[4] After a wave of arson ravaged the low-income communities of New York City throughout the 1970s, many if not most residential structures in Morris Heights were left seriously damaged or destroyed.

The city began to rehabilitate many formerly abandoned tenement-style apartment buildings and designate them low-income housing beginning in the late 1970s.

Also, many subsidized attached multi-unit townhouses and newly constructed apartment buildings have been or are being built on vacant lots across the neighborhood.

Almost half the population lives below the poverty line and receives public assistance (TANF, Home Relief, Supplemental Security Income, and Medicaid).

[18] In 2018, an estimated 34% of Morris Heights and Fordham residents lived in poverty, compared to 25% in all of the Bronx and 20% in all of New York City.

Based on this calculation, as of 2018[update], Morris Heights and Fordham are considered low-income relative to the rest of the city and not gentrifying.

A significant percentage of the early 20th-century housing stock was structurally damaged by arson and eventually razed by the city.

[15]: 14 The concentration of fine particulate matter, the deadliest type of air pollutant, in Morris Heights and Fordham is 0.0083 milligrams per cubic metre (8.3×10−9 oz/cu ft), more than the city average.

[15]: 13  In Morris Heights and Fordham, 34% of residents are obese, 16% are diabetic, and 27% have high blood pressure—compared to the citywide averages of 24%, 11%, and 28% respectively.

[27] Morris Heights and Fordham generally have a lower rate of college-educated residents than the rest of the city as of 2018[update].

[15]: 6  The percentage of Morris Heights and Fordham students excelling in math rose from 19% in 2000 to 43% in 2011, and reading achievement increased from 24% to 28% during the same time period.

[28] Morris Heights and Fordham's rate of elementary school student absenteeism is more than the rest of New York City.

[16]: 24 (PDF p. 55) [15]: 6  Additionally, 66% of high school students in Morris Heights and Fordham graduate on time, lower than the citywide average of 75%.