Westchester Index

Data Stories

Telling powerful stories with numbers

Standing Together: Championing Westchester's Diverse Immigrant Communities

Westchester County is rich in cultural and linguistic diversity, shaped by a growing population of foreign-born residents, including a recent increase in migrants seeking asylum.

The Westchester Index provides some trends about the foreign-born population. From 2018 to 2022, 26% of Westchester's population was self-reported to the American Community Survey as foreign-born, a modest increase from 25% in 2008-2012.

Affordable Housing: A Countywide Challenge in Westchester

Westchester County is one of the most expensive places in the country to live. But the high cost of housing isn’t a burden that is shared equally.

Countywide in 2018-22, 38% of households were housing cost burdened (spending 30% or more of their income on housing costs) --but that ranges widely throughout the county. Highly unaffordable municipalities included Mount Vernon and Port Chester, both at 46%, and Ossining, 45%.

In Westchester, the impacts of food insecurity are disproportionate and wide-ranging

Food insecurity is defined as a lack consistent access to enough food, or food of nutritious quality, for an active and healthy life.

Despite Some Progress, Health Disparities Persist in Westchester

While there is work underway in Westchester to improve the health of its residents, data shows that disparities in health outcomes persist. Health challenges are especially prevalent for minority groups that have faced historical discrimination based on their race and ethnicity.

Mortality rates are a measure of the overall health of a community, and is affected by a wide variety of factors, including economic status, and structural racism.

Seniors in Westchester: A Growing Group with Some Vulnerabilities

Westchester is Aging

As in most places, the population in Westchester County is aging. Residents 85 or older are by far the fastest growing group with an increase of 58% since 2000, followed by people 60 to 84 (increase of 34%). In fact, no other age groups in Westchester are growing significantly and younger populations are in decline.

Reaching retirement age can bring significant change to the day-to-day experiences of older adults. The end of working requires many older adults to subsist on social security and retirement benefits.

For Children in Westchester, Poverty has Lasting Impact into Adulthood

Although Westchester is widely known as an affluent county, 8% of the population lived below the poverty line in 2016-2020. The federal poverty threshold is calculated annually and varies by family composition and year; in 2020, the poverty threshold for a four-person family with two children was an annual income of $26,246. Living in poverty is detrimental to all individuals but can have long-term adverse effects on children’s physical health, brain development, and educational outcomes.