New Haven has a population of just over 150,000, and approximately 15% of its population is nonwhite (virtually all Negroes). Just under 1% of the population is native or first generation Puerto Rican. Like many other New England cities, New Haven is highly “ethnic,” and is ethnically self-conscious. Besides the Negro segment of the population, almost 17% is of Italian stock; other identifiable nationality groups include Irish, German, Russian, and Polish. Many of the central Europeans are Jewish, and approximately two-thirds of the community is Roman Catholic. Negroes, Puerto Ricans, Italians, and to a lesser extent, Jews all tend to live within identifiable geographical boundaries. New Haven politics have tended to polarize around ethnic loyalties.