A More Diverse Indiana.

Indiana is often characterized as a state that is not very racially or ethnically diverse. Recently-released data from Census 2000 confirm that most Hoosiers are non-Hispanic and white, but a closer look at the data reveals that the state is diversifying and that diversity in Indiana counties and townships can vary a great deal.

To quantify racial and ethnic diversity and capture it in a single number, USA Today developed a diversity index. The index measures the probability that two people chosen at random from a given area are racially or ethnically different. The higher the index, the higher the probability that the two individuals will be different in race or ethnicity. Therefore, areas with higher indices are more diverse than areas with lower indices.

Using data from Census 2000, the diversity index has been calculated for Indiana counties and townships. Figure 1 presents those resulting index figures for Indiana counties. The most diverse counties (shaded in dark red) are Lake, Marion, St. Joseph, Allen and Elkhart. The least diverse counties (shaded in light gray) are Warren, Franklin, Pike, Martin and Union.

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Figure 2 shows the diversity index for Indiana townships, using the same shading scheme. This map reveals that diversity can vary widely among the townships of a given county. Figure 3 shows that the diversity indices in Marion County range from a high of 57.5 in Pike Township to a low of 8.9 in Franklin Township. Similar variability can be seen in other high diversity counties, with indices in St. Joseph ranging from 55.9 in Portage Township to 3.8 in Madison Township, for example.

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Indiana's Population by Race

The release of the first sets of detailed data from Census 2000 has prompted discussion about the changes in the race question in this census, compared with the 1990 census. Because of the changes, a simple and direct comparison of the data from 1990 and 2000 cannot be made. However, by carefully defining terms, and with some explanation, we can examine how Hoosiers answered the race questions in this census, and make some comparisons with 1990.

In the 2000 Census, respondents could identify themselves as belonging to more than one racial category. Additionally, the Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander population was included in the Asian category in 1990, but was listed as a separate category in 2000. These two changes have introduced some ambiguity in comparisons of race data for 1990 and 2000.

Only 2,000 Hoosiers chose the Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander category on their census forms in 2000. For the following analysis, these residents have been included in the Asian category, in order to allow a comparison with the 1990 data.

Table 1 reveals how Indiana residents answered the race question in Census 2000. The majority of Hoosiers (98.8 percent) responded with a single race and appear in the "Race Alone" column. The "In Combination" column shows that 75,672 Hoosiers chose more than one race category, selecting a total of 156,431 responses. Adding these responses to the "Race Alone" figures results in the "Race Alone or Combined" figures. Note that the percentages in the last column of this table sum to more than 100 percent, since those responding with more than one race are each included more than once in this column.

Table 1
Census 2000 Population for Indiana by Race

                                      Percent of
                                         Total            In
Race                    Race Alone    Population      Combination

White                    5,320,022       87.5           67,152
Black                      510,034        8.4           27,981
Am. Indian                  15,815        0.3           23,448
Asian                       61,131        1.0           16,075
Other                       97,811        1.6           21,775

Total Responses          6,004,813       98.8           156,431
Total Population         6,080,485      100.0            75,672

                       Percent of                    Percent of
                         Total         Race Alone       Total
Race                   Population     or Combined    Population

White                     1.1           5,387,174       88.6
Black                     0.5             538,015        8.8
Am. Indian                0.4              39,263        0.6
Asian                     0.3              77,206        1.3
Other                     0.4             119,586        2.0

Total Responses           2.6           6,161,244      101.3
Total Population          1.2           6,080,485      100.0

The "Race Alone" column serves as a lower bound for each race category, while the "Race Alone or Combined" column serves as an upper bound for each group. The race White Alone was chosen by 5,320,022 Hoosiers (87.5 percent). Another 67,152 Hoosiers (1.1 percent) chose the White race in combination with one or more other races. A total of 5,387,174 Indiana residents (88.6 percent) chose the White race category, either alone or in combination with another race.

Similar percentages for the minority race categories can be seen in Figure 4. The percentage of all Hoosiers who consider their race to be Black Alone is 8.4 percent, while another 0.5 percent of all Hoosiers chose the Black race in combination with one or more other races, for a total of 8.8 percent of Hoosiers choosing the Black category, either alone or in combination with other races.

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Both the lower and upper bound population figures for each race group support the observation that the Black and Asian populations have grown more rapidly than has the White population since 1990.

Therefore, these minority populations now represent a larger portion of the state's population. Minority populations in Indiana are still relatively small but growing. Obtaining growth rates for the racial categories is tricky. A simple approach is to eliminate from consideration the 75,672 Hoosiers who chose more than one race. This approach slightly understates the growth rates for each race category, but results in rates than can be compared: White, 6 percent; Black, 18 percent; Asian, 63 percent; American Indian, 24 percent; and Other, 138 percent. These growth rates are presented in Table 2, along with the rates that result from using the upper bound population figures. The upper bound growth rates overstate the extent of the growth for each group, since they include multi-racial individuals in each race group chosen.

Table 2
Change in Indiana's Population 1990 to 2000 by Race

                       Race Alone      Race Alone      Change
Race                      1990            2000        1990-2000

White                   5,020,700       5,320,022       299,322
Black                     432,092         510,034        77,942
Am. Indian                 12,720          15,815         3,095
Asian                      37,617          61,131        23,514
Other                      41,030          97,811        56,781

Total Responses         5,544,159       6,004,813       460,654
Total Population        5,544,159       6,080,485       536,326

                       Percent       Race Alone
                       Change        or Combined
Race                  1990-2000         2000

White                    6.0          5,387,174
Black                   18.0            538,015
Am. Indian              24.3             39,263
Asian                   62.5             77,206
Other                  138.4            119,586

Total Responses          8.3          6,161,244
Total Population         9.7          6,080,485

                                       Percent
                          Change       Change
Race                    1990-2000     1990-2000

White                    366,474         7.3
Black                    105,923        24.5
Am. Indian                26,543       208.7
Asian                     39,589       105.2
Other                     78,556       191.5

Total Responses          617,085       11. 1
Total Population         536,326         9.7

The Other Race Category

The Census Bureau does not consider Hispanic to be a race. Instead, the Bureau refers to Hispanic origin as ethnicity and expects each resident to choose a race category and to also identify with an Hispanic or Non-Hispanic ethnicity. In 1990, it appeared that a large number of Hispanics had chosen the Other race category, writing "Hispanic" or "Cuban" or "Puerto Rican" or "Mexican" etc. beside their choice of Other Race.

In Census 2000, the ethnicity question was placed before the race question, in an effort to avoid this confusion. However, despite the change in the order of the questions, an outcome similar to 1990 occurred. Of the 97,811 Hoosiers that chose the Other race category, more than 91,000 or 93.5 percent were Hispanic.

The Hispanic Population

In 1990, 1.8 percent of Indiana residents or 99,000 Hoosiers identified themselves as Hispanic. In the 2000 census, the number of Hispanic responses had more than doubled, with 3.5 percent of Hoosiers or 215,000 choosing Hispanic ethnicity. The number of Hispanic responses increased by almost 116,000 for a growth rate of 117 percent. During the same time period, the total population of the state grew by about 10 percent.

Moving the ethnicity question ahead of the race question in 2000 may have resulted in a larger number of Hispanic responses. Therefore, part of the increase in the number of Hispanic responses may be due to question placement.

However, there is evidence to support the claim that the growth in the number of Hispanic responses may be due to actual growth in Indiana's Hispanic population. The number of Hispanic births in the state has risen rapidly, from 2,900 in 1996 to almost 4,400 in 1999, for a growth rate of 49 percent. Results from Census 2000 have validated much anecdotal evidence that the Hispanic population in Indiana has grown substantially since 1990.

Counties with the highest growth rates in Hispanic population between 1990 and 2000 were Cass (over 1,000 percent), Jackson, White, Daviess and Crawford (over 500 percent) and Elkhart, Clinton, Noble, Carroll, Dubois, Shelby and Hamilton (over 300 percent). Growth rates in the Hispanic population for all Indiana counties can be seen in Figure 5.

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Lake County continues to have the largest proportion of population that is Hispanic, 12.2 percent in 2000, up from 9.4 percent in 1990. Figure 6 shows the percentage of population that is Hispanic in each Indiana county. Counties with at least 5 percent of their population of Hispanic ethnicity in 2000 are Lake, Elkhart, Clinton, Cass, Noble, Marshall, Tippecanoe, White and Kosciusko.

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Despite growing Hispanic populations for most Hoosier counties, the Hispanic population in many counties remains relatively small. Thirty-four Indiana counties report Hispanic populations of less than 1 percent, and more than two-thirds have Hispanic populations less than 2 percent of their total populations.

Increasing Diversity Likely to Continue

The state's Hispanic population is growing faster than the non-Hispanic population and racial minority populations are growing faster than the white totals.

The result is that, like the nation, Indiana is becoming more racially and ethnically diverse. The diversity index for the state as a whole increased from 19.1 in 1990 to 25.6 in 2000. In other words, in 1990 there was a 1 in 5 chance that two Hoosiers picked at random would differ in race or ethnicity, while in 2000 there was a 1 in 4 chance. Furthermore, the diversity index for each Indiana county rose between 1990 and 2000, indicating that every Hoosier county has diversified in the most recent 10 years.

This trend is expected to continue. On average, children make up about one-fourth of the state's population. But children account for larger shares of the Hispanic and Black populations (about one-third). Also, children represented almost half of all Hoosiers who responded to the census with more than one race. With a more diverse young population in the state, it is likely that Indiana will continue to diversify.

Two Questions Result in Much Data

These two questions, question 7, dealing with Hispanic identity and question 8, covering race, were asked of every resident.

Note the admonition that BOTH questions be answered. Note also the order of the questions, with Hispanic first and race second. This change in order from previous censuses was made to avoid confusion on the part of the respondent as to whether Hispanic is a race or not (Did it? Read Morand's conclusions on pages 3 and 4).

Joan Morand

Research Director, Indiana
Business Research Center,
Kelley School of Business,
Indiana University