DEMOGRAPHICS

What do young New Yorkers look like? Where do they live?

In this section, we cover the

RACE & ETHNICITY MAKEUP of youth in the U.S. and in our state, as well as trends over time. A brief note on gender identity is also presented.

ACCORDING TO THE CENSUS, IN 2022

Young people (under 24) lived in the United States.

* MOST OF THEM LIVED IN CALIFORNIA, TEXAS, AND FLORIDA. *

THAT SAME YEAR, ABOUT

OF THEM LIVED IN NEW YORK STATE.

IN OTHER WORDS, ROUGHLY 30% OF OUR STATE'S POPULATION & ALMOST 1/3rd OF ALL THE PEOPLE WHO LIVE IN THE UNITED STATES ARE 24 OR YOUNGER.

These 5.7 million young New Yorkers were roughly evenly distributed within U.S. Census' age groups.

Data and Source

Looking at the data in a different way, we see that more than half of youth in New York (~3.2M) WERE 14 years-old or younger and about 2.5M of young New Yorkers WERE in late adolescence or emerging adulthood.

Data and Source

Nationally, the youth population is becoming more racially and ethnically diverse, and a growing proportion of youth is identifying as LGBTQ+.

These patterns are also borne out in New York State.

2010

In 2010, according to U.S. Census, the majority of youth in New York State was White.

Data and Source

2022

By 2022, that had flipped, with the Census estimates reporting that 52% of New York's youth were 'youth of color'.

Data and Source

According to the Census, the number of youth in NY has decreased from 6.3 million in 2010 to 5.7 million in 2022—

a reduction by approximately half a million young people.

Between 2010 and 2022, the proportions of youth of color have not changed in the same way in New York.

There have been increases in the proportion of Asian youth; youth reporting two or more races; and Hispanic youth.

there was a reduction in the proportion of non-Hispanic Black youth in New York.

And, during the same period, American Indian/Alaskan Native youth have remained stable at about 1% of the New York youth population.

Data and Source

WHERE DO YOUNG PEOPLE LIVE IN NEW YORK STATE?

<<< When you look at the youth population by county, you can see that youth are primarily located in counties that have urban cities, with most youth residing in and around New York City, as well as in Erie, Monroe, Onondaga, and the capital region.

Interact with the data

By contrast, when you look at the percentage of youth relative to the county’s population, you’ll see a different story.

You’ll notice that Tompkins, Cortland, Rockland, and Jefferson counties have the highest percentages of youth relative to that county’s population. >>>

Interact with the data

HOW DO YOUTH IDENTIFY IN TERMS OF GENDER AND SEXUAL IDENTITY?

SOGIE stands for Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity, and Expression.

According to the NYS Department of Health, in 2019 and 2020 about 16% of young adults in New York identified as Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, or other sexual orientation whereas about 1.5% identified as Transgender.

Given the current national legislative climate around LGBTQ+ youth and the known disparately negative mental health outcomes for this population, we wanted to highlight this information for you, especially as measuring SOGIE prevalence remains a challenge.

Learn more at the YJI's Gender Microsite

Wanna learn more?

THE NEW YORK STATE YOUTH JUSTICE INSTITUTE HAS HOSTED SEVERAL WEBINARS ON YOUTH DEMOGRAPHICS (& other topics). >>>

Watch all YJI Lunch & Learn webinars

In June 2020, Dr. Sarah Mountz discussed how LGBTQ+ youth can be included actively in research.

In June 2023, Dr. Vanessa Panfil presented on improving wellbeing in LGBTQ+ youth.

In September 2023, Currey Cook continued the conversation about how legal practitioners can provide responsive care for LGBTQ+ youth.

In April 2024, Dr. James Tuttle discussed some recent changes in the patterns of individuals' offending over time.

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