How the Other Half Lives/Appendix
Appendix: Statistics Bearing on the Tenement Problem
[edit]Statistics of population were left out of the text in the hope that the results of this year's census would be available as a basis for calculation before the book went to press. They are now at hand, but the correctness is disputed. The statisticians of the Health Department claim that New York's population has been underestimated a hundred thousand at least, and they appear to have the best of the argument. A re-count is called for, and the printer will not wait. Such statistics as follow have been based on the Health Department estimates, except where the census source is given. The extent of the quarrel of official figures may be judged from this one fact, that the ordinarily conservative and careful calculations of the sanitary Bureau make the death-rate of New York, in 1889, 25.19 for the thousand of a population of 1,575,073, while the census would make it 26.76 in a population of 1,482,273.
| Population of New York, 1880 (census) | 1,206,299 |
| Population of London, 1881 (census) | 3,816,483 |
| Population of Philadelphia, 1880 (census) | 846,980 |
| Population of Brooklyn, 1880 (census) | 566,689 |
| Population of Boston, 1880 (census) | 362,535 |
| Population of New York, 1889 (estimated) | 1,575,073 |
| Population of London, 1889 (estimated) | 4,351,738 |
| Population of Philadelphia, 1889 (estimated) | 1,040,245 |
| Population of Brooklyn, 1889 (estimated) | 814,505 |
| Population of Boston, 1889 (estimated) | 420,000 |
| Population of New York under five years of age, in 1880 | 140,327 |
| Population of New York under five years of age, in 1889 (estimated) | 182,770 |
| Population of tenements in New York in 1869[1] (census). | 468,492 |
| Population of tenements in New York in 1888[2] (census). | 1,093,701 |
| Population of tenements in New York in 1888 under five years of age | 143,243 |
| Population of New York in 1880 (census) | 1,206,299 |
| Population of Manhattan Island in 1880 (census) | 1,164,673 |
| Population of Tenth Ward in 1880 (census) | 47,554 |
| Population of Eleventh Ward in 1880 (census) | 68,778 |
| Population of Thirteenth Ward in 1880 (census) | 37,797 |
| Population of New York in 1890 (census) | 1,513,501 |
| Population of Manhattan Island in 1890 (census) | 1,440,101 |
| Population of Tenth Ward in 1890 (census) | 57,514 |
| Population of Eleventh Ward in 1890 (census) | 75,708 |
| Population of Thirteenth Ward in 1890 (census) | 45,882 |
| Number of acres in New York City | 24,890 |
| Number of acres in Manhattan Island | 12,673 |
| Number of acres in Tenth Ward | 110 |
| Number of acres in Eleventh Ward | 196 |
| Number of acres in Thirteenth Ward | 107 |
| Density of population per acre in 1880, New York City | 48.4 |
| Density of population per acre in 1880, Manhattan Island | 92.6 |
| Density of population per acre in 1880, Tenth Ward | 432.3 |
| Density of population per acre in 1880, Eleventh Ward | 350.9 |
| Density of population per acre in 1880, Thirteenth Ward | 353.2 |
| Density of population per acre in 1890, New York City (census) | 60.08 |
| Density of population per acre in 1890, Manhattan Island (census) | 114.53 |
| Density of population per acre in 1890, Tenth Ward (census) | 522.00 |
| Density of population per acre in 1890, Eleventh Ward (census) | 386.00 |
| Density of population per acre in 1890, Thirteenth Ward (census) | 428.8 |
| Density of population to the square mile in 1880, New York City (census) | 30,976 |
| Density of population to the square mile in 1880, Manhattan Island (census) | 41,264 |
| Density of population to the square mile in 1880, Tenth Ward (census) | 276,672 |
| Density of population to the square mile in 1880, Eleventh Ward (census) | 224,576 |
| Density of population to the square mile in 1880, Thirteenth Ward (census) | 226,048 |
| Density of population to the square mile in 1890, New York City (census) | 38,451 |
| Density of population to the square mile in 1890, Manhattan Island (census) | 73,299 |
| Density of population to the square mile in 1890, Tenth Ward (census) | 334,080 |
| Density of population to the square mile in 1890, Eleventh Ward (census) | 246,040 |
| Density of population to the square mile in 1890, Thirteenth Ward (census) | 274,432 |
| Number of persons to a dwelling in New York, 1880 (census) | 16.37 |
| Number of persons to a dwelling in London, 1881 (census) | 7.9 |
| Number of persons to a dwelling in Philadelphia, 1880 (census) | 5.79 |
| Number of persons to a dwelling in Brooklyn, 1880 (census) | 9.11 |
| Number of persons to a dwelling in Boston, 1880 (census) | 8.26 |
| Number of deaths in New York, 1880 | 31,937 |
| Number of deaths in London, 1881 | 81,431 |
| Number of deaths in Philadelphia, 1880 | 17,711 |
| Number of deaths in Brooklyn, 1880 | 13,222 |
| Number of deaths in Boston, 1880 | 8,612 |
| Death-rate of New York, 1880 | 26.47 |
| Death-rate of London, 1881 | 21.3 |
| Death-rate of Philadelphia, 1880 | 20.91 |
| Death-rate of Brooklyn, 1880 | 23.33 |
| Death-rate of Boston, 1880 | 23.75 |
| Number of deaths in New York, 1889 | 39,679 |
| Number of deaths in London, 1889 | 75,683 |
| Number of deaths in Philadelphia, 1889 | 20,536 |
| Number of deaths in Brooklyn, 1889 | 18,288 |
| Number of deaths in Boston, 1889 | 10,259 |
| Death-rate of New York, 1889 | 25.19 |
| Death-rate of London, 1889 | 17.4 |
| Death-rate of Philadelphia, 1889 | 19.7 |
| Death-rate of Brooklyn, 1889 | 22.5 |
| Death-rate of Boston, 1889 | 24.42 |
For every person who dies there are always two disabled by illness, so that there was a regular average of 79,358 New Yorkers on the sick-list at any moment last year. It is usual to count 28 cases of sickness the year round for every death, and this would give a total for the year 1889 of 1,111,082 of illness of all sorts.
| Number of deaths in tenements in New York, 1869 | 13,285 |
| Number of deaths in tenements in New York, 1888 | 24,842 |
| Death-rate in tenements in New York, 1869 | 28.35 |
| Death-rate in tenements in New York, 1888 | 22.71 |
This is exclusive of deaths in institutions, properly referable to the tenements in most cases. The adult death-rate is found to decrease in the large tenements of newer construction. The child mortality increases, reaching 104.04 per cent. of 1,000 living in houses containing between 60 and 80 tenants. From this point it decreases with the adult death rate.
| Number of deaths in prisons, New York, 1889 | 85 |
| Number of deaths in hospitals, New York, 1889 | 6,102 |
| Number of deaths in lunatic asylums, New York, 1889 | 448 |
| Number of deaths in institutions for children, New York, 1889 | 522 |
| Number of deaths in homes for aged, New York, 1889 | 238 |
| Number of deaths in almshouse, New York, 1889 | 424 |
| Number of deaths in other institutions, New York, 1889 | 162 |
| Number of burials in city cemetery (paupers), New York, 1889 | 3,815 |
| Percentage of such burials on total | 9.64 |
| Number of tenants weeded out of overcrowded tenements, New York, 1889 | 1,246 |
| Number of tenants weeded out of overcrowded tenements, in first half of 1890[3] | 1,068 |
| Number of sick poor visited by summer corps of doctors, New York, 1890 | 16,501 |
| Males. | Females. | |
| Arrests made by the police in 1889 | 62,274 | 19,926 |
| Number of arrests for drunkenness and disorderly conduct | 20,253 | 8,981 |
| Number of arrests for disorderly conduct | 10,953 | 7,477 |
| Number of arrests for assault and battery | 4,534 | 497 |
| Number of arrests for theft | 4,399 | 721 |
| Number of arrests for robbery | 247 | 10 |
| Number of arrests for vagrancy | 1,686 | 947 |
| Prisoners unable to read or write | 2,399 | 1,281 |
| Number of lost children found in the streets, 1889 | 2,968 | |
| Number of sick and destitute cared for, 1889 | 2,753 | |
| Found sick in the streets | 1,211 | |
| Number of pawnshops in city, 1889 | 110 | |
| Number of cheap lodging-houses, 1889 | 270 | |
| Number of saloons, 1889 | 7,884 |
| Immigrants landed at Castle Garden in 20 years, ending with 1889 | 5,335,396 |
| Immigrants landed at Castle Garden in 1889 | 349,233 |
| Immigrants from England landed at Castle Garden in 1889 | 46,214 |
| Immigrants from Scotland landed at Castle Garden in 1889 | 11,415 |
| Immigrants from Ireland landed at Castle Garden in 1889 | 43,090 |
| Immigrants from Germany landed at Castle Garden in 1889 | 75,458 |
| 1883. | 1884. | 1885. | 1886. | 1887. | 1888. | 1889. | |
| Italy | 25,485 | 14,076 | 16,033 | 29,312 | 44,274 | 43,927 | 28,810 |
| Russia | 7,577 | 12,432 | 16,578 | 23,987 | 33,203 | 33,052 | 31,329 |
| Poland | 7,577 | 12,432 | 16,578 | 23,987 | 33,203 | 33,052 | 31,329 |
| Hungary | 13,160 | 15,797 | 11,129 | 18,135 | 17,719 | 12,905 | 15,678 |
| Bohemia | 4,877 | 7,093 | 6,697 | 4,222 | 6,449 | 3,982 | 5,412 |
| Number of tenements in New York, December 1, 1888 | 32,390 |
| Number built from June 1, 1888, to August 1, 1890 | 3,733 |
| Rear tenements in existence, August 1, 1890 | 2,630 |
| Total number of tenements, August 1, 1890 | 37,316 |
| Estimated population of tenements, August 1, 1890 | 1,250,000 |
| Estimated number of children under five years in tenements, 1890 | 163,712 |
Corner tenements may cover all of the lot, except 4 feet at the rear. Tenements in the block may only cover seventy-eight per cent. of the lot. They must have a rear yard 10 feet wide, and air shafts or open courts equal to twelve per cent of the lot.
Tenements or apartment houses must not be built over 70 feet high in streets 60 feet wide. Tenements or apartment houses must not be built over 80 feet high in streets wider than 60 feet.