Foodscape: Washington Heights/Inwood

by NYC Food Policy Editor

Washington Heights/Inwood Foodscape

Manhattan Community District 12

About Foodscapes

Access to affordable and nutritious food is one of the cornerstones of good health. Without this, individuals—and communities—are at a higher risk of food insecurity and serious chronic diseases, including obesity, diabetes, and heart disease. To improve the health of New Yorkers, we must recognize that each neighborhood has a distinct food environment.

Purpose

These Foodscape reports provide a community-level snapshot of a community’s food environment, including data on healthy and unhealthy food consumption, food access, and diet-related diseases. Additionally, the reports detail a comprehensive guide of the many food-related resources available to residents within their neighborhoods to support them in eating healthier. The Hunter College New York City Food Policy Center has compiled this information from various sources, presenting it in a user-friendly format to help NYC residents and communities better understand their local foodscapes.

The NYC Foodscape Reports were published in 2020 and are continually updated every six months. Data in the Foodscape Reports is collected from multiple primary sources to ensure the most up-to-date statistics for each indicator. Learn more about organizations and resources highlighted in the Foodscape Reports by visiting the Center’s Neighborhood Food Resource Guides as well as the Food Policy and Practice Database. Together, these three resources provide a comprehensive food-related guide to each New York City neighborhood. 

Zip codes include: 10032, 10033, 10034, 10040

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

DEMOGRAPHICS:

  • Total Population: 180,206 (2.29% of NYC population) (1)
  • Population by Race and Ethnicity of Washington Heights/Inwood and New York City (2)
    • Washington Heights/Inwood: 68.5% Latino | NYC: 29.2% Latino
    • Washington Heights/Inwood: 7.2% Black | NYC: 22% Black
    • Washington Heights/Inwood: 19.5% White | NYC: 32% White
    • Washington Heights/Inwood: 3.2% Asian/Pacific Islander | NYC: 15% Asian
    • Washington Heights/Inwood: 1.6% Other | NYC: 2% Other
  • Washington Heights/Inwood Population by Age: (3)
    • 0-17 years: 19%
    • 18-24 years: 10%
    • 25-44 years: 33%
    • 45-64 years: 25%
    • 65+ years: 13%
  • Life Expectancy
    • Washington Heights/Inwood: 84.4 years (2) | NYC: 82.1 years (2)
  • Born Outside the US: 
    • Washington Heights/Inwood: 46.6% (2) | NYC: 36.8% (2)

NEIGHBORHOOD ACCESS TO HEALTHY FOOD:

  • Supermarket to Bodega Ratio: One (1) supermarket in Washington Heights/Inwood to 13 bodegas (2)
  • Meal Gap (# of meals needed per year for food security): 5,565,856 (2)
  • Food Insecurity
    • Washington Heights/Inwood: 16.6% of residents (2)| NYC: 15.4% of residents (2)
  • Residences that Lack a Kitchen: 
    • Washington Heights/Inwood: 0.5% of housing units (2)| NYC: 0.8% (2)
  • Households Receiving SNAP Benefits: 
    • Washington Heights/Inwood: 32.3% of households (2)| NYC: 22.4% of households (2)

HEALTH BEHAVIORS:

  • No Fruits and Vegetables Yesterday: 
    • Washington Heights/Inwood: 19% of adults (2) | NYC: 12.9% of adults (2)
  • One or More 12-ounce Sugary Drinks Per Day (percent of adults): 
    • Washington Heights/Inwood: 23% (2) | NYC: 23% (2)
  • No Physical Activity in the Last 30 Days:
    • Washington Heights/Inwood: 23% of adults (2) | NYC: 27.1% of adults (2)

HEALTH AND DISEASE STATUS:

  • Adults Reporting Their Own Health as “Excellent,” “Very Good” or “Good” (percent of adults): 
    • Washington Heights/Inwood: 68% (2) | NYC: 78% (2)
  • Obesity (percent of adults): 
    • Washington Heights/Inwood: 26% (2) | NYC: 24% (2)
  •  Childhood Obesity (percent of public school children in grades K through 8): 
    • Washington Heights/Inwood: 24% (3) | NYC: 20% (3)
  • Diabetes (percent of adults): 
    • Washington Heights/Inwood: 13% (2) | NYC: 11% (2)
  • Hypertension (percent of adults): 
    • Washington Heights/Inwood: 28% (3) | NYC: 28% (3)
  • Smokers
    • Washington Heights/Inwood: 13% (2) | NYC: 13.9% (2)
  • Binge Drinkers
    • Washington Heights/Inwood: 24% (2) | NYC: 17.4% (2)

ECONOMIC AND LIVING-CONDITION STRESS, CONTRIBUTORS TO FOOD INSECURITY:

  • Median Household Income
    • Washington Heights/Inwood: $52,051 (2) | NYC: $60,879 (2)
  • Poverty (percent of households with incomes below poverty): 
    • Washington Heights/Inwood: 19.5% (2) | NYC: 19.7% (2)
  • Unemployment (percent of people ages 16 and older): 
    • Washington Heights/Inwood: 6% (2) | NYC: 4.5% (2)
  • Extreme Housing Burden (Extreme Housing Burden includes households spending more than 50% of income on housing): 
    • Washington Heights/Inwood: 28.4% (2) | NYC: 29.5% (2)
  • Rent Burden (households that spend 35% or more of their income on rent)
    • Washington Heights/Inwood: 43.3% (5) | NYC: 44.2% (5)

EXERCISE AND PHYSICAL ACTIVITY BURDEN

  • Air Pollution (micrograms of fine particulate matter per cubic meter): 
    • Washington Heights/Inwood: 7.3 (2) | New York City-wide: 7.5 (2)
  • Bicycle Network Coverage (percent of streets with bike lanes): 
    • Washington Heights/Inwood: 35% (3) | New York City-wide: 10% (3)
  • Pedestrian Injury Hospitalizations (per 100,000 people): 
    • Washington Heights/Inwood: 17 (3) | New York City-wide: 23 (3)
  • Percentage of Land Used for Public Parks, Open Space, and Recreation:
    • Washington Heights/Inwood: 43.7% (2) | New York City-wide: 24.7% (2)
  •  Canopy Coverage (percent of ground covered by tree crown/canopy)
    • Washington Heights/Inwood: 32.45% (6) | Manhattan: 21.38% (6) | New York City-wide: 22.04% (6)

To view information on Washington Heights/Inwood Community Gardens, Greenthumb Gardens, School Gardens, Farmers’ Markets, Snap Enrollment Sites, Food Pantries, Retail Food Stores, Parks, and more please visit the link below:

https://web.archive.org/web/20230606160409/https://www.nycfoodpolicy.org/foodscape-washington-heights-inwood/

REFERENCES:

  1. “2020 Data for NYC, Boros, CDs, Council Districts, NTAs, & Tracts.” NYC Planning. 2021, https://www1.nyc.gov/site/planning/planning-level/nyc-population/2020-census.page.
  2. “Data2Go: Washington Heights, Inwood & Marble Hill.” data2go.Nyc, Measure of America of the Social Science Research Council and Helmsley Charitable Trust, https://data2go.nyc/map/?id=112*36047015900*food_insecure_puma!undefined!ns*!buttonHolder~other_pop_cd_506~ahdi_puma_1~sch_enrol_cd_112~age_pyramid_male_85_plus_cd_20~median_household_income_puma_397~median_personal_earnings_puma_400~dis_y_perc_puma_102~poverty_ceo_cd_417~unemployment_cd_408~pre_k_cd_107!*air_qual_cd~ahdi_puma*family_homeless_cd_245#10/40.7543/-73.9794.
  3. Hinterland, K, et al. “Community Health Profiles 2018, Manhattan Community District 12: Washington Heights and Inwood.” Community Health Profiles 2018, Manhattan Community District 12: Washington Heights and Inwood, 2018, pp. 1–20.
  4. “Green Thumb Garden Map.” NYC Parks, https://greenthumb.nycgovparks.org/gardensearch.php.
  5. “NYC Community District Profiles” NYC Planning https://communityprofiles.planning.nyc.gov/ 
  6. “The State of the Urban Forest in NYC” The Nature Conservancy https://www.nature.org/content/dam/tnc/nature/en/photos/TheStateoftheNYCUrbanForest.pdf

Article Image: “New York City (NYC) Neighborhood Maps – By Borough – Manhattan.” NYCdata, Baruch College Zicklin School of Business, https://www.baruch.cuny.edu/nycdata/population-geography/maps-boroughs.htm.

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