*Available at http://brownstoner.com/brownstoner/archives/BrightonBeach.jpg; 5/6/2010.

Welcome to the Brighton Beach Demographics Page!

Brighton Beach’s demographics are unique. The neighborhood is on the Atlantic Ocean between Coney Island and Manhattan Beach. Originally developed as a seaside resort after the Civil War, Brighton Beach has evolved several times with influxes of immigrants all contributing to its ethnic identity. During the terrible times of World War One, the first wave of Russian Jews settled in the area. At the war’s end the arrival of immigrants to Brighton Beach came to a temporary halt. In the 1940’s Holocaust survivors flocked to Brighton for refuge, and in the 1970s, a new wave of immigrants from the Soviet Union (and later, post-Soviet Russia) began to arrive in Brighton Beach. Today Brighton Beach is said to have one of the largest populations of Jews from the former Soviet Union. Brighton Beach has become a hot spot with resorts and new hotels that attract inner city residents for a summer weekend destination. This is reflected in the Q train line, which at first served only 500,000 people but now is the main transportation service for millions.

    *All maps are provided by Social Explorer (R).

 *Statistics provided by the U.S. Census Bureau.

 From the numbers we can tell that the majority of the population of Brighton Beach is middle aged or elderly. This is because the younger generation sees Brighton Beach as a stepping-stone to bigger and better things. The older people are very visible in Brighton, usually sitting on benches on the boardwalk enjoying their afternoons. Some fear that when this generation passes away, Brighton Beach will gradually lose its unique ethnic identity.

Brighton Beach: Household Income *^{_{Statistics provided by the U.S. Census Bureau.}} 

The stereotypical image of Brighton Beach is of wealthy Russians who drive Bentleys. However when we analyze the statistics we see that most of the residents of Brighton Beach live on modest incomes.