Demographics of New York City in the 1900s. According to the 2006–2008 American Community Survey, the top ten White, European ancestries were the following: Other smaller European ancestries include: According to a 2001 study by Claritas, four of the city's five boroughs ranked among the nation's twenty most diverse counties. Queens ranked 1st, Brooklyn 3rd, Manhattan 7th, and The Bronx 17th. In addition, Hudson County and Essex County, New Jersey, both of which are part of the New York Metropolitan Area, ranked 6th and 15th, respectively. The city has several demographically unique characteristics. Queens is the only large county in the United States where the
History of New York City (1855–1897) movement of the 1950s. Pre-war steam ferries had already made Brooklyn Heights into a bedroom community for affluent professionals on Wall Street and other urban areas. Elevated railroads, operated by the Manhattan Railway Company, and other new public transport expanded the commuter area of New York, allowing development of suburbs for commuters of more modest means in Upper West Side and other distant areas. Plans were made for subways to still more remote exurbs such as Harlem and the West Bronx. In the late 19th century, the island's schist bedrock encouraged the early skyscrapers whose successors characterize its skyline today.