County Factsheet: Rockland County, New York
| Summary County Data (and Source) | |
|---|---|
| Population (2008 CB est.): | 298,545 |
| Population (2000 Census): | 286,753 |
| Foreign-born Population (2008 FAIR est.): | 63,300 |
| Foreign-born Population (2000 Census): | 54,766 |
| Share Foreign Born (2008): | 21.2% |
| Share Foreign Born (2000): | 19.1% |
| Immigrant Settlement 1991-98 (INS): | 10,874 |
| Population Projection 2025 (FAIR): | 348,000 |
COUNTY POPULATION
The population of Rockland County was estimated by the Census Bureau at 298,545 residents as of July 2008. That was an increase of 4.1 percent since the 2000 Census.
The 2000 Census recorded 286,753 residents in the County. That was eight percent more people than the 265,475 residents in 1990. During the previous decade, the County's population increased by 2.3 percent from 259,530 in 1980.
According to the 2008 Census Bureau estimate, Rockland County's population has increased since July 2000 despite a loss from domestic migration (an annual average of about 3,175 fewer native-born residents arriving than leaving). That was offset by natural change (an annual average of about 2,515 more births than deaths) and net international migration (an annual average of about 1,300 more foreign-born residents arriving than leaving). Therefore, immigration was the smallest component of population change, but it accounted for most (91.6%) of the County’s population increase.
FOREIGN-BORN POPULATION
FAIR estimates the foreign-born population in Rockland County in mid-year 2008 to be about 63,300 persons (21.2% of the population). This represents an increase of 15.6 percent from the 2000 Census and compares with a 1.4 percent increase in the native-born population.
Immigration also contributes to population growth through the children born to immigrants in this country. Nationally the share of births to the foreign-born is about double their share of the population. A 42.4 percent share of the County’s current births is large enough to account for about 1,930 births a year. Combining the increase in the foreign-born population and estimated immigrant births suggests that immigration may be adding as many as 3,230 persons to the County’s population annually, which is more than double (227.4%) of the county’s annual average population increase.
The 2000 census recorded 54,766 foreign-born residents in Rockland County. That was a 19.1 percent share of the overall population, which was lower than the 20.4 percent share for the state. The 2000 data showed an decrease of 41.3 percent in the immigrant population since 1990, which compared with a 2.3 percent increase in the native-born population (which includes children born to immigrants) over the same period. This meant that immigration accounted for 75.1 percent of the County's population increase.
In 2000, the Census recorded that more than one-third (34.7%) of the County's foreign-born population had entered since 1990. This was lower than the share for the state overall (40.4%). More than half (50.8%) of the foreign-born residents had become naturalized U.S. citizens. This was higher than the share for the state overall (46.1%).
Another indicator of the impact of the foreign-born population may be seen in data on residents who speak a language other than English at home. In the County in 2000, the share of other-than-English speakers at home (age 5 and older) was 29.9 percent. More than two-fifths (41.5%) of those persons admitted to speaking English less than very well.
In 1990, the foreign-born population of the county was about 38,800 residents. This number of immigrants constituted a foreign-born population share of 14.6 percent of the county's overall population. By comparison, the foreign-born population shares of the country and the state in 1990, respectively, were 7.9 percent and 15.9 percent.
LEGAL IMMIGRATION
A study released by the Center for Immigration Studies in October 2001 indicated that there were 10,874 legal immigrants who indicated that they intended to settle in Rockland County between FY'91-'98. This number did not include persons granted legal immigrant status as a result of the 1986 amnesty for illegal aliens. The ten countries that supplied the largest number of these new immigrants are shown below.
| Immigrant Admissions FY'91-'98: Top Ten Countries | ||
| Rank | Country | No. of Immigrants |
| 1 | Haiti | 2,079 |
| 2 | Dominican Republic | 1,412 |
| 3 | India | 1,333 |
| 4 | Philippines | 789 |
| 5 | Soviet Union | 423 |
| 6 | Ireland | 513 |
| 7 | China * | 411 |
| 8 | Jamaica | 399 |
| 9 | Pakistan | 270 |
| 10 | United Kingdom | 244 |
* including Hong Kong and Taiwan
POPULATION PROJECTION 2025
The current rate of population change between 1990-00, if continued, would result in a population in 2025 of 348,000. That is 21.4 percent more persons than the 2000 population.
