From The Peopling of New York City
Demographics
[This is not final yet...the graphs look a bit plain, I'll make them prettier after the interpretations and writings are done. Sorry!]
Years: 1850, 1870, 1900, 1920, 1950
Total Population
Year 1= 1850 (Population: 515, 547)
Year 2= 1870 (Population: 942,292)
Year 3= 1900 (Population: 2,050,600)
Year 4= 1920 (Population: 2,284,103)
Year 5= 1950 (Population: 1,960,101)
As you can see from the graph, the population has changed signficantly over the years from 1850 to 1950. Central Park was first opened temporarily in 1857. Since sometime around that time period, the population has increased. There was a drastic increase in population from the year 1870 to 1900, from having 942,292 people to having 2,050,600 people. That's probably the time when the Park became open and well known throughout New York. However, there was a decrease in total population from the year 1920 to 1950. This was most likely due to the Great Depression which forced many people to move out of the New York County.
Race
The percentage of colored people/negroes (according to the Census) remained relatively low and stable between the periods 1850 to 1920. In 1850, approximately 3% of the the total population were colored people. In 1870, approximately 1% of the total population were colored people. In 1900, approximately 2% of the total population were colored people or negro. In 1920, approximately 5% of the total population were negroes. Over this 70 year time period, the colored population did not change much. There was a drastic increase in the colored population from 1920 to 1950. Approximately 20% of the total population were negroes.
--> Percentages are derived from totaling the number of colored people/negroes and then dividing that number by the total population.
In 1850, the population was separated into two groups. One only belonged to the colored group or the white group. However, as time progresses, people from other countries began to move in and New York County's diversity increased. People from countries such as Austria, China, France, Germany, etc.
Families
As people began to move into the Upper East Side, they gradually plant their seeds by starting to formulate families. There were no records found on the total number of families in 1850 and 1870. However, in 1900, we start to see the number of families recorded on the census. In 1900, there were 433,953 total families out of which 425,461 were private families. In 1920, there were 525,154 families and in 1950, there were 496,490. We can see some correlation between to total number of families and the total population. There was an increase in families between 1900 and 1920 along with an increase in population. There was a decrease in families between 1920 and 1950, similar to the total population record. Once again, this might be caused by the Great Depression, where many people flee from the New York County in hope for a better life.
Employment
The types of employment from 1850 to 1920 were mainly agricultural or manufactural-based. People either worked on the fields and farmlands or in factories.
In the 1950 Census, the producers made the Census more detailed. They asked for people's job specifications. There were jobs other than agricultural or manufactural-based. There were Operatives and Kindred Workers, Craftsmen, Foremen, and Kindred Workers, Sales Workers, Clerical and Kindred Workers, Managers, Officials, and Proprietors, Private Household Workers, Laborers (Except Farm and Mine), Farm Laborers (Except Unpaid and Farm Foremen), Farm Laborers, Unpaid Family Workers, Service Workers (Except Private Household), Farmers and Farm Managers, Government Workers, Professional, Technical and Kindred Workers, etc. Not only was there a diverse working fied, women took roles in these professions too. The total number of employed women is 347,898 in 1950. The total number of employed men is 536,464 in 1950. There were approximately 40% of women being employed. In summary, women gradually began taking active roles in society.
Education
More people became enrolled in the educational system. I find it interesting how in 1850, only about 1.3% of pupils manage to go to college after receiving a lower education. The majority of the students entered the work force at an early age and rejected the college education.
Income
(need to find this!!! anyone who can help me? )
