We looked at census data using Social Explorer to observe any changes in Steinway Street, more specifically Census Tract 155, over the last 25 to 35 years. We focused on the ages of residents, the race of residents, where the residents were born, the highest level of education of residents, household income, and the occupations of residents.
Figure 1. Age Distribution of Residents
Figure 1 shows the change in age distribution of census tract 155 residents from 1980, 1990, 2000, 2010, and 2015. Overall, the percentage of residents under the age of 18 and older than 65 went down over time. While only the percentage of residents between ages 18 to 35 has increased drastically, going from 29.31% in 1980 to 44.74% in 2015. The percentage of residents between the ages of 35 and 64 has remained practically the same.
Figure 2. Racial Distribution of Residents
Figure 2 shows the racial break down of the residents in census tract 155 in the same date range as Figure 1. While the percentage of white residents in the area decreased over time it still accounts for a large portion of the population, 74.23%. The percentage of black and asian residents increased since 1980 while the percentage of other races has decreased. For each year there is a small percentage of the population that there is no information on the race because they preferred not to answer the race question on the census.
Figure 3. Are Residents Native or Foreign Born
Figure 3 shows whether residents are native born or foreign born in census tract 155 from 1980 to 2015. The proportion of foreign residents remained the majority until 2000 when it hit its peak at 60.52%. Since then the percentage of native born residents has increased from 39.48% to 57.53%.
Figure 4. Level of Education Completed by Residents
Figure 4 shows the highest level of education completed by individuals in census tract 155. In 1990 the percentage of the population that received its bachelor’s degree or a higher was only 19.32%. Since then the percentage has drastically increased to 45.00% in 2015, more than double that of 1990.
Figure 5. Household Income of Residents
Figure 5 illustrates the total income for households in census tract 155 from 1990, 2000, 2010, and 2015. The proportions of total households that had a household income of $0-$24,999 and $25,000-$49,000 have decreased since 1990. On the other hand, the proportions that had more than $50,000 has drastically increased; households which made more than $150,000 account for 16.8 percent of the total households.
Figure 6. Occupations of Residents
Figure 6 displays the occupations of residents in census tract 155 from 1980 to 2015. The major field for jobs in 1980 was technical, sales, and administrative support jobs, in which 40.9% of the residents were working. In 2015 that proportion is almost half of what it was at 23.5%. The major occupation field in 2015 was managerial and professional specialty occupations, in which 41.5% of the population were working. There were three other occupation fields that were found in census tract 155 and those have only accounted for a smaller proportion of the residents individually. The only occupation field that has a proportion of 0 all throughout the timeframe is farming, forestry, and fishing occupations.
Figure 7. Ancestry of Residents in Census Tract 155
The residents of the area are comprised of a diverse mix of people. Although there a few ancestral backgrounds that are a greater part of the population- such as Hispanic and Asian, even these groups individually do not make up more 25% of the population. Thus, the area shows the presence of at least small groups of many ethnic backgrounds. It can be seen that there has been an increase in the Hispanic population since 2000, from 11.09% to 23.37%, as well as a slight decrease in the Greek, German, and Italian population.
