the 1840s, while Germans, Italians, Jews, and other European ethnic groups arrived in NYC mostly during the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

[5] Because of the abolition of the National Origins Formula, a large percentage of the immigrants that came to New York City after 1965 were from non-European countries.

Throughout this period, New York City remained a hub for immigrants, with the foreign-born population peaking at 37.51% in 2010.

The Asian population increased significantly to 13.1% by 2020, Mixed people 3.0%, Native Americans were 1.0% and Pacific Islanders 0.1%.

Over the subsequent decades, the proportion of White residents gradually decreased, falling to 94.96% in 1920 and then more sharply to 87.47% in 1930.

The Asian community continued to grow, reaching 5.10% in 1980, and the Other or Mixed category emerged as a more substantial portion of the population, making up 14.31% in 1980.