A third of the way into the second decade of the 21st Century, African-Americans continue to power the population growth of Indianapolis-Marion County; while the Indianapolis Metropolitan Area fuels virtually Indiana’s entire growth during this new decade.
Meanwhile, the Indianapolis metro’s white non-Hispanic population continued to outpace the state as a whole, while Indianapolis-Marion County continues to show very small increases in its white population; but far, far less than city officials hoped.
At the same time, Hispanic population in the city and metro continues to grow, but at a slower pace than the past two decades; while Indy’s small Asian population exhibited the strongest percentage growth of any minority group.
Those are a few of the major conclusions from the release of 2013 Population Estimates from the Census Bureau released June 26.
African-American population
The Census estimates confirm that nearly 3-in-10 Indianapolis-Marion County residents are African-American.
Black population in the city-county was estimated at 273,242 as of July 2013; an increase of 12,425 or 4.8 percent since the 2010 Census. The Black population growth was virtually half the entire growth (24,888) of the city-county since the 2010 Census.
In the 11 county Indianapolis/Carmel/Anderson Metropolitan Area, African-American population has surged to 319,944; a gain of 19,000, or 6.3 percent since 2010. Black population growth in Indianapolis’ metro is 47.9 percent of the entire growth of Indiana’s Black population, which has grown 39,632 persons since 2010 to 694,047 or 10.6 percent of Indiana’s total 6.57 million population.
The city-county is now 29.4 percent African-American; while the metro area is 16.4 percent Black. And one-in-eight persons living in the Central Indiana Region, as defined by the 33 county Indianapolis television market, are African-American.
African-American population growth in Indy’s suburbs was up 16.4 percent since 2010 to 46,702.
Hamilton County has the seventh largest Black population of any Indiana county.
Marion County obviously has the largest Black population; followed by: Lake (130,361); Allen (50,833); St. Joseph (39,253); Vanderburgh (19,866); Elkhart (14,963); Hamilton; LaPorte (13,925); Madison (12,474) and Tippecanoe (10,189).
Statewide, Indiana’s overall African-American population increased 6.1 percent since 2010 to 694,047; a gain of 39,632. Since 2010, the Indianapolis metro has been responsible for nearly half of Indiana’s entire Black population growth; with Indianapolis-Marion County responsible for nearly a third of the state’s total Black population growth.
Hispanic population
In the three years since the Census, Hispanic population growth continues to increase, though the meteoric growth seen since the 1990s is slowing.
The 2013 Census report estimates that Hispanic population in the Indianapolis Metro increased 9.3 percent to 122,907. Indianapolis-Marion County’s Hispanic population climbed 7.1 percent. Statewide, the Hispanic population rose 8.4 percent.
Hispanics comprise 9.7 percent of persons living in Indianapolis-Marion County; 6.3 percent of metro residents and 5.5 percent of Central Indiana residents.
But unlike the huge increases in Hispanic population in Indianapolis during the 1990s and the first decade of the 21st century, Hispanic growth is slowing, though it remains stronger than Black population growth in percentage terms.
Despite the perception of Hispanic population growth in Indiana and Indianapolis, the reality is that the African-American population, in actual numbers, is increasing greater than Hispanics.
The 2013 Census estimates document that since 2010, Indiana’s Black population increased by 39,632 compared to 32,747 for Hispanics. In the Indianapolis Metro, Black population climbed 19,000 compared to 10,459 for Hispanics.
Asian population
In percentage terms the fastest growing racial groups in Indiana are Asians. Statewide, the Asian population has grown 17.5 percent since 2010 to 124,018 in 2013, up some 18,483. Two-in-five Asians in Indiana (39.8 percent) live in the Indianapolis Metro area which saw its Asian population grow 19.5 percent or some 8,083 to 49,475. Indianapolis-Marion County’s Asian population also grew by 19.2 percent, up 3,660 to 22,683. Asians make up 1.9 percent of the state’s population; 2.5 percent of the Indianapolis Metro and 2.4 percent of the city-county.
White non-Hispanic population
For the second straight year, the 2013 Census estimates showed that the overall decline has ended among the white non-Hispanic population in Indianapolis-Marion County.
Between July 2012 and July 2013, Indy’s white population grew 1,457 or 0.27 percent.
By comparison, in that same 12-month period, Black population increased 4,459 (1.7 percent); Hispanic rose 2,100 (2.4 percent) and Asian climbed 1,499 (7.1 percent).
Since 2010, the city-county’s white population has grown 2,609 to 542,154 a gain of 0.5 percent. Indianapolis’ white growth, especially in the suburbs, is all the more stunning given that statewide, white population was stagnant; growing by just 6,008 since 2010 to 5.3 million; a gain of an anemic 0.1 percent growth.
Indiana’s overall total population growth continues to be anemic; just 1.3 percent increase since 2010 says the Census at 6,570,902, up 1.3 percent or 87,100. More ominous for the state, nearly three-fourths (73.0 percent) of Indiana’s population growth was in the Indianapolis metro.
Just 58.4 percent of Indianapolis-Marion County residents now are white; the lowest percentage in history.
