Statement from CCC Executive Director Jennifer March on U.S. Census Data

Released September 16, 2016

For Immediate Release: September 16, 2016

Contact: Elora Tocci, etocci@cccnewyork.org, 212-673-1800 ext. 13

New York, NY – Yesterday, the United States Census Bureau released data for 2015 on income and poverty levels in New York City. From 2014 to 2015, the City’s overall population grew by more than 59,000 to 8.55 million, with the child population growing by nearly 11,000 to 1.79 million.

While CCC is pleased to see citywide poverty rates decline and citywide median household incomes rise, census data also reveal that far too many New Yorkers have yet to benefit from a receding recession. We remain particularly concerned about racial, ethnic and geographic disparities that persist in income and the number of children growing up in poverty.

The citywide poverty rate fell between 2014 and 2015 from 20.9 to 20 percent.  The reduction in the poverty rate was felt most by non-Hispanic whites and Asians, with blacks and Latinos experiencing smaller reductions that were not statistically significant. Similarly, while citywide median household incomes increased 5 percent between 2014 and 2015, incomes of blacks and Latinos continue to lag far behind where they were before the recession, whereas incomes of whites and Asians have fully recovered.

*not statistically significant

We also see big differences in the extent to which the recovery from the recession has reached different areas of New York City.  Median household incomes in Brooklyn, Manhattan, and Queens have returned close to or above pre-recession levels.  However, in the Bronx, median household income is ten percent below its pre-recession level, and in Staten Island, median household income remains 7 percent below its pre-recession level.  The citywide child poverty rate – at 28.6 percent in 2015 – was statistically unchanged from 2014, with child poverty levels in the Bronx and Staten Island remaining well above where they were before the recession.  More than 4 out of 10 children in the Bronx are growing up in poor households.

*not statistically significant

In sum, while new poverty and income data bring some good news for New York City as a whole, the data also reveal the need to continue to advance policy and programs designed to alleviate racial, ethnic and geographic disparities in income and combat child poverty.

About Citizens’ Committee for Children

Citizens’ Committee for Children (CCC) educates and mobilizes New Yorkers to make the city a better place for children. CCC’s advocacy combines public policy research and data analysis with citizen action. CCC casts light on the issues, educates the public, engages allies, and identifies and promotes practical solutions to ensure that every New York child is healthy, housed, educated and safe. For more information about CCC, visit www.cccnewyork.org.

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