According to the 2020 Census, Yonkers is now the third largest city in the state of New York, a little ahead of Rochester with a population difference of just 241 residents. The report resulted in a mostly positive response from Yonkers natives; however, not everyone’s buying the numbers as some organizations do not trust 2020’s data due to the Covid pandemic.
The city saw an increase of 8 percent in population – going from about 196,000 to more than 211,500. New York City remains the most populated city in the state with more than 8.8 million residents. Second on the list is Buffalo with over 278,000 people.
“It shows that people want to move here, people want to live here, people want to invest here,” said Yonkers Mayor Mike Spano. The mayor credited the city’s growing economy, safety, and good infrastructure for this growth.
This increase in population means Yonkers is doing something right. Also, such a major jump could prove to be a huge success as it could help the city secure more funding.
“There are some programs for which you miss a person, you miss money, and there are other programs for which you miss a person, that doesn’t matter,” said Andrew Reamer, a research professor at the George Washington Institute of Public Policy, “So, it all depends on who got added, and we won’t know that for quite some time.”
