Kiryas Joel, New York
Kiryas Joel (Yiddish: קרית יואל, romanized: Kiryas Yoyel, Yiddish pronunciation: [ˈkɪr.jəs ˈjɔɪ.əl]; often locally abbreviated as KJ) is a village coterminous with the Town of Palm Tree in Orange County, New York, United States. The village shares one government with the Town. The vast majority of its residents are Yiddish-speaking Hasidic Jews who belong to the worldwide Satmar sect of Hasidism.
Kiryas Joel, New York
קרית יואל | |
|---|---|
|
Seal | |
| Nickname: KJ | |
Location in Orange County and the state of New York. | |
Kiryas Joel Kiryas Joel | |
| Coordinates: 41°20′24″N 74°10′2″W | |
| Country | United States |
| State | New York |
| County | Orange |
| Town | Palm Tree |
| Government | |
| • Administrator | Gedalye Szegedin |
| Area | |
| • Total | 1.49 sq mi (3.86 km2) |
| • Land | 1.46 sq mi (3.79 km2) |
| • Water | 0.03 sq mi (0.08 km2) |
| Elevation | 842 ft (257 m) |
| Population (2020) | |
| • Total | 32,954 |
| • Estimate (2022) | 38,998 |
| • Density | 22,540.36/sq mi (8,704.41/km2) |
| Time zone | UTC-5 (US EST) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-4 (Eastern Daylight Time) |
| Area code | 845 |
| FIPS code | 36-39853 |
| GNIS feature ID | 0979938 |
Kiryas Joel is the largest municipality and largest principal city in the Kiryas Joel-Poughkeepsie-Newburgh, NY Metropolitan Statistical Area, which in turn forms part of the New York Combined Statistical Area.
According to the Census Bureau's American Community Survey, Kiryas Joel has by far the youngest median age population of any municipality in the United States, and the youngest, at 13.2 years old, of any population center of over 5,000 residents in the United States.
Residents of Kiryas Joel, like those of other Haredi and Orthodox Jewish communities, typically have large families, and this has driven rapid population growth.
According to 2008 census figures, the village has the highest poverty rate in the nation. More than two-thirds of the residents live below the federal poverty line, and 40% receive food stamps. It is also the place in the United States with the highest percentage of people who reported Hungarian ancestry, as 18.9% of the population reported Hungarian descent in 2000.