Where New Yorkers speak Russian, Polish and other Slavic languages, today

Census by census, the share of New Yorkers who spoke Russian, Polish and other Slavic languages at home in every part of the city, with the neighborhoods that had the most speakers.

1970

Whole city: 2%

1. Greenpoint: 9,860 (22%)
2. Upper West Side: 5,860 (3%)
3. Flushing: 4,550 (3%)
4. Maspeth: 4,010 (9%)
5. Williamsburg: 3,560 (4%)

1990

Whole city: 2%

1. Brighton Beach: 12,520 (24%)
2. Greenpoint: 10,650 (28%)
3. Sheepshead Bay: 8,110 (9%)
4. Midwood: 6,950 (9%)
5. Borough Park: 5,900 (6%)

2010

Whole city: 4%

1. Brighton Beach: 27,670 (56%)
2. Sheepshead Bay: 27,430 (27%)
3. Midwood: 16,130 (19%)
4. Gravesend: 12,630 (15%)
5. Bensonhurst: 9,900 (12%)

Today

Whole city: 4%

1. Brighton Beach: 30,700 (57%)
2. Sheepshead Bay: 28,660 (28%)
3. Midwood: 15,280 (18%)
4. Gravesend: 13,190 (14%)
5. Bensonhurst: 8,940 (11%)

1970: mother tongue. From 1990: language spoken at home by people 5 and over. Source: US census, IPUMS NHGIS.

The languages of New York · Where New York Came From: a map of NYC immigration and ancestry, 1910 to today