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While the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and various members of SkyscraperPage.com were crying about the lack of racial and ethnic diversity for a major city, I punched some numbers for Pittsburgh and all core cities proper of metropolitan areas with 1,000,000+ population in the Northeast, northern Mid-Atlantic and Midwest to see exactly how Pittsburgh compared to them. There are 18 such cities in this comparison, including Pittsburgh. I kept the focus on the cities proper for two reasons: 1) because it was far less time-consuming, and 2) because the core cities proper are supposed to have the majority of the economic and cultural importance in their Metropolitan Statistical Areas.
So here are lists of the 18 cities ranked by the total populations of each city as of the 2010 Census, plus their rates of growth, their (major) racial and ethnic compositions, and the rate of growth of each group...
Total population
8,175,133 - New York
2,695,598 - Chicago
1,526,006 - Philadelphia
820,445 - Indianapolis
787,033 - Columbus
713,777 - Detroit
667,646 - Minneapolis/St. Paul
620,961 - Baltimore
617,594 - Boston
601,723 - Washington DC
594,833 - Milwaukee
459,787 - Kansas City
396,815 - Cleveland
319,294 - St. Louis 305,704 - Pittsburgh
296,943 - Cincinnati
261,310 - Buffalo
210,565 - Rochester
Rate of growth (2000-2010)
+10.6% - Columbus
+5.2% - Washington DC
+4.9% - Indianapolis
+4.8% - Boston
+4.1% - Kansas City
+2.1% - New York
+0.6% - Philadelphia
-0.3% - Minneapolis/St. Paul
-0.4% - Milwaukee
-4.1% - Rochester
-4.6% - Baltimore
-6.9% - Chicago
-8.3% - St. Louis -8.6% - Pittsburgh
-10.4% - Cincinnati
-10.7% - Buffalo
-17.1% - Cleveland
-25.0% - Detroit
White population
3,597,341 - New York
1,212,835 - Chicago
626,221 - Philadelphia
507,005 - Indianapolis
483,677 - Columbus
415,451 - Minneapolis/St. Paul
333,033 - Boston
272,305 - Kansas City
266,339 - Milwaukee
231,471 - Washington DC 201,766 - Pittsburgh
183,830 - Baltimore
147,929 - Cleveland
146,435 - Cincinnati
140,267 - St. Louis
131,753 - Buffalo
91,951 - Rochester
75,758 - Detroit
White percent of total population
66.0% - Pittsburgh
62.2% - Minneapolis/St. Paul
61.8% - Indianapolis
61.5% - Columbus
59.2% - Kansas City
53.9% - Boston
50.4% - Buffalo
49.3% - Cincinnati
45.0% - Chicago
44.8% - Milwaukee
44.0% - New York
43.9% - St. Louis
43.7% - Rochester
41.0% - Philadelphia
38.5% - Washington DC
37.3% - Cleveland
29.6% - Baltimore
10.6% - Detroit
White rate of growth (2000-2010)
+31.4% - Washington DC
+3.8% - Boston
+1.6% - Kansas City
+0.6% - New York
+0.1% - Columbus
-0.2% - Chicago
-5.9% - Minneapolis/St. Paul
-6.1% - Indianapolis
-8.1% - St. Louis
-8.3% - Philadelphia
-10.7% - Milwaukee
-10.8% - Baltimore* -10.8% - Pittsburgh*
-13.4% - Rochester
-16.6% - Cincinnati
-17.3% - Buffalo
-25.5% - Cleveland
-35.0% - Detroit
(*: Ranked by further decimal points.)
Black population
2,088,510 - New York
887,608 - Chicago
661,839 - Philadelphia
590,226 - Detroit
395,781 - Baltimore
305,125 - Washington DC
237,769 - Milwaukee
225,355 - Indianapolis
220,241 - Columbus
211,672 - Cleveland
157,160 - St. Louis
150,437 - Boston
137,540 - Kansas City
133,039 - Cincinnati
115,826 - Minneapolis/St. Paul
100,774 - Buffalo
87,897 - Rochester 79,710 - Pittsburgh
Black percent of total population
82.7% - Detroit
63.7% - Baltimore
53.3% - Cleveland
50.7% - Washington DC
49.2% - St. Louis
44.8% - Cincinnati
43.4% - Philadelphia
41.7% - Rochester
40.0% - Milwaukee
38.6% - Buffalo
32.9% - Chicago
29.9% - Kansas City
28.0% - Columbus
27.5% - Indianapolis 26.1% - Pittsburgh
25.5% - New York
24.4% - Boston
17.3% - Minneapolis/St. Paul
Black rate of growth (2000-2010)
+26.5% - Columbus
+13.1% - Minneapolis-St. Paul*
+13.1% - Indianapolis*
+6.7% - Milwaukee
+3.8% - Rochester
+2.5% - Boston
+0.9% - Philadelphia
-0.2% - Kansas City
-1.9% - New York
-5.5% - Baltimore
-6.4% - Cincinnati
-7.5% - Buffalo
-11.1% - Washington DC
-11.8% - St. Louis -12.2% - Pittsburgh
-13.2% - Cleveland
-16.7% - Chicago
-23.9% - Detroit
(*: Ranked by further decimal points.)
Hispanic population
2,336,076 - New York
778,862 - Chicago
187,611 - Philadelphia
107,917 - Boston
103,007 - Milwaukee
77,352 - Indianapolis
67,384 - Minneapolis/St. Paul
54,749 - Washington DC
48,679 - Detroit
45,953 - Kansas City
44,359 - Columbus
39,534 - Cleveland
34,456 - Rochester
27,519 - Buffalo
25,960 - Baltimore
11,130 - St. Louis
8,308 - Cincinnati 6,964 - Pittsburgh
Hispanic percent of total population
28.9% - Chicago
28.6% - New York
17.5% - Boston
17.3% - Milwaukee
16.4% - Rochester
12.3% - Philadelphia
10.5% - Buffalo
10.1% - Minneapolis/St. Paul
10.0% - Kansas City*
10.0% - Cleveland*
9.4% - Indianapolis
9.1% - Washington DC
6.8% - Detroit
5.6% - Columbus
4.2% - Baltimore
3.5% - St. Louis
2.8% - Cincinnati 2.3% - Pittsburgh
(*: Ranked by further decimal points.)
Hispanic rate of growth (2000-2010)
+153.9% - Columbus
+152.5% - Indianapolis
+134.7% - Baltimore
+96.4% - Cincinnati
+58.5% - St. Louis +57.4% - Pittsburgh
+50.2% - Kansas City
+45.5% - Philadelphia
+43.8% - Milwaukee
+26.8% - Boston
+26.4% - Minneapolis/St. Paul
+24.7% - Buffalo
+22.9% - Rochester
+21.8% - Washington DC
+13.8% - Cleveland
+8.1% - New York
+3.3% - Chicago
+3.2% - Detroit
Asian population
1,038,388 - New York
147,164 - Chicago
96,405 - Philadelphia
64,248 - Minneapolis/St. Paul
55,235 - Boston
31,965 - Columbus
21,056 - Washington DC
20,851 - Milwaukee
17,236 - Indianapolis
14,548 - Baltimore 13,465 - Pittsburgh
11,399 - Kansas City
9,291 - St. Louis
8,409 - Buffalo
7,559 - Detroit
7,327 - Cleveland
6,493 - Rochester
5,481 - Cincinnati
Asian percent of total population
12.7% - New York
9.6% - Minneapolis/St. Paul
8.9% - Boston
6.3% - Philadelphia
5.5% - Chicago 4.4% - Pittsburgh
4.1% - Columbus
3.5% - Milwaukee*
3.5% - Washington DC*
3.2% - Buffalo
3.1% - Rochester
2.9% - St. Louis
2.5% - Kansas City
2.3% - Baltimore
2.1% - Indianapolis
1.8% - Cleveland*
1.8% - Cincinnati*
1.1% - Detroit
(*: Ranked by further decimal points.)
Asian rate of growth (2000-2010)
+105.4% - Buffalo
+54.4% - Indianapolis +46.4% - Pittsburgh
+45.7% - Baltimore
+42.5% - Philadelphia
+39.3% - Kansas City
+38.6% - Washington DC
+34.8% - St. Louis
+31.9% - New York
+31.2% - Rochester
+30.5% - Columbus
+24.7% - Boston
+18.7% - Milwaukee
+16.8% - Chicago
+13.7% - Cleveland
+9.0% - Minneapolis/St. Paul
+6.8% - Cincinnati
-18.4% - Detroit
And here are each city's rankings (out of 18) in terms of population percentages and rates of growth...
Boston
6 - White population percentage rank
17 - Black population percentage rank
3 - Hispanic population percentage rank
3 - Asian population percentage rank
2 - White rate of growth rank
6 - Black rate of growth rank
10 - Hispanic rate of growth rank
12 - Asian rate of growth rank
4 - Total population rate of growth rank
New York
11 - White population percentage rank
16 - Black population percentage rank
2 - Hispanic population percentage rank
1 - Asian population percentage rank
4 - White rate of growth rank
9 - Black rate of growth rank
16 - Hispanic rate of growth rank
9 - Asian rate of growth rank
6 - Total population rate of growth rank
Philadelphia
14 - White population percentage rank
7 - Black population percentage rank
6 - Hispanic population percentage rank
4 - Asian population percentage rank
10 - White rate of growth rank
7 - Black rate of growth rank
8 - Hispanic rate of growth rank
5 - Asian rate of growth rank
7 - Total population rate of growth rank
Baltimore
17 - White population percentage rank
2 - Black population percentage rank
15 - Hispanic population percentage rank
14 - Asian population percentage rank
12 - White rate of growth rank
10 - Black rate of growth rank
3 - Hispanic rate of growth rank
4 - Asian rate of growth rank
11 - Total population rate of growth rank
Washington DC
15 - White population percentage rank
4 - Black population percentage rank
12 - Hispanic population percentage rank
9 - Asian population percentage rank
1 - White rate of growth rank
13 - Black rate of growth rank
14 - Hispanic rate of growth rank
7 - Asian rate of growth rank
2 - Total population rate of growth rank
Rochester
13 - White population percentage rank
8 - Black population percentage rank
5 - Hispanic population percentage rank
11 - Asian population percentage rank
14 - White rate of growth rank
5 - Black rate of growth rank
13 - Hispanic rate of growth rank
10 - Asian rate of growth rank
10 - Total population rate of growth rank
Buffalo
7 - White population percentage rank
10 - Black population percentage rank
7 - Hispanic population percentage rank
10 - Asian population percentage rank
16 - White rate of growth rank
12 - Black rate of growth rank
12 - Hispanic rate of growth rank
1 - Asian rate of growth rank
16 - Total population rate of growth rank
Pittsburgh
1 - White population percentage rank
15 - Black population percentage rank
18 - Hispanic population percentage rank
6 - Asian population percentage rank
13 - White rate of growth rank
15 - Black rate of growth rank
6 - Hispanic rate of growth rank
3 - Asian rate of growth rank
14 - Total population rate of growth rank
Cleveland
16 - White population percentage rank
3 - Black population percentage rank
10 - Hispanic population percentage rank
16 - Asian population percentage rank
17 - White rate of growth rank
16 - Black rate of growth rank
15 - Hispanic rate of growth rank
15 - Asian rate of growth rank
17 - Total population rate of growth rank
Columbus
4 - White population percentage rank
13 - Black population percentage rank
14 - Hispanic population percentage rank
7 - Asian population percentage rank
5 - White rate of growth rank
1 - Black rate of growth rank
1 - Hispanic rate of growth rank
11 - Asian rate of growth rank
1 - Total population rate of growth rank
Detroit
18 - White population percentage rank
1 - Black population percentage rank
13 - Hispanic population percentage rank
18 - Asian population percentage rank
18 - White rate of growth rank
18 - Black rate of growth rank
18 - Hispanic rate of growth rank
18 - Asian rate of growth rank
18 - Total population rate of growth rank
Cincinnati
8 - White population percentage rank
6 - Black population percentage rank
17 - Hispanic population percentage rank
17 - Asian population percentage rank
15 - White rate of growth rank
11 - Black rate of growth rank
4 - Hispanic rate of growth rank
17 - Asian rate of growth rank
15 - Total population rate of growth rank
Indianapolis
3 - White population percentage rank
14 - Black population percentage rank
11 - Hispanic population percentage rank
15 - Asian population percentage rank
8 - White rate of growth rank
3 - Black rate of growth rank
2 - Hispanic rate of growth rank
2 - Asian rate of growth rank
3 - Total population rate of growth rank
Chicago
9 - White population percentage rank
11 - Black population percentage rank
1 - Hispanic population percentage rank
5 - Asian population percentage rank
6 - White rate of growth rank
17 - Black rate of growth rank
17 - Hispanic rate of growth rank
14 - Asian rate of growth rank
12 - Total population rate of growth rank
Milwaukee
10 - White population percentage rank
9 - Black population percentage rank
4 - Hispanic population percentage rank
8 - Asian population percentage rank
11 - White rate of growth rank
4 - Black rate of growth rank
9 - Hispanic rate of growth rank
13 - Asian rate of growth rank
9 - Total population rate of growth rank
St. Louis
12 - White population percentage rank
5 - Black population percentage rank
16 - Hispanic population percentage rank
12 - Asian population percentage rank
9 - White rate of growth rank
14 - Black rate of growth rank
5 - Hispanic rate of growth rank
8 - Asian rate of growth rank
13 - Total population rate of growth rank
Minneapolis/St. Paul
2 - White population percentage rank
18 - Black population percentage rank
8 - Hispanic population percentage rank
2 - Asian population percentage rank
7 - White rate of growth rank
2 - Black rate of growth rank
11 - Hispanic rate of growth rank
16 - Asian rate of growth rank
8 - Total population rate of growth rank
Kansas City
5 - White population percentage rank
12 - Black population percentage rank
9 - Hispanic population percentage rank
13 - Asian population percentage rank
3 - White rate of growth rank
8 - Black rate of growth rank
7 - Hispanic rate of growth rank
6 - Asian rate of growth rank
Pittsburgh has been losing population from every ethnic group since the 70s.
But although the figures are probably accurate, the conclusion that "pittsburgh is not ethnically diverse" is not.
Lumping all "white" individuals into the same category says that there is no ethnic difference between Italians or Poles or Scots Irish or the score of other ethnic groups that have made their mark on the region.
Pittsburgh has been losing population from every ethnic group since the 70s.
But although the figures are probably accurate, the conclusion that "pittsburgh is not ethnically diverse" is not.
Lumping all "white" individuals into the same category says that there is no ethnic difference between Italians or Poles or Scots Irish or the score of other ethnic groups that have made their mark on the region.
There may be an ethnic difference (though really, most white people trace their heritage to more than just one or two nations), but there is almost never a socially significant difference between the various ethnicities that make up "white." The Jewish population of squirrel hill is the only white population in Pittsburgh that might actually merit differentiating.
The US as a whole is 72% white, doesn't this just mean that Pittsburgh is closer to being "appropriately diverse" than any of the other cities?
Plus, while Pittsburgh isn't massively diverse, it isn't THAT different from most other cities in the Midwest region. Maybe other Midwest cities have a higher black population, but I couldn't say they are necessarily more 'diverse' in large swaths of all kinds of varied and different foreign-borns oozing out of their population numbers like in large East Coast or West Coast cities. So, I don't think Pittsburgh is that much of an anamoly.
Driving around the Oakland and Squirrel Hill area though, it certainly seems there are some Asians around...so it's not like they are just non-existant altogether. Actually that goes for almost anywhere in the Midwest, find the university areas, and you'll probably find some Asian presense somewhere amongst it. (Not saying that because of the educational stereotypes, but moreso because of student visas from abroad).
Pittsburgh has been losing population from every ethnic group since the 70s.
But although the figures are probably accurate, the conclusion that "pittsburgh is not ethnically diverse" is not.
Lumping all "white" individuals into the same category says that there is no ethnic difference between Italians or Poles or Scots Irish or the score of other ethnic groups that have made their mark on the region.
Hey, this is the tactic of all race baiting lefties. Skin tone is the only thing that matters. All whites are white, all blacks are black. This is why they can never understand ethnic conflict in places like Africa or the middle east. They think all people of the same skin tone would live together in perfect harmony if it wasn't for the evil, oppressive majority(i.e. white people).
While the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and various members of SkyscraperPage.com were crying about the lack of racial and ethnic diversity for a major city, I punched some numbers for Pittsburgh and all core cities proper of metropolitan areas with 1,000,000+ population in the Northeast, northern Mid-Atlantic and Midwest to see exactly how Pittsburgh compared to them. There are 18 such cities in this comparison, including Pittsburgh. I kept the focus on the cities proper for two reasons: 1) because it was far less time-consuming, and 2) because the core cities proper are supposed to have the majority of the economic and cultural importance in their Metropolitan Statistical Areas.
So here are lists of the 18 cities ranked by the total populations of each city as of the 2010 Census, plus their rates of growth, their (major) racial and ethnic compositions, and the rate of growth of each group...
Hispanic population
2,336,076 - New York
778,862 - Chicago
187,611 - Philadelphia
107,917 - Boston
103,007 - Milwaukee
77,352 - Indianapolis
67,384 - Minneapolis/St. Paul
54,749 - Washington DC
48,679 - Detroit
45,953 - Kansas City
44,359 - Columbus
39,534 - Cleveland
34,456 - Rochester
27,519 - Buffalo
25,960 - Baltimore
11,130 - St. Louis
8,308 - Cincinnati 6,964 - Pittsburgh
Hispanic percent of total population
28.9% - Chicago
28.6% - New York
17.5% - Boston
17.3% - Milwaukee
16.4% - Rochester
12.3% - Philadelphia
10.5% - Buffalo
10.1% - Minneapolis/St. Paul
10.0% - Kansas City*
10.0% - Cleveland*
9.4% - Indianapolis
9.1% - Washington DC
6.8% - Detroit
5.6% - Columbus
4.2% - Baltimore
3.5% - St. Louis
2.8% - Cincinnati 2.3% - Pittsburgh
(*: Ranked by further decimal points.)
Hispanic rate of growth (2000-2010)
+153.9% - Columbus
+152.5% - Indianapolis
+134.7% - Baltimore
+96.4% - Cincinnati
+58.5% - St. Louis +57.4% - Pittsburgh
+50.2% - Kansas City
+45.5% - Philadelphia
+43.8% - Milwaukee
+26.8% - Boston
+26.4% - Minneapolis/St. Paul
+24.7% - Buffalo
+22.9% - Rochester
+21.8% - Washington DC
+13.8% - Cleveland
+8.1% - New York
+3.3% - Chicago
+3.2% - Detroit
Asian population
1,038,388 - New York
147,164 - Chicago
96,405 - Philadelphia
64,248 - Minneapolis/St. Paul
55,235 - Boston
31,965 - Columbus
21,056 - Washington DC
20,851 - Milwaukee
17,236 - Indianapolis
14,548 - Baltimore 13,465 - Pittsburgh
11,399 - Kansas City
9,291 - St. Louis
8,409 - Buffalo
7,559 - Detroit
7,327 - Cleveland
6,493 - Rochester
5,481 - Cincinnati
Asian percent of total population
12.7% - New York
9.6% - Minneapolis/St. Paul
8.9% - Boston
6.3% - Philadelphia
5.5% - Chicago 4.4% - Pittsburgh
4.1% - Columbus
3.5% - Milwaukee*
3.5% - Washington DC*
3.2% - Buffalo
3.1% - Rochester
2.9% - St. Louis
2.5% - Kansas City
2.3% - Baltimore
2.1% - Indianapolis
1.8% - Cleveland*
1.8% - Cincinnati*
1.1% - Detroit
(*: Ranked by further decimal points.)
Asian rate of growth (2000-2010)
+105.4% - Buffalo
+54.4% - Indianapolis +46.4% - Pittsburgh
+45.7% - Baltimore
+42.5% - Philadelphia
+39.3% - Kansas City
+38.6% - Washington DC
+34.8% - St. Louis
+31.9% - New York
+31.2% - Rochester
+30.5% - Columbus
+24.7% - Boston
+18.7% - Milwaukee
+16.8% - Chicago
+13.7% - Cleveland
+9.0% - Minneapolis/St. Paul
+6.8% - Cincinnati
-18.4% - Detroit
Discuss.
Rates of growth of small numbers can be misleading. This is especially true for the Hispanic population. My 2c.
Rates of growth of small numbers can be misleading. This is especially true for the Hispanic population. My 2c.
Exactly. While Pittsburgh had the 6th fastest Hispanic growth, they still are 2.3% of the population. The 5 cities that had higher growth rates also started from a small population of them too.
Last edited by bradjl2009; 09-10-2011 at 09:39 AM..
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