climbed even higher, to more than 40,000.
An uncounted number immigrated illegal-
ly. The total population of Dominican
Americans by century’s end was close to 1
million, comparable to the Cuban-
American population.
Like their predecessors in previous
decades, Dominican Americans arrivals
since the 1980s have concentrated in New
York City. Although some Dominicans
came from the better-educated, urban
stratum of society, and thus were able to
adjust quickly to urban life in the United
States, their lack of English and other dis-
advantages often led them to take jobs
below their abilities. Together with the
many unskilled, blue-collar laborers who
also arrived in New York from the
Dominican Republic during the same
period, educated Dominican immigrants
faced many economic challenges since
arriving. At a time when manufacturing
jobs were declining in the United
States—and particularly in New York
City—in favor of lower-paying service
jobs, Dominican workers often suffered
unemployment and underemployment.
Many found work in the hotel, restaurant,
and garment industries and as domestics.
The economic progress of
Dominican New Yorkers has been diffi-
cult to assess because the 2000 U.S.
Census did not separate figures for
Dominican Americans from Hispanic
Americans in general, even though they
did make the distinction for Mexicans,
Cubans, Puerto Ricans, and Central and
South Americans. Although members of
the Dominican-American community
protested this policy after census forms
were mailed out, and Dominican commu-
nity groups instructed individuals to write
in “Dominican” instead of “Hispanic” on
the form, federal government statistics on
Dominican Americans were not collect-
ed. Nonetheless, it is known that as of
2000, Dominican immigrants made up
the largest foreign-born group in New
York City. Manhattan’s Washington
Heights neighborhood was largely
Dominican by 2000.
It is also clear that unemployment
and poverty remain a concern for
Dominican Americans. Kinship networksA CHANGING COMMUNITY 203