Yonkers City Snapshot

Today, we’re excited to release a Yonkers City Snapshot, the first in our City Snapshots series. Over the next few weeks, we’ll share four more City Snapshots in order of population size (largest to smallest): New Rochelle, Mount Vernon, White Plains, and Peekskill. Keep your eyes peeled for the rest of the series!

Our goal is to shed some light on what it’s like to raise a child in each of these cities in Westchester County. The data we’ve chosen covers key areas such as demographics, economics, education, community resources, health and safety, and family. While there is much more data that we could have included, we think the data we’ve chosen provides a well-rounded picture of the environments that our children and youth are developing in. All the City Snapshots will contain the same data indicators for comparisons between cities.

You can download a pdf of the Yonkers City Snapshot or use the interactive viewing window below.


Yonkers Highlights

NOTE: Unless otherwise noted, all comparisons are made between the five selected cities, not between all municipalities in Westchester County.
  • Largest population: Yonkers has the largest population out of all the municipalities in Westchester. As you compare Yonkers to other municipalities in Westchester, please keep in mind that Yonkers’ higher population also translates into higher numbers for things such as grocery stores, parks, and family resource centers.
  • Suspension rate: 21% of Yonkers students received a suspension in the 2011-2012 school year. This is the highest rate out of all Westchester County school districts, excluding New York State Special Act School Districts.
  • Free/reduced lunch rate: 77% of Yonkers students receive free or reduced lunch, a larger percentage than the other four school districts. (In comparison, 34% of all students in Westchester County as a whole receive free or reduced lunch).
  • Monthly housing costs: Homeowners in Yonkers dish out less for housing than the other four cities, with a median monthly housing cost of $1,694. Yonkers also has the smallest proportion of renters who experience rent burden (55% of households), which is defined as spending more than 30% of the household’s income on rent.
  • Home language: Yonkers has the highest percentage of children whose home language is not English, with only 55% of school-age children speaking English at home.
  • Child obesity: Out of the five cities, Yonkers ties with White Plains for the lowest percentage of children who are obese or over-weight (34%). Throughout Westchester County as a whole, 26% of children are obese or overweight.
  • Strive Partnership: Since the fall of 2013, Yonkers has participated in a Strive Together Partnership. This national model seeks to engage a wide range of community leaders and organizations in order to collectively envision and support the success of every child from cradle to career.

Take some time to explore the rest of the data in the Yonkers City Snapshot below. We also encourage you to download the fact sheet as a reference, or send it to a friend or colleague using the share buttons at the bottom of the post.