Puerto Rican Migration To New York - Late 20th Century

Late 20th Century

By 1964, the Puerto Rican community made up 9.3 percent of the total New York City's population. The Puerto Rican migrants who gained economic success began to move away from the "Barrios" and settled in Queens and Long Island or moved to other cities in other states. New immigrants from the Dominican Republic, Mexico and South America moved into the Barrios which were once mainly occupied by the Puerto Ricans. Amongst the states with a large Puerto Rican presence are New Jersey, Florida, Illinois and California. The 1970s saw what became known as reverse-migration. Many Puerto Ricans returned to the island to buy homes and to invest in local businesses. Puerto Ricans have made many important contributions to New York and the society of the United States in general. They have contributed in the fields of entertainment, the arts, music, industry, science, politics, and military. Other Puerto Ricans have moved from New York to settle in smaller cities throughout the Northeast. For example, in 2009 Puerto Ricans alone made up 29.1% of Reading, Pennsylvania's population, which was over 53% Hispanic, and 25.0% of Lawrence, Massachusetts' population, which was over 70% Hispanic. However, in more recent years, there has been a resurgence in immigration from Puerto Rico to New York and New Jersey, with an apparently multifactorial allure to Puerto Ricans, primarily for economic and cultural considerations.

Puerto Rican population in U.S. (2010Census)
State/Territory Population Percentage per State
Alabama 12,225 0.3
Alaska 4,502 0.6
Arizona 34,787 0.5
Arkansas 4,789 0.2
California 189,945 0.5
Colorado 22,995 0.5
Connecticut 252,972 7.1
Delaware 22,533 2.5
District of Columbia 3,129 0.5
Florida 847,550 4.5
Georgia 71,987 0.7
Hawaii 44,116 3.2
Idaho 2,910 0.2
Illinois 182,989 1.4
Indiana 30,304 0.5
Iowa 4,885 0.2
Kansas 9,247 0.3
Kentucky 11,454 0.3
Louisiana 11,603 0.3
Maine 4,377 0.3
Maryland 42,572 0.7
Massachusetts 266,125 4.1
Michigan 37,267 0.4
Minnesota 10,807 0.2
Mississippi 5,888 0.2
Missouri 12,236 0.2
Montana 1,491 0.2
Nebraska 3,242 0.2
Nevada 20,664 0.8
New Hampshire 11,729 0.9
New Jersey 434,092 4.9
New Mexico 7,964 0.4
New York 1,070,558 5.5
North Carolina 71,800 0.8
North Dakota 987 0.1
Ohio 94,965 0.8
Oklahoma 12,223 0.3
Oregon 8,845 0.2
Pennsylvania 366,082 2.9
Rhode Island 34,979 3.3
South Carolina 26,493 0.6
South Dakota 1,483 0.2
Tennessee 21,060 0.3
Texas 130,576 0.5
Utah 7,182 0.3
Vermont 2,261 0.4
Virginia 73,958 0.9
Washington 25,838 0.4
West Virginia 3,701 0.2
Wisconsin 46,323 0.8
Wyoming 1,026 0.2
Total in the USA 4,623,716 1.5*

As of 1990, New Yorkers of Puerto Rican descent (Nuyoricans), numbered 143,974. Nearly 41,800 state residents (Nuyoricans) in 1990 had lived in Puerto Rico in 1985. According to the Census taken in the year 2000, Puerto Rican migrants make up a 1.2% of the total population of the United States with a population of well over 3 million Puerto Ricans (including those of Puerto Rican descent). If taken into account together with the almost 4 million Puerto Ricans who are U.S. citizens (nevertheless, excluded by the U.S. Census statistics of U.S. population), Puerto Ricans make up about 2.5% of the total population of U.S. citizens around the world (inside and outside the U.S. mainland).

Read more about this topic:  Puerto Rican Migration To New York

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