Natalie Kainz Photo
Ruth Rose sings “En mi viejo San Juan” at flag-raising on the Green.
DataHaven
From newly released Census data.
The Puerto Rican flag climbed slowly into a cloudless sky above the Green Thursday — right before the Census Bureau revealed that Hispanics have become New Haven’s largest ethnic group.
The two events were separate, and related.
The U.S. Census Bureau released the official results form its once-a-decade count of Americans. It showed that New Haven’s population officially grew by 4,244, or 3 percent, from 2010 to 2020, to 134,023. New Haven grew faster than Connecticut’s 0.9 percent or New Haven’s County’s 0.3 percent rise.
The city’s Hispanic population grew by 5,477 officially counted persons, 15 percent, to bypass the local Black population as New Haven’s largest racial category. The Black population dropped 6 percent, to 30.4 percent; and the Non-Hispanic white population 10 percent to 27.6 percent, according to an analysis by DataHaven. The Asian-American population in town grew by 3,180 people, or 54 percent.
DataHaven broke down the data to this finer-grained ethnic breakdown:
• 41,068 Hispanic, of any race (30.6 percent)
• 40,788 Non-Hispanic Black alone (30.4 percent)
• 37,010 Non-Hispanic White alone (27.6 percent)
• 9,044 Non-Hispanic Asian alone (6.7 percent)
• 4,840 Non-Hispanic Two or More Races (3.6 percent)
• 873 Non-Hispanic Other Race alone (0.7 percent)
• 339 Non-Hispanic AIAN
• 61 Non-Hispanic NHP
DataHaven Executive Director Mark Abraham cited “an especially steep drop among Black children (-2,334 or 19 percent).” Overall in New Haven, he noted, the adult population grew 4 percent while the population of children dropped 10 percent.
Click here for Excel spreadsheet analysis by DataHaven’s Camille Seaberry of 2020 Census redistricting data for the state, and the change since 2010.
New Haven worked hard on the doors to count as many people as possible for the census, in conjunction with a statewide effort led by Lt. Gov. Susan Bysiewicz.
City government’s website noted that the latest population increase follows a 5 percent population rise between 2000 and 2010. New Haven’s growing.
“US Census data is an important tool necessary for the redistricting and balancing of the City’s 30 aldermanic wards, the formula for entitlement funding from the federal government (Community Development Block Grant, Emergency Shelter Grant and HOME funds for affordable housing) and many social- and economic initiatives,” reads a slide deck published on the website Thursday by the mayor’s office and the Board of Alders.
Click here, here, here and here for stories about some of the city and state efforts to get New Haveners to fill out the census during the pandemic.
“I am encouraged by the release of detailed data from the Census Bureau today, which showed that Connecticut gained 31,847 residents and that the population of all 3 of our largest cities grew over the past decade,” Bysiewicz said in an email press release Thursday afternoon.
Within the city’s Latino population, New Haveners of Puerto Rican descent have long had a prominent role. Pride in that role was on display during the flag-raising event on the Green, held Thursday at noon.
It was the sixth annual Puerto Rican flag-raising ceremony held there to celebrate the Puerto Rican community of Connecticut, that largest in any of the 50 states. City and state representatives celebrated Puerto Rican culture in the Elm City alongside members of Puerto Ricans United.
“En mi viejo San Juan, cuántos sueños forjé,” sang Puerto Rican performer Ruth Rose. She sang the widely known Puerto Rican tune by Noel Estrada to a crowd of nearly 30 onlookers by the New Haven Green Flag Pole. Behind her, the Puerto Rican flag climbed slowly into a cloudless sky.
Mayor Justin Elicker provided some background on the Puerto Rican population of New Haven. He said that there are approximately 20,500 New Haveners of Puerto Rican descent, ranking 24th among the largest Puerto Rican communities in the country.
Martin Looney.
State Sen. Martin Looney said that Connecticut still has a long way to go on the path to being fully accepting of the Puerto Rican community. He referenced the large number of children coming to Waterbury in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria hoping to enroll in schools there.
“The mayor of Waterbury had a crowded school system and knew that schools in the surrounding towns had spaces,” said Looney. “He approached them and said: ‘I’ll provide the school buses and bilingual teachers. All we need is classroom space.’ Not one of those towns took Mayor O’Leary up on that offer.”
Ruth Rose.
After speeches by city, community, and state leaders, Rose sang the U.S. National Anthem and La Borinqueña, the official anthem of Puerto Rico.
Frank Alvarado.
Puerto Ricans United treasurer Frank Alvarado called the anthem and flag raising “a tremendous source of pride.” He said he has been coming to the flag raising for the past six years, and the annual Puerto Rican Festival of New Haven for even longer than that.
Joe Rodriguez.
This year’s Puerto Rican Festival will take place this Saturday with a concert in Criscuolo Park.
Joe Rodriguez, president of Puerto Ricans United, said that the uncertainty of the pandemic meant the festival had to take place at a smaller scale. In the past, it would draw crowds of thousands to the New Haven Green.
“We will gather to celebrate our culture but we’re going to do so safely and at a much smaller scale,” said Rodriguez.
The event, titled “Music in the Parque”, will take place between 2 p.m. and 6 p.m. It will feature food trucks, salsa, Puerto Rican indigenous music, and an on-site vaccine clinic. Performers include Agua Pa Chocolate, Orquesta Afinke, and Movimiento Cultural.
Note: In September 2021, the authors updated this report with a more accurate methodology for calculating neighborhood changes. The new version is posted at DataHaven.