Document Type

Report

Publication Date

Fall 12-5-2022

Abstract

Introduction:

This report analyzes the socioeconomic conditions of Latinos between 1990 and 2019 in three of the neighborhoods in New York City hit the most by the COVID-19 pandemic in terms of the number of cases and deaths per capita. The cases per capita in Corona, Elmhurst, and Jackson Heights neighborhoods were 1 in 19 people in Corona, 1 in 16 people in Elmhurst, and 1 in 19 people in Jackson Heights, significantly higher than the cases per capita in the rest of the city.

Methodology:

This study uses the American Community Survey PUMS (Public Use Microdata Series) for all years released by the Census Bureau and reorganized for public use by IPUMS USA, University of Minnesota, www.ipums.org. See Steven Ruggles, Sarah Flood, Sophia Foster, Ronald Goeken, Jose Pacas, Megan Schouweiler and Matthew Sobek. IPUMS USA: Version 11.0 [dataset]. Minneapolis, MN: IPUMS, 2021. https://doi.org/10.18128/D010.V11.0. To measure median household income and household income, this report uses inflation adjustments for 1990, 2000, and 2010 and expresses it in terms of 2019 dollars.

Discussion:

This report found that between 1990 and 2019 the proportion of Latinos in poverty decreased by 7.9 percentage points and the number of Latinos over 25 years old of age with a bachelor’s degree or higher increased by 11.3 percentage points. However, when compared to non-Hispanic whites, non-Hispanic blacks, and Asians, Latinos in New York City had the lowest median household income and tended to fall into the lowest income brackets. Additionally, Latinos had a larger proportion of people living in poverty and a smaller adult population holding a bachelor’s degree or higher when compared to the other major race/ethnic groups in the city. This report found that there were significant differences among Ecuadorians, Dominicans, Mexicans, Colombians, and Peruvians living in Corona, Elmhurst, and Jackson Heights between 1900 and 2019. In terms of median household income, this report found that Peruvians reported the highest annual household income increase between 1990 and 2019, while Mexicans had the highest median household income by 2019. Regarding citizenship status, this report found that much of the Ecuadorian population did not have citizenship; but in the case of Mexicans, Dominicans, Colombians, and Peruvians, the trend changed in 2019 as the majority of the population were naturalized citizens by that year.

Comments

While this report lays out the socioeconomic background of the COVID-19 pandemic with the data available until 2019, upcoming research must consider how the COVID-19 pandemic impacted the socioeconomic conditions of Latinos living in Corona, Elmhurst, and Jackson Heights, and the whole New York City area since 2020.

For additional information you may contact the Center at 212-817-8438 or by e-mail at clacls@gc.cuny.edu.

Citation information: Aponte, Oscar (2022). The Socioeconomic Background of the COVID-19 Pandemic in New York City: Latinos in Corona, Elmhurst, and Jackson Heights, 1990-2019. New York, NY: Center for Latin American, Caribbean and Latino Studies at the CUNY Graduate Center.

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