Demographics of the Bronx

Racial/ethnic concentrations within the Bronx, by block. (Red indicates Hispanic of any race; Blue indicates non-Hispanic White; and Green indicates non-Hispanic Black or African-American.)

According to a 2013 Census Bureau estimate,[6] 45.8% of the Bronx's population was white, 43.3% was black or African American, 4.2% Asian, 3.0% American Indian, 0.4% Pacific Islander, and 3.3% of two or more races. In addition, 54.6% of the population was of Hispanic or Latino origin, of any race.

The Census Bureau considers the Bronx to be the most diverse area in the country. There is an 89.7 percent chance that any two residents, chosen at random, would be of different race or ethnicity.[2] The borough's formerly most populous racial group, white, declined from 98.3% in 1940 to 45.8% by 2012.[3]

31.7% of the population were foreign born and another 8.9% were born in Puerto Rico, U.S. Island areas, or born abroad to American parents. 55.6% spoke a language other than English at home and 16.4% had a bachelor's degree or higher.[7]

Approximately 44.3% of the population over the age of 5 speak only English at home, which is roughly 570,000 people. The majority (55.7%) of the population speak non-English languages at home. Over 580,600 people (45.2% of the population) speak Spanish at home.[8][9]

According to the 2010 Census, 10.9% of the population was non-Hispanic White, 30.1% non-Hispanic Black or African American, 3.4% non-Hispanic Asian, 0.6% from some other race (non-Hispanic) and 1.2% of two or more races (non-Hispanic). 53.5% of Bronx's population was of Hispanic, Latino, or Spanish origin (they may be of any race).[10]

Poverty concentrations in the Bronx.

At the 2000 census there were 1,332,650 people, 463,212 households, and 314,984 families residing in the borough of The Bronx in New York City. The population density was 12,242.2/km² (31,709.3/mi²). There were 490,659 housing units at an average density of 4,507.4/km² (11,674.8/mi²). The racial makeup of the borough was 35.64% Black or African American, 29.87% White, 0.85% Native American, 3.01% Asian, 0.10% Pacific Islander, 24.74% from other races, and 5.78% from two or more races. 48.38% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 14.5%.[11] were whites, not of Hispanic origins. The Bronx has the largest number of Puerto Ricans of any county in the United States. It also has one of the highest percentages of Dominicans in the U.S. with 14.5%.

Based on sample data from the same census, the U.S. Census Bureau estimates that 47.29% of the population 5 and older speak only English at home. 43.67% speak Spanish at home, either exclusively or along with English. Other languages or groups of languages spoken at home by more than 0.25% of the population of the Bronx include Italian (1.36%), Kru, Ibo, or Yoruba (3.07%), French/French Creole (2.72%), and Albanian (2.54%). Of the 463,212 households, 38.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 31.4% were married couples living together, 30.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.0% were non-families. 27.4% of households were one person, and 9.4% were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 2.78 and the average family size was 3.37.

In the borough the population was spread out, with 29.8% under the age of 18, 10.6% from 18 to 24, 30.7% from 25 to 44, 18.8% from 45 to 64, and 10.1% 65 or older. The median age was 31 years. For every 100 females there were 87.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and older, there were 80.7 males.

The median household income was $27,611 and the median family income was $30,682. Males had a median income of $31,178 versus $29,429 for females. The per capita income for the borough was $13,959. About 28.0% of families and 30.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 41.5% of those under age 18 and 21.3% of those age 65 or over.

Out of all five boroughs, The Bronx has the lowest number and percentage of white residents. At the 2009 American Community Survey, Whites, of both Hispanic and non-Hispanic origin, represented 24.4% of the population, while non-Hispanic Whites made 12.1% of the population.[12] The 2010 Census puts the percentage of non-Hispanic Whites at 10.9% of the population.

The number of non-Hispanic Whites in the Bronx has been shrinking for decades. People of Irish descent number over 35,500 individuals and make up 2.6% of the population. German Americans and Polish Americans make up 1.4% and 0.8% of the population respectively.

Some main European ancestries of Bronx residents, 2000 (percentage of total borough population):

• Italian : 5.2%
• Irish : 3.2%
• Albanian : 2.54%
• German : 1.3%

At the 2009 American Community Survey, Black people represented 37.5% of the population, with 30.8% being non-Hispanic Black people.[13] Over 526,200 black people reside in the borough, of which 419,600 are non-Hispanic black people. Over 61,000 people identified themselves as "Sub-Saharan African" in the survey, making up 4.4% of the population. Those whose ancestors have been in the United States since before the end of slavery are one group. Another is those of Caribbean ancestry. Colin Powell, a son of Jamaican immigrants, grew up in the Bronx. Some people have ancestries from both these groups, and like most African-American communities many people in both these groups have European and Native American ancestry as well. A third group, that is actually more internally diverse than these other two is African immigrants. They hail primarily from West Africa. There is also a small East African/Ethiopian population, mostly in and around Parkchester. The largest numbers come from Nigeria, but other nations such as Liberia, Ghana, Senegal, Sierra Leone and Ivory Coast, to name just a few, have contributed to this population.

Native Americans are a very small minority in the borough. Only some 5,560 individuals (out of the borough's 1.4 million people) are Native American, which is equal to just 0.4% of the population. In addition, roughly 2,500 people are Native Americans of non-Hispanic origin.

Asians are a small but sizable minority in the borough. At the 2009 American Community Survey 3.8% of Bronx's population was Asian.[14]

• Indian 1.0%
• Chinese 0.7%
• Filipino 0.5%
• Vietnamese 0.2%
• Japanese 0.1%
• Korean 0.1%

Although having fewer Asians than other borough of New York, there are some Asian groups more numerous in the Bronx than elsewhere in the city. In 2000 the Bronx had the most Cambodians, the only New York borough with over 1000 Cambodians, they numbered 1366 in the Bronx. Asian Indians were the Bronx's most numerous Asian group, numbering 19305. There were 7628 Chinese in the borough, and 5446 Filipinos. Koreans numbered 4076. The total for Vietnamese was 3289 while Bangladeshis were counted at 2442. The only other Asian group numbering over 1000 in the city was the 1727 Pakistanis.[15]

People identifying multiracial heritage are also a sizable minority in The Bronx, numbering over 41,800 individuals and represent 3.0% of the population. People of mixed Caucasian and African American heritage number over 6,850 members and form 0.5% of the population. People of mixed Caucasian and Native American heritage number over 2,450 members and form 0.2% of the population. People of mixed Caucasian and Asian heritage number over 880 members and form 0.1% of the population. People of mixed African American and Native American heritage number over 1,220 members and form 0.1% of the population.

The Bronx is the only New York borough with a Hispanic majority. At the 2010 Census, 53.5% of Bronx's population was of Hispanic, Latino, or Spanish origin (they may be of any race). At the 2009 American Community Survey, Puerto Ricans represented 23.2% of the borough's population, Mexicans made 5.2%.[14] In 2005, more than 200,000 Dominicans called the Bronx home, other Hispanic as Salvadorans and Ecuadorians also call the Bronx home,[16] and in 2000 Dominicans comprised 14.5% of the Bronx population.[17] The Puerto Rican population was at its height around 1980 when they represented about 30% of the Bronx, it declined in the 1990s and early 2000s, and it is relatively stagnant now. The Dominican population has been growing heavily since the 1990s. As of 2017, Dominicans made up 22.4% of the Bronx population, while Puerto Ricans made up 19.6%, giving the Bronx some of the highest concentrations of both in the country. Together these 2 groups make up over 75% of the borough's Hispanics.[18]

As of 2010, 46.29% (584,463) of Bronx residents age 5 and older spoke Spanish at home as a primary language, while 44.02% (555,767) spoke English, 2.48% (31,361) African languages, 0.91% (11,455) French, 0.90% (11,355) Italian, 0.87% (10,946) various Indic languages, 0.70% (8,836) other Indo-European languages, and Chinese was spoken as a main language by 0.50% (6,610) of the population over the age of five. In total, 55.98% (706,783) of the Bronx's population age 5 and older spoke a mother language other than English.[19]

At the 2009 American Community Survey, 31.9% of Bronx's population was foreign born and another 8.5% was born in Puerto Rico, U.S. Island areas, or born abroad to American parent(s).[20] During the 1960s, the Bronx transitioned from majority Irish and Jewish to majority Puerto Rican and African American. However, since around 2000, increases in cost of living in New York and heavy immigration from Latin America and Africa, a new transition has been taking place, with Dominicans now outnumbering Puerto Ricans and African immigrants coming close in size to the African American population.