In 2000, East Harlem had a population of 108,092. About 60% of this population was older than 25: around 65000 people. Now chew on this: half of these 65000 people did not have high school diplomas.
Trends have shown that more and more East Harlem residents are obtaining higher levels of education. Although a majority of people from the area only have a 9th through 12th grade education, the number of people with college experience increased by 70% between 1990 and 2000. According to the Community District 11 Planning Assessment, this is accompanied with a decrease of people having only 9th-12th grade or less than 9th grade experience (-2.0% and -5.7% respectively).
This improvement with education in the community has had beneficial effects on the poverty levels and opportunities for employment. Income levels bewteen 1990 and 2000 have grown substantially; those earning $100,000-or-more have increased by $259%! Diminishes were among those earning less than $15,000, and those earning between $15,000 and $24,999 (-12.2% and -11.6% respectively). Higher earnings are most likely the result of better positions obtained due to the increase in education. Professional and related occupations have grown by 42.2%, and most careers revolve around sales and office work. Jobs in fields such as farming, fishing, and forestry have experienced the biggest decline (-63.0%).