Upper East Side Got Younger Since 2010, Census Data Shows

UPPER EAST SIDE, NY — In addition to getting bigger and more diverse, the Upper East Side got younger over the past decade, according to new census data.

The number of Community District 8 residents under the age of 18 grew by nearly 3,000 between 2010 and 2020, reaching a total of 33,594 young people as of last year, according to the 2020 Census.

Children and teenagers now make up about 14.5 percent of the Upper East Side, compared to 13.9 percent in 2020.

That trend stands in contrast to the rest of the city, whose youth percentage dropped from 21.6 to 19.8 percent in the same decade. That included nearby neighborhoods like Harlem, which lost more than 7,600 young people.

Youth gains across neighborhood

Most parts of the Upper East Side saw gains in their youth populations since 2010, according to the census data. (Zoom in and click on the interactive map below.)

The census tracts seeing the biggest growth in young people run along the center of the East Side, along First, Second and Third avenues. Unsurprisingly, many of those blocks also had the biggest overall population growth.

The blocks that lost young people, meanwhile, run along the western edge of the neighborhood, between Fifth and Park avenues. Those wealthier blocks were among the few that got smaller overall in the past decade.

Youngest, oldest blocks

As a percentage of overall population, young people are spread fairly evenly across the Upper East Side, maps show.

The youngest census tract runs from 84th to 86th streets, between Park and Third avenues, where 19.7 percent of residents were under 18 last year. That area of Yorkville includes high-rise towers like 185 East 85th St.

Meanwhile, the oldest area is east of First Avenue between 63rd and 69th streets, where only 10 percent of people were under 18. Those blocks include Weil Cornell Hospital, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center and Rockefeller University.

Despite gaining young people, the Upper East Side remains older than the rest of the city — including neighboring East Harlem, where children make up about 19 percent of the population.

The loss of young people in other areas has been linked with gentrification. A 2019 study examining the "booming cities" of Austin, Denver and Portland found that all three were losing children even as their populations grew — a trend that researchers attributed to a lack of housing suitable for larger families.

"As housing prices rise, families with children in particular face diminished choices about where to live," researchers wrote.

This is part of a series of articles breaking down insights from the 2020 Census on the Upper East Side. To stay on top of future installments, subscribe to the newsletter from Upper East Side Patch.

Previous coverage:

• Upper East Side Has Most Vacant Homes In NYC, Census Data Shows
• Here's Where The Upper East Side Grew, Shrank Since 2010
• Upper East Side Gained 12K People, Got More Diverse This Decade