How did The Bronx develop? Census tract figures are available back to 1915, when the South Bronx between Grand Concourse and the Bronx River was already densely populated. Maps showing movement into the rest of The Bronx are presented for 1930, 1950, 1970, 1980, and 1990, at a uniform scale of one dot per 100 persons in a census tract. Note the extraordinary depopulation in parts of the South Bronx between 1970 and 1980. Only a small part of the borough was actually subject to arson and other kinds of destruction, and between 1980 and 1990, population stabilized even in this area.
 
 
 

 The 1990 Public Use Microdata Sample (PUMS) file from the Census allows neighborhood analysis of both people and areas. Using these files, we have divided The Bronx into the following three areas: THE SOUTH BRONX, where there is a very small or even non-existent white population and where one finds the highest proportion of people below the poverty line. THE N+E BRONX, where non-Hispanic whites form an absolute majority and where the proportion of people below the poverty level is lowest. THE MID BRONX, with the greatest diversity of population and a relatively low proportion of people below poverty.
 
 

The ethnic reality of The Bronx is peculiar. Almost everyone can be found in one of three ethnic conglomerates: Non-Hispanic Whites (22.6% of Bronx population in 1990), Non-Hispanic Blacks (30.7%), and Hispanics (43.5%). We have found it more meaningful to present seven ethnic groups, with different demographic profiles, areas of concentration and social needs. They are: Non-Hispanic Whites, African Americans (that is, Blacks born in the US), Foreign-Born Blacks, Puerto Ricans, Dominicans, Other Hispanics, and Asians. The Asian group should be further broken down, but its small size in The Bronx precludes this.

 The following maps show the distribution of each of the seven ethnic groups throughout The Bronx. The figures are for each of the 957 Bronx blockgroups and the scale is uniform at one green dot for each 50 persons.
 
 



Detailed study of poverty rates for each major ethnic group in The Bronx shows that poverty is as much tied to area of residence as it is to ethnicity. The few whites left in the South Bronx seem to be as poor as the minority residents there, while minorities in the other two Bronx areas are overwhelmingly above the poverty line. Ethnicity seems to be more complex as one gets into specific areas. Whites are not poor in the areas where most of them live, while African- Americans and Puerto Ricans are poorest where they are most highly concentrated. But note the very low poverty rate for foreign blacks (in The Bronx, mainly Jamaicans). On the other hand, Dominicans are not significantly better off than Puerto Ricans. Asians have a relatively high poverty rate in MID BRONX, where they are most highly concentrated. Remember that many different groups comprise the Asian category, and the various Asian groups are not equally distributed throughout The Bronx.
 
 


 
 


 
 

The PUMS files enable us to take a closer look at the relation of poverty and ethnicity. For instance, we know that in The Bronx certain ethnic groups have qualities that would relate to their economic status (whites have a larger proportion of older people; blacks and hispanics have a larger proportion of single-parent families). Is it possible that simply "being Black" or "being Hispanic" increases ones chance of being poor, independently of other social factors?
 
 

Let us control for some of these factors, using the 1990 PUMS from the US Census. We shall select only males, between age 24 and 39, for each of the major ethnic groups. For each ethnic group we shall consider three educational levels: those without a high school diploma; those with a high school diploma but no B.A., and those with the B.A. or a higher degree. We look at the highest and lowest economic levels: those under poverty, and those earning at least $35,000 per year. As the next graph shows, young white men are more likely than other groups to earn high wages. And poverty levels, even for white young men without a high school diploma, are below the levels of most college educated Hispanics or Asians.


 
 


 
 

Finally, we can focus on each of the three areas in the Bronx and examine rates of high earnings and of poverty for young men by ethnicity and education.

Note the expansion of African Americans and Puerto Ricans into the areas outside the South Bronx, where those with high education match the Whites in earnings and lack of poverty.

College education almost eliminates poverty among African American and Puerto Rican young men, particularly in the South Bronx. But education has much less effect on poverty levels of Dominican and Asian young men. Perhaps the fact that the latter groups are more recent immigrants might explain these differences.

Note also the significant group of high earning minorities in the N+E BRONX, where those with high school diplomas and above compare favorably with non-Hispanic white young men. Does the more favorable environment of N+E BRONX have an influence on people, or does this area attract young men who already have jobs with high earnings?
 
 


 
 


 
 

 We want your comments and suggestions. Please contact The Bronx Data Center through EMAIL: bosworth@lehman.cuny.edu.

BACK to Main Webpage for analysis of The Bronx with Census 2000.