New York City’s Population Hits a Record 8.6 Million

By James Barron

New York City’s population reached a record high last year of over 8.6 million and has climbed 5.5 percent since 2010, according to a Department of City Planning analysis of new Census Bureau population estimates.

There were 8,622,698 people in the city last year, 447,565 more than were counted in the 2010 census.

City demographers said the new total was the culmination of an average annual gain not seen since the first half of the 20th century, when the city became dominant in everything from finance to culture and communications — and also had strong manufacturing and shipping sectors with thousands of jobs.

Joseph J. Salvo, the chief demographer at the planning agency, said that, in effect, New York City added as many people as in all of New Rochelle, a city in Westchester County, each year from 2010 to 2017. The 2010 census put New Rochelle’s total at just over 77,000. He attributed some of the city’s jump to housing units planned before the 2010 census that were deferred in the recession and have been completed in the last few years.

“It’s a remarkable growth story,” Dr. Salvo said.

From 2010 to 2017, New York City led the rest of the state in population growth, with the Bronx emerging as the fastest-growing county in the state. The Bronx surged 6.21 percent, with 86,052 new residents.

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Source: The New York Times (via Empire Report New York)