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DIVERSITY COMES SLOWLY TO N.KY.
Black, Asian, Hispanic population up 32% in seven-county region

BY BRENNA R. KELLY | ENQUIRER STAFF WRITER

Slowly but surely Northern Kentucky is becoming more diverse. The population of blacks, Asians and Hispanics in the seven-county area increased 32 percent over the last five years, according to recent population estimates.

But Northern Kentucky is still mostly white; barely 3 percent of the population is black, 1.6 percent Hispanic and 0.9 percent Asian.

However, the white population is aging and a younger, more diverse population is taking its place, said Ron Crouch, director of the Kentucky State Data Center.

It's a trend that is happening across the state and the country.

"All growth in America under 45 is minority," he said. "The only growth in the white population is 45 and above."

In Northern Kentucky, which includes, Boone, Bracken, Campbell, Gallatin, Grant, Kenton and Pendleton counties, the 45- to 65-year-old population increased 23.5 percent over the last five years, while the 20- to 44-year-old population increased by just 0.9 percent, according to U.S. Census Bureau estimates.

Over the last five years, the number of white 20- to 44-year-olds decreased by 134. While the Hispanic population in that age group increased by 786, the black population increased 813, and there were 460 more Asians.

The population of people ages 0-19 increased by nearly 2,000 over the last five years, with about 80 percent of that growth - or 1,663 - from black, Asian or Hispanic residents.

Meanwhile, the population of older white Northern Kentuckians - ages 45 to 64 - increased by 17,858.

"We have an aging white population and a growing young black and Hispanic population," Crouch said.

The changing demographics mean that some attitudes about race and ethnicity will have to change, Crouch said.

"The person in the nursing home who is taking care of you, probably is not going to look like you," he said.

The changes also mean that the community will have to educate a more diverse work force, said Steve Stevens, president of the Northern Kentucky Chamber of Commerce.

According to the estimates, Northern Kentucky's population is growing from migration, not from the number of births versus the number of deaths.

"It appears it's minorities are the ones that are migrating in," Stevens said. "We've got to make sure our schools are offering the right skills and the right curriculum to address the needs of this population."

Because it's those minorities who will later make up Northern Kentucky's work force, he said.

"That's where the chamber would like to be involved, in making sure we're staying tuned to what's being offered and what our members are looking for," he said.

CHANGING MAKEUP

Northern Kentucky, which now has 403,727 residents, remains less diverse than the state as whole. Statewide, the population is about 2 percent Hispanic, 0.4 percent more than Northern Kentucky and 7.5 percent black, 4.6 percent more than Northern Kentucky.

But the area's 0.9 percent Asian population is even with the statewide percentage.

The new estimates show that most Northern Kentucky counties are becoming more diverse.

The black population in Boone County nearly doubled over the last five years, to 2,590. However, blacks still make up just 2.4 percent of the county's population.

The percent of Hispanic residents in the county is slightly higher than the statewide percentage. Hispanics now make up 2.5 percent of Boone's population, with 2,622 people identifying themselves as Hispanic. That's up 0.5 percent from five years ago. Statewide, 2 percent of residents are now Hispanic, up from 1.5 percent five years ago.

Kenton County continues to have the highest percentage of black residents in the area at 4.2 percent. That's still far below the 7.5 percent statewide.

In Campbell County, just 2.1 percent of residents are black. Over the last five years, Campbell has added 453 new black residents.

Though it's a small number, for Elizabeth McMillan-McCartney it means she may see more black women like herself in the county she's called home for 28 years.

"I felt like, when I first was out here, I was one of one," said McMillan-McCartney, who teaches math at Northern Kentucky University.

In the late 1970s she and her husband moved to 18 acres in Campbell County to get back the rural atmosphere similar to where they were raised.

When the interracial couple started attending farm auctions in the area, they got a few stares, but once the farmers realized they weren't "city slickers," they were accepted, she said.

McMillan-McCartney has noticed a slight change in Campbell's racial makeup over the years, though she said she still sees more diversity at NKU than in the area in general.

"It used to be I would not see anyone south of work, Highland Heights, now I see people in Cold Spring, Alexandria," she said.

Being the only person of color in the area goes beyond just looking different, she said. For a long time it meant not being able to buy things she needed.

That's one small sign that Northern Kentucky has gotten more diverse, she said.

"I go in the store now there are some products for black hair," she said. "Stuff like that, where before I would have to go to Cincinnati to even be close to finding anything."

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