News

By Arun Venugopal/WNYC

New York City experienced dramatic growth over the last ten years, bringing its current population to a record 8.8 million, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, which released the first detailed statistics from the 2020 Census.

On balance, the city added more than 629,000 residents, from 8.175 million measured in 2010, but city planning officials said that a big part of the story was that far fewer residents left the city than had been projected by census officials. Additionally, an unprecedented effort by city officials and community groups to penetrate every neighborhood and leave no resident uncounted—during a pandemic—appears to have reaped significant dividends.

Peter Lobo, the city’s chief demographer, said he was “feeling really good” about the census figures…Half the city’s growth, said Lobo, came from an increase in the Asian New Yorker population.

While this is momentous, its true import will be measured by redistricting, said Jerry Vattamala, the director of the democracy program at the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund

“The new lines should reflect the growth so that communities that are growing have an equal chance, an equal say to have political participation,” he said, noting that often redistricting is used to minimize the political representation that should accompany a community’s population growth.