Puerto Rican Population in Columbia County, NY by City : 2025 Ranking & Insights

The Puerto Rican population in Columbia County, NY is recorded at 1,151 residents, based on the latest U.S. Census estimates. Most cities in Columbia County - including Kinderhook town, Hudson, Ghent town, and others - report non-zero figures, reflecting a broad and distributed Puerto Rican presence. However, the combined population across these cities exceeds the official county total - a likely result of rounding differences or sampling variations in small-population census data. The analysis below explores how Puerto Rican communities are spread across Columbia County, NY and comparable counties throughout New York.

Top 5 cities with the largest Puerto Rican population in Columbia County

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  • 1
    Kinderhook town
    Puerto Rican population in Kinderhook town is 482
    5.86% of Kinderhook town population is Puerto Rican
  • 2
    Hudson
    Puerto Rican population in Hudson is 162
    2.75% of Hudson population is Puerto Rican
  • 3
    Ghent town
    Puerto Rican population in Ghent town is 88
    1.67% of Ghent town population is Puerto Rican
  • 4
    Chatham town
    Puerto Rican population in Chatham town is 72
    1.76% of Chatham town population is Puerto Rican
  • 5
    Claverack town
    Puerto Rican population in Claverack town is 63
    1.04% of Claverack town population is Puerto Rican

Overview of Puerto Rican population in Columbia County

  • Population Count and Percentage: American Community Survey data shows Columbia County contains 1,151 Puerto Rican residents (1.9% of 61,245 total county population), ranking the jurisdiction at the 86th percentile nationally among counties and 41st percentile within New York for Puerto Rican demographic concentrations across both absolute and proportional measures.
  • Comparison to State and National Averages: Census Bureau's ACS data documents Columbia County's Puerto Rican demographic representation of 1.9%, exceeding the national average of 1.8% while remaining below New York's elevated state average of 5.2%, placing the county above national concentration levels while below state demographic averages.
  • Share of Total State Population: Official American Community Survey data indicates Columbia County contains 1,151 Puerto Rican residents, representing less than 1% of New York's total Puerto Rican population of 1.0 million.
  • Population Density per Square Mile: U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey show Columbia County maintains fewer than 1.8 Puerto Ricans per square mile, compared to New York's average of 22.1 per square mile, placing the county among jurisdictions with minimal demographic representation within the state.
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23 Cities in Columbia County Ranked by Puerto Rican Population

View Methodology
ACS data [1] show Puerto Rican populations distributed across multiple cities in the county, led by Kinderhook town, Hudson, Ghent town, and Chatham town. The table below provides additional context, including total population, population density, and demographic distributions, based on current ACS data for 23 incorporated cities included in this analysis*.
cities in Columbia County, NY ranked by Puerto Rican population count
Rank by Puerto Rican Population
City
Puerto Rican Population
% of Total City Population
% of Total Columbia County Puerto Rican Population
5 Year Rank Trend
1 Kinderhook town 482 5.86% 41.88%
2 Hudson 162 2.75% 14.07%
3 Ghent town 88 1.67% 7.65%
4 Chatham town 72 1.76% 6.26%
5 Claverack town 63 1.04% 5.47%
6 Copake town 53 1.59% 4.60%
7 Germantown town 52 3.04% 4.52%
8 47 1.29% 4.08%
9 42 2.01% 3.65%
10 37 2.35% 3.21%
11 20 0.85% 1.74%
12 18 0.68% 1.56%
13 13 0.77% 1.13%
14 12 0.69% 1.04%
14 12 0.76% 1.04%
15 10 0.71% 0.87%
16 9 0.56% 0.78%
17 8 0.37% 0.70%
18 6 0.38% 0.52%
18 6 0.50% 0.52%
19 3 0.18% 0.26%
20 0 - -
20 0 - -
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Methodology

This ranking list is based on data from the American Community Survey (ACS) 5-Year Estimates, conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau. The ACS is one of the most reliable sources for understanding population trends across different locations, and it provides estimates for various racial and ethnic groups at city, county, state and all geography levels down to the Census block group.
This list ranks city in Columbia County, NY by their Puerto Rican population, using the most recent ACS data available.

How the Census defines Puerto Rican population

The U.S. Census Bureau allows people to self-identify their ancestry, meaning individuals can write upto ancestries when responding to the survey. In this ranking, we include everyone who identifies as having Puerto Rican ancestry, whether alone or in combination with another ancestry.
Here are a few important things to know about how ancestry is reported:
  • Some people identify as Puerto Rican alone, while others identify as Puerto Rican along with another race (such as Puerto Rican and German).
  • We’ve used the “Puerto Rican alone or in any combination” category unless noted otherwise, which gives a broader picture of the Puerto Rican population in each area.

How We Ranked the Data

This ranking is based on the total number of people who identified as Puerto Rican alone or in combination in city. To provide additional context, we’ve also included two key percentages:
  1. % of Total City Population – This shows what percentage of the total state population identifies as Puerto Rican .
  2. % of Total Columbia County Puerto Rican Population – This tells us how much of the entire U.S. Puerto Rican population lives in that state.
To keep things simple, all population numbers have been rounded to the nearest whole number, and percentages are rounded to one decimal place. Because of rounding, some percentages may not add up to exactly 100%.

Things to Keep in Mind

Like all survey-based data, ACS estimates come with some limitations. Here are a few things to be aware of:
  • In places with very small Puerto Rican populations, the numbers may not be reported at all due to privacy protections or sampling variability in the survey.
  • Since the ACS is based on a sample, the numbers are estimates, not exact counts. That means they may slightly differ from other sources like the decennial U.S. Census.
  • City that don’t have any reported Puerto Rican population are not included in the ranking but are listed separately below for reference.
This ranking is meant to provide a clear, data-driven look at where Puerto Rican populations are most concentrated while keeping the numbers easy to understand.

Sources

  1. 2019-2023 5-Year Estimates.
  2. 2023.