Household Incomes and Poverty Statistics | The Peopling of New York City

Household Income	Howard Beach 1990 Census		Howard Beach 2000 Census		NYC 2000 Census
<19,999	1,890	19%	1,956	17%	876,094	30%
$20,000-$34,999	2,060	20%	1,742	15%	350,997	13%
$35,000-$49,999	2,075	20%	1,798	16%	430,297	15%
$75,000-$99,999	3,472	34%	3,960	35%	777,274	27%
$100,000>	696	7%	1,914	17%	413,989	15%
Median Household Income	$42,275		$51,175		$42,060

As the above table displays, the overall income of the residents of Howard Beach has steadily increased from 1990 to 2000 and the median household income is greater than that of the overall household median income of the whole New York City population.

Howard Beach, in comparison to New York City as a whole, has an overall greater median household income. Taking into consideration the extremely rich residing in Manhattan and the poorer neighborhoods throughout the five boroughs, the people of Howard Beach, in general are well off with their reported incomes. Walking through much of Howard Beach reveals larger homes and a bit of luxurious living. The wealth that is displayed particularly by the youth in Howard Beach reinforces this aspect of Guido culture.

The above pie chart visually represents the breakdown of the percentages of the population that earn a specific income in the Howard Beach area. The majority, as shown by the above chart, displays that the majority of the population earns an income of $75,000 to $99,999, an amount that is safely upper middle class to upper class.

In comparison to the pie chart below, which represents the breakdown of the percentages of the population that earn a specific household income in the whole New York City area, we see that Howard Beach's majority income earning is much greater than New York City's, which is less than $19,999. This stark difference in the amount of household incomes reaffirms Howard Beach's position as an upper class neighborhood within the New York City urban area.

From the time Italian Americans arrived in New York, they have continued to move up the socioeconomic ladder. Their economic prosperity over the last century had played a significant role in defining the Guido youth culture we recognize today. When Italian Americans began to move up into the middle class, the humble Italian culture of the immigrants, with meager meals of pasta became delicacies and overall Italian culture became sophisticated. The 1980 publication of Attenzione featured Italian culture, targeting middle class families. With the acceptance of Italian culture, a richer and more luxuriant lifestyle was desired. This lifestyle trickled down to the younger generations of Italian-Americans. It became necessary to flaunt their wealth. The heavy neck chains and gold jewelry of Playboy Bunnies, Italian Horns, and Automobiles are gifts among family and friends that display wealth. Luxury class cars further demonstrated wealth in what is nicknamed “Guidomobiles” or “Cuzmobiles." These characteristics of Italian American youth culture can be found in Howard Beach today and give the neighborhood its Italian American atmosphere and flavor.

In addition to the steady rise in the average income, however, the amount of the population below the poverty has increased. Although a small change, the percentage of residents under the poverty line has nearly doubled from 4% to 7%. In comparison with the whole New York City area, this increase in the percentage of the population reflects the city's increase of 19% to 24%, which shows a 5% increase in poverty.