Throughout it’s nearly 400-year history, New York City’s demography has been characterized by an ever-changing series of immigration waves, coming from all corners of the globe.

The graphic below shows how these waves of immigration have varied over time. The circles represent each group’s share of New York City’s foreign-born population in the given year.

Hover over the graphic for more information.

Composition of New York City’s foreign-born population by place of origin, 1626-2013

Note:

Census statistics on country of origin are only available as far back as 1850. I estimated the figures for earlier years based on a variety of sources, explained below.

Prior to 1776, all New York City residents are treated as foreign born.

Credit to Asif Rahman for his awesome D3 punchcard implementation.

What About the Native Americans?

Native Americans are not included in the chart because their population went to zero as soon as the Dutch bought Manhattan Island in 1626. At that time, and until the five boroughs were consolidated in 1898, New York City included Manhattan only.

However, they did continue to inhabit the lands around Manhattan, and had a quite significant impact on the City’s history.

In 1641, an attempt by the Dutch to solicit taxes from the natives led to a violent conflict known as Kieft’s War, which nearly wiped the Dutch out.

The Dutch ultimately beat the natives, but they were left in a weakened position, one which the British took advantage of in 1664 when they captured New Amsterdam and renamed it New York.

Had it not been for Kieft’s War, the British may have never taken New York. And the history of the New York, and of the country, might have played out very differently.

Sources

For 1850 to the present, the information above comes directly from the Census’ dicennial surveys. All of it exists somewhere on the census.gov website, but for anything before about 1990, it is extremely difficult to find and to work with. Fortunately, there are some great resources there that have made this data much more accessible.

The Univeristy of Minnesota’s IPUMS-USA website allows you to slice and dice the numbers in nearly any fashion imaginable. The University also maintains the National Historical Geographic Information System, which in addition to the raw data provides boundaries in GIS format.

The University of Virginia’s Historical Census Browser is not quite as comprehensive, but the format of the information is much easier to work with.

For the years prior to 1850, the information available is scarce. Much of the estimates are based on one-off reports by city or state officials and personal accounts of people who lived during the period.

17th Century

For the 17th century, the best information available comes from New Yorke Considered and Improved, the accounts of John Miller, a Chaplain who lived in New York in the 1690s.

Miller’s breakdown of the population by religion provides a pretty clear picture of New York’s demographics in 1695.

For the earlier part of the century, I looked to various records that list the City’s residents by name, and cross referenced the last names against various surname origin databases. One such list is from the Castello Plan, a 1660 map of lower Manhattan, including the names of property owners.

The map, available as part of the NYPL Historical GIS Project, is itself pretty interesting. Seeing it overlaid on the current map of lower Manhattan shows how much of the land is man-made. Not surprisingly, what is now Water Street used to be part of the East River.

Also clearly visible is the wall at the settlement’s northern border, the current-day location of Wall Street.

For another example, this list, the Dutch who swore allegiance to England after the surrender of New Amsterdam, provides a count of the number of Dutch families in 1664.

The Iconography of Manhattan Island and The New York Genealogical and Biographical Record were two great resources for demographic information from this period.

18th Century

Into the 18th century, the information gets pretty spotty.

This list of burials due to a small pox outbreak represents about 7% of the City’s population, so I took it as a representative sample of the population in 1731

There are also several city and state Census surveys that give snapshots of the demographics, such as the 1703 New York City Census.

Other resources that I looked at include Population Distribution in Colonial America, the Population History of New York City, and A Century of Population Growth.

19th Century

This 1810 letter, which ranks New York City’s demographic groups in terms of size, comes from Timothy Dwight’s Travels in New-England and New-York. According to his description, “immigrants” from New England, represent roughly two-fifths of the City’s population.

In 1810, the population of Manhattan had nearly tripled in the 27 years since the Revolutionary war ended, mostly due to an influx of migration from New England.

For the later half of the 19th century, national origin information comes directly from the Census Dicennial Surveys.

One ancillary piece from the Census data that I found interesting was the statistics on occupations, many of which I had never heard of. The table below has the full breakdown for New York City in 1850.

A few of my favorites:

“Draymen, hackmen, teamsters, etc.” – an estimated 5,802 people

“Hucksters and peddlers” – 844 people

“Gentleman” – 316 people

New York City Occupations, 1850

Occupation Employment Laborers (not specified) 19199 Clerks in stores 14874 Sailors 7595 Tailors and tailoresses 7173 Boot and shoemakers 6646 Draymen, hackmen, teamsters, etc. 5802 Carpenters and joiners 5802 Traders and dealers (not specified) 5696 Other non-occupational response 3587 Blacksmiths 3270 Masons (brick and stone) 3165 Traders and dealers in groceries 2954 Employees of hotels and restaurants (not clerks) 2848 Cabinet makers 2743 Printers, lithographers, and stereotypers 2321 Porters and laborers in stores warehouses 2004 Painters and varnishers 2004 Ship carpenters, caulkers, riggers, and smiths 2004 Hat and cap makers 1899 Machinists 1899 Butchers 1793 Sawyers 1793 Employees of government (not clerks) 1688 Marble and stone cutters 1688 Gold and silver workers and jewelers 1582 Bakers 1371 Coopers 1371 Engineers and firemen 1160 Others in manufacturing, mechanical, and mining industries 1160 Cigar makers 1055 Tinners and tinware makers 1055 Barbers and hairdressers 949 Lawyers 949 Musicians (professional) and teachers music 949 Physicians and surgeons 949 Saloon keepers and bartenders 949 Iron and steel works and shops operatives 949 Hucksters and peddlers 844 Traders and dealers in produce and provisions 844 Cotton-mill operatives 844 Harness and saddle makers 844 Steam-boiler makers 844 Wood turners, carvers, and woodenware makers 844 Upholsterers 738 Farmers and planters 633 Artists and teachers of art 633 Domestic servants 633 Soldiers, sailors, and Marines (Army Navy) 633 Bookkeepers and accountants in stores 633 Traders and dealers in drugs and medicines 633 Bookbinders and finishers 633 Broom and brush makers 633 Clock and watchmakers and repairers 633 Pianoforte makers and tuners 633 Clergy 527 Hotel keepers 527 Bankers and brokers 527 Traders and dealers in boots and shoes 527 Brass founders and workers 527 Confectioners 527 Plumbers and gasfitters 527 Student 527 Boarding- and lodging-house keepers 422 Officials of government 422 Traders and dealers in cigars and tobacco 422 Traders and dealers in dry foods, fancy foods, and notions 422 Gun- and lock-smiths 422 Leather curriers, dressers, finishers, and tanners 422 Plasterers 422 Woolen-mill operatives 422 Hostlers 316 Showmen and employees of shows 316 Teachers and scientific persons 316 Traders and dealers in books stationary 316 Traders and dealers in clothing and men's furnishing goods 316 Traders and dealers in lumber 316 Weighers, gaugers, and measurers 316 Blind, door and sash makers 316 Builders and contractors (not specified) 316 Employees in manufacturing estabs. (not specified) 316 Leather case and pocket-book makers 316 Sail and awning makers 316 Tool and cutlery makers 316 Gentleman 316 Auctioneers 211 Journalists 211 Restaurant keepers 211 Others in professional and services 211 Boatmen and watermen 211 Milkmen and milkwomen 211 Officials and employees of trade and transportation companies (not specified) 211 Pilots 211 Steamboat men and women 211 Stewards and stewardesses 211 Traders and dealers in iron, tin, and copperware 211 Traders and dealers in liquors and wines 211 Traders and dealers in music and musical instruments 211 Traders and dealers in oils, paints, and turpentine 211 Britannia and japanned ware makers 211 Carriage and wagon makers 211 Engravers 211 Gilders 211 Glass-works operatives 211 Manufacturers 211 Paper-mill operatives 211 Gardeners, nurserymen, and vine-growers 105 Chemists, assayers, and metallurgists 105 Clerks in government offices 105 Collectors and claim agents 105 Dentists 105 Officers of the Army and Navy 105 Watchmen (private) and detectives 105 Agents (not specified) 105 Clerks and bookkeepers in banks 105 Commercial travelers 105 Employees of railroad companies 105 Salesmen and saleswomen 105 Shippers and freighters 105 Traders and dealers in coal and wood 105 Undertakers 105 Apprentices to trades 105 Bleachers, dyers and scourers 105 Boat makers 105 Candle, soap, and tallow makers 105 Carpet makers 105 Chemical-works employees 105 Fishermen and oystermen 105 Fur workers 105 Meat packers, curers, and picklers 105 Millers 105 Milliners, dressmakers, and seamstresses 105 Pattern makers 105 Pump makers 105 Rag pickers 105 Railroad builders and contractors 105 Rope and cordage makers 105 Trunk, valise, and carpet-bag makers 105 Wheelwrights 105 Wire makers and workers 105 Retired 105

If you are interested in the history of New York City, here is a stunning video released by the New York Times last Sunday – a 500 year animated timelapse from the perspective of One World Trade Center.

My latest project, Elementus, aims to bring transparency to the cryptocurrency market. Check out our blog for some crypto-related data visualizations.

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