Queens - Demographics

Demographics

According the 2010 Census, 39.7% (27.6% Non-Hispanic White) of the population was White, down from 91.5% in 1960, 19.1% Black or African American, 22.9% Asian, 12.9% from some other race, and 4.5% of two or more races. 27.5% of Queens's population was of Hispanic or Latino origin (of any race).

Among the Asian population, people of Chinese ethnicity make up the largest ethnic group at 9.0% of Queens's population, with about 200,205 people; the other East and Southeast Asian groups are: Koreans (2.9%), Filipinos (1.7%), Japanese (0.3%), Thais (0.2%), Vietnamese (0.2%), and Indonesians and Burmese both make up 0.1% of the population.

People of South Asian descent make up 7.8% of Queens's population: Indians (5.3%), Bangladeshi (1.5%), Pakistanis (0.7%), and Nepalese (0.2%).

Among the Hispanic population, Puerto Ricans make up the largest ethnic group at 4.6%, next to Mexicans, who make up 4.2% of the population, and Dominicans at 3.9%. Central Americans make up 2.4%, and South Americans constitute 9.6% of Queens's population, mainly of Ecuadorian (4.4%) and Colombian descent (3.2%).

Approximately 46.6% of the population is foreign-born. Roughly 2.1% of the population was born in Puerto Rico, a U.S. territory, or abroad to American parents. In addition, 51.2% of the population was born in the United States. Approximately 44.2% of the population over 5 years of age speak English at home; 23.8% speak Spanish at home. Also, 16.8% of the populace speak other Indo-European languages at home. Another 13.5% speak an Asian language at home.

As of the census of 2000, there were 2,229,379 people, 782,664 households, and 537,690 families residing in the county. The population density was 20,409.0 inhabitants per square mile (7,879.6/km²). There were 817,250 housing units at an average density of 7,481.6 per square mile (2,888.5/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 44.08% White, 20.01% Black or African American, 0.50% Native American, 17.56% Asian, 0.06% Pacific Islander, 11.68% from other races, and 6.11% from two or more races. 24.97% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

Some main European ancestries in Queens, 2000:

• Italian: 8.4%
• Irish: 5.5%
• German: 3.5%
• Polish: 2.7%
• Russian: 2.3%
• Greek: 2.0%

In Queens, 48.5% of the population are foreign-born. Of that, 49.5% were born in Latin America, 33.5% in Asia, 14.8% in Europe, 1.8% in Africa, and 0.4% in North America. The Hispanic or Latino population increased by 61% to 597,773 between 1990 and 2006 and now accounts for 26.5% of the borough’s population.

• Queens has the largest Colombian population in NYC, accounting for 76.6% of the city’s total Colombian population, for a total of 80,116.
• Queens has the largest Ecuadorian population in NYC, accounting for 62.2% of the city’s total Ecuadorian population, for a total of 101,339.
• Queens has the largest Peruvian population in NYC, accounting for 69.9% of the city’s total Peruvian population, for a total of 30,825
• The Mexican population in Queens has increased 457% to 71,283, the second highest in NYC, after Brooklyn.

Queens is home to 49.6% of NYC's Asian population. Among the five boroughs, Queens has the largest population of Chinese, Indian, Korean, Filipino, Bangladeshi and Pakistani Americans. Queens has the largest Asian American population by county outside the Western United States: According to the 2006 American Community Survey, Queens ranks 5th among US counties with 477,772 (21.18%) Asian Americans, behind Los Angeles County, California, Honolulu County, Hawaii, Santa Clara County, California, and Orange County, California. The 2000 census showed that the borough is home to the largest concentration of Indian Americans in the nation, with a total population of 129,715 (5.79% of the borough population), as well as Pakistani Americans, who number at 15,604. Queens has the second largest Sikh population in the nation after California.

• Chinese: 173,123; 39.8% of the city’s total Chinese population.
• Indian: 147,525; 64% Asian Indian population.
• Korean: 65,131; 66.4% of the city’s total Korean population.
• Filipino: 41,784; 61.3% of the city’s total Filipino population.
• Bangladeshi: 18,310; 66% of the city’s total Bangladeshi population.
• Pakistani: 10,884; 39.5% of the city’s total Pakistani population.

According to author Mordecai Plaut, a 2002 UJA/Federation of New York study found that Queens was home to 186,000 Jewish Americans at the time.

There were 782,664 households out of which 31.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.9% were married couples living together, 16.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.3% were non-families. 25.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.81 and the average family size was 3.39.

In the county the population was spread out with 22.8% under the age of 18, 9.6% from 18 to 24, 33.1% from 25 to 44, 21.7% from 45 to 64, and 12.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females there were 92.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.6 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $37,439, and the median income for a family was $42,608. Males had a median income of $30,576 versus $26,628 for females. The per capita income for the county was $19,222. About 16.9% of families and 24.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 18.8% of those under age 18 and 13.0% of those age 65 or over. In Queens, the black population earns more than whites on average. Many of these African Americans live in quiet, middle class suburban neighborhoods near the Nassau County border, such as Laurelton and Cambria Heights which have large black populations whose family income is higher than average. Those areas are known for their well kept homes, suburban feel, and low crime rate. The migration of European Americans from parts of Queens has been long ongoing with departures from Ozone Park, Woodhaven, Bellerose, Floral Park, and Flushing, etc. (most of the outgoing population has been replaced with Asian Americans). Neighborhoods such as Whitestone, College Point, North Flushing, Auburndale, Bayside, Middle Village, Little Neck, and Douglaston have not had a substantial exodus of white residents, but have seen an increase of Asian population (mostly Korean). Queens has recently experienced a real estate boom making most of its neighborhoods very desirable for people who want to reside near Manhattan in a less urban setting. According to a 2001 Claritas study, Queens is the most diverse county in the United States among counties of 100,000+ population. There are 138 languages spoken in the borough. The top languages include:

1. English
2. Spanish
3. Chinese
4. Korean
5. Italian
6. Greek
7. Russian
8. Tagalog (Filipino)
9. French
10. Hindi
11. Kannada
12. Punjabi
13. Gujarati
14. Arabic
15. Tamil