New York Immigration

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Immigration-driven population growth is taking its toll on New York

The third largest state in the country. In the last ten years, over one million new residents settled in New York. At the same time, the foreign-born population rose from 2.8 million to 3.8 million — more than the state’s total population increase. This large-scale population growth is bringing traffic, pollution, overcrowded schools, and lack of affordable housing to the state, decreasing quality of life and straining natural resources.

Profile in Numbers Population Growth During the 1990s, New York gained over one million residents, or six percent, reaching a total population of almost 19 million people in 2000.This was the tenth largest population increase in the country.

Between 1990 and 2000, New York City increased by 686,000 residents, reaching a total population of over eight million in 2000.This was the largest increase of any city in the U.S. with a population over 100,000 and double the increase of the city with the next largest gain.

New York City is the most densely populated in the country, with 26,429 people per square mile (three and a half times more crowded than Los Angeles).There are 2,263 more New Yorkers squeezed into every square mile than there were in 1990.2

New York’s foreign-born population increased 37 percent during the 1990s.Between 1990 and 2000, New York gained over one million immigrants, bringing the total number of foreign-born residents in the state to almost 3.9 million. This was the third highest numerical increase in the country.

This increase in the foreign-born population accounted for 103 percent of the state’s overall population increase during the decade —meaning that the state would have had a slight population decrease without the massive population brought by immigration. Foreign-born residents now account for one-fifth of the state’s total population, well above the national average of eleven percent.

About 6.8 million people in New York are immigrants or the children of immigrants, or about 37 percent of the state’s population.3

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