Estimating the Latino Population in New York City, 2020

Authors

Laird W. Bergad, Center for Latin American, Caribbean, and Latino StudiesFollow

Document Type

Report

Publication Date

7-28-2022

Abstract

Introduction:

This report compares the population growth of Latinos in New York City using four different sources and finds that the numbers differ dramatically from those published by the Census Bureau.

Methods:

This report uses four data sources: (i) the 2020 Census Redistricting Files; (ii) the American Community Survey (ACS) 1-Year Experimental Data Release; (iii) the ACS 5-Year (2016–2020) Estimates; and (iv) the IPUMS-NHGIS 2016–2020 5-Year Summary File. The American Community Survey PUMS (Public Use Microdata Series) data used for all years was released by the Census Bureau and reorganized for public use by the Minnesota Population Center, University of Minnesota, IPUMSusa, (https://usa.ipums.org/usa/index.shtml). See Public Use Microdata Series Steven Ruggles, J. Trent Alexander, Katie Genadek, Ronald Goeken, Matthew B. Schroeder, and Matthew Sobek. Integrated Public Use Microdata Series: Version 5.0 [Machine-readable database]. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota, 2017.

Discussion:

These data indicate that the Latino population of the city is not truly counted. Two reasons stand out: the pandemic-related issues in data collecting and a fundamental difference in how to group together Latin Americans or people with Latin American descent in the country. According to the Census Bureau’s 2020 redistricting data, New York City had almost two-and-a-half million people (2,490,350). The most complete data, the 5-Year American Community Survey from 2016–2020, estimates 2,423,499 Hispanics in the city—and 2,396,411 without Spaniards. CLACLS estimates there are 2,369,742 Latinos in NYC.

Comments

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

Citation information: Bergad, Laird W. (2022). Estimating the Latino Population in New York City, 2020. New York, NY: Center for Latin American, Caribbean and Latino Studies at the CUNY Graduate Center.