(Photo by Emma Angel on Unsplash)
Aug. 16, 2021 By Allie Griffin
The population of Queens swelled by nearly 8 percent in the last 10 years, new data from the U.S. Census shows.
The number of borough residents increased to 2,405,464 in 2020 — up 7.83 percent from 2010 when the last census was conducted.
“The large jump in our borough’s population underscores what we in Queens have known for a long time; that Queens truly is a fantastic place to live and raise a family,” Queens Borough President Donovan Richards said in a statement.
“My heartfelt appreciation goes to all of the 2.4 million people who make Queens their home, including the more than one million people who have come here from across the globe to build new lives in ‘The World’s Borough.’”
New York City as a whole also saw its population increase by nearly 8 percent as well to a whopping 8.8 million — breaking preconceived notions that the city’s population was shrinking.
“The Big Apple just got bigger!” Mayor Bill de Blasio wrote on Twitter.
New York City saw the largest population increase among big cities across the country in the latest census count, by raw numbers.
The city’s overall growth was slightly outpaced by Queens — an increase of 7.69 percent compared to the borough’s 7.83 percent population uptick.
Queens’ population growth was behind only Brooklyn’s — which grew 9.24 percent to 2,736,074 residents in 2020.
Manhattan saw the third highest growth rate in the last 10 years at 6.83 percent, followed by the Bronx at 6.32 percent. Staten Island saw the smallest growth of the five boroughs at 5.76 percent.
The population growth varied among ethnic groups — with some seeing declines.
The number of Black residents declined citywide as well as in Queens, while the number of Hispanic residents increased.
The Hispanic population of Queens, for instance, increased by 8.8 percent and the borough’s Asian population jumped a whopping 29 percent, according to the The City.
Many experts have said that the population growth across the city was due at least in part to a more complete and successful census count last year.
“From the dedicated personnel at the U.S. Census Bureau to our partners in local and state government and the many volunteers who joined us in an extensive community outreach effort, we never gave up on our goal to count every Queens resident,” Richards said.
Counting every resident was no small task, especially in the face of COVID-19. Many said that the Trump administration also made the count tougher.
“The 2020 Census faced unprecedented challenges, including a global pandemic and repeated efforts by the Trump Administration to weaponize the census for political gain,” Rep. Carolyn Maloney said in a statement Thursday.
“I am proud of the role the Oversight Committee played in defeating President Trump’s attempts to illegally add a citizenship question, to exclude immigrants from the count in violation of the Constitution, and to rush the Census despite the serious risk of errors,” Maloney said.
The census data will be used to determine the amount of federal aid money states and localities receive as well as to inform the drawing of political districts.
“The data released today [Thursday] will drive the distribution of over $1.5 trillion in federal funding to states and communities and determine the redrawing of legislative districts at every level of government, from Congress to local school boards,” Maloney said.
