Educational Attainment and Occupation Shifts in educational attainment and occupational status are some of the more dramatic changes in the study area between 1970 and 2000. For the population 25 years and older a plurality of residents had an elementary education and only a small percentage a college degree in 1970. By 2000, following a sizeable influx of more affluent residents, the reverse was the case. The number of residents with four years of college skyrocketed from 1.5% in 1970 to 20.0% in 2000, while the number with some college education rose from 3% to 16%. Within the study area, large majorities hold college degrees in the three census tracts along Court Street, while high school degrees are the norm in the remaining six tracts. The higher levels of education and income correspond to changes in residents’ occupational status. In 1970, 7.5% of employed residents 16 years of age and older worked in management, business and finance and 3.2% worked as professionals in other fields. Thirty years later, nearly 16% worked in business and finance, and the number of people working in various other professional fields had increased tenfold to 33.1%. Language Spoken at Home Similarly to Brooklyn as a whole, English is the predominant language spoken at home in the study area. Specifically, 65% speak English at home in the Gowanus area, while the same is true for 66% of the residents in Brooklyn. This is also similar to Boerum Hill, where 66% of residents speak English at home, but significantly lower than in Carroll Gardens or Park Slope, where 75% and 73% speak English at home respectively. Spanish Spoken at Home 50% 45%
1980 1990
Percentage of Household
40%
2000
35% 25% 20% 15% 10% 5% 0%
Study Area
Study Area North
Study Area West
Study Area East
FIGURE III-6: Spanish Spoken at Home by Study Area, 1980-2000 (U.S. Census)
The highest incidence of English is in the west sub-area, where over 83% of households speak English at home. The lowest is in the mainly Hispanic east sub-area, where only 49% speak English at home. The second most commonly spoken language in the study area is Spanish, used by 34% of households, much higher than the borough average of 18%. In the study area and surrounding neighborhoods, but in contrast to Brooklyn, the overall trend has been an increase in the use of English at home and a decrease in Spanish and other languages. Two tracts (121 and 125), both in the east, run counter to this trend. As shown in Figure III-6, the east study area has over 40% of the population speaking Spanish at home. Foreign Born Population The borough has seen a rapid increase in the share of foreign-born residents, rising from 18% in 1970 to 38% in 2000. The study area has also seen a rise in the share of foreign-born residents, but at a much lower rate than the borough, rising from 14% in 1970 to 18% in 2000. This follows similar trends in Boerum Hill and Park Slope. However, there are significant differences at the sub-area level. The mainly Hispanic east has seen a major increase in the share of foreign-born, from 13% to 27%, while in the west it declined from 19% to 14%. The drop in the west parallels changes in Carroll Gardens, which saw a decline from 16% to 14%.
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