IV.

The People of New York

A.

Population Patterns

New York is the third most populous state in the Union. New York led all the states in population from 1820 until 1963, when it was surpassed by California and then by Texas in 1994. If trends continue, New York will rank fourth in population after California, Texas, and Florida by the year 2020. The population of New York in 2000 was 18,976,457, an increase of 5.5 percent over the 1990 census figure of 17,990,455. New York remains one of the most densely populated states, with 158 persons per sq km (409 per sq mi) in 2006.

In 1990 nearly 16 percent of the state’s total population had been born abroad, and many of them resided in New York City. Whites constituted 67.9 percent of the population in 2000, blacks 15.9 percent, Asians 5.5 percent, and Native Americans 0.4 percent. Native Hawaiians and other Pacific Islanders numbered 8,818. Those of mixed heritage or not reporting race were 10.2 percent. Hispanics, who may be of any race, were 15.1 percent of the people.

B.

Principal Cities

The New York City-Northeastern New Jersey urbanized area, extending east on Long Island and north up the Hudson Valley, had 21.2 million people in 2000. Other big urbanized areas were Buffalo, Rochester, Albany-Schenectady-Troy, and Syracuse. In 2000, 87 percent of the total population was urban.

New York City, one of the world’s leading commercial, financial, and cultural centers, is the largest city in the United States, with a population (2005) of 8,143,197. It is subdivided into five boroughs: Queens, Brooklyn, Staten Island, the Bronx, and Manhattan. A center for finance and commerce for the United States and much of the world, the city is also remarkable for its fusion of many cultures. Much of the nation’s domestic and international trade is arranged in New York City’s offices. Wall Street, home to the New York Stock Exchange, is synonymous with business. The city is at the heart of the nation’s cultural life. Broadway is world renowned for its theaters, and museums such as the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum and the Metropolitan Museum of Art are among the best in the world. As a manufacturing center, New York is a national leader in such sectors as printed materials, processed food, and the production of clothing.

Buffalo, a major port and important commercial and industrial center in western New York state, is New York’s second largest city, with a population of 279,745 in 2005. The city, which has extensive harbor facilities, is one of the country’s largest rail junctions. Rochester, a major manufacturing center for photographic equipment, optical parts, hospital supplies, and scientific instruments, and a processing and distributing point for an extensive fruit-growing region, had a population of 211,091. Yonkers, with 196,425 inhabitants, is a manufacturing and commercial center, principally producing plastics and chemicals. Syracuse, a distribution and manufacturing center for electrical and transportation equipment, had a population of 141,683. Albany, the capital of New York, had a population of 93,523. Utica (59,336), New Rochelle (72,967), Mount Vernon (67,924), and Schenectady (61,280) all are small manufacturing centers.

C.

Religion

By membership, New York’s chief religion is Roman Catholicism, claiming about 45 percent of religious adherents. Protestants are the second largest group, followed by Jews. More than one-quarter of the Jews in the United States live in New York. Baptists and Methodists are the largest Protestant groups.