By Noah Crenshaw | Daily Journal
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Johnson County grew substantially since 2010, and its population has now surpassed 160,000 — a record number — based on data released Thursday by the U.S. Census Bureau.
The Census Bureau released its first set of data from the 2020 census, after it was delayed due to the coronavirus pandemic. The first set of data is primarily for Indiana lawmakers, so they can begin the delayed redistricting process.
Johnson County’s population increased by 15.8% between 2010 and 2020, and now stands at 161,765, according to census data.
Bargersville, Greenwood fastest growing
Once a mostly rural farm town, Bargersville’s population increased by a whopping 138.2% since 2010.
The town’s population is now 9,560 — more than double what it was just 10 years ago.
Bargersville officials were happy, but not surprised, said Julie Young, town manager.
”We have welcomed many new residents into the town over the last several years and are glad they have decided to make a home here,” Young said in a statement. “We hope the additional and improved amenities, growing business community and future town events will all support the growth in population for Bargersville.”
Last month, a developer proposed a 47-acre mixed-use development that could potentially add more multi-family housing, including apartments, duplexes and paired patio homes. While the designs of the development may change, it is the most recent example of Bargersville’s growth.
Hundreds of homes have been built in the last decade in Bargersville, and hundreds more are planned.
Bargersville is also in the process of designing a new police station to help accommodate both the town and police department’s growth.
The town’s growth is expected to continue as Interstate 69 races toward completion, and a new interchange at State Road 144 is developed in the next few years. A new road impact fee took effect Monday that will help the town cover infrastructure costs stemming from new developments.
The county’s largest city also saw substantial growth. Greenwood’s population increased by 28.2% between 2010 and 2020. The city’s population is now 63,830, data shows.
The city’s growth was much higher than city officials anticipated, and shows good things are happening in Greenwood, and people want to live there, Mayor Mark Myers said.
“It’s exciting to have those numbers in and (to be) having that growth,” Myers said.
Greenwood annexed several portions of the county in the last decade, tore down and replaced old city buildings, and grew and revamped its parks system as part of its growth, which is also expected to continue as thousands of new houses are built.
The $83 million redevelopment of the former Greenwood Middle School site is also underway. Townhomes, condos and apartments will be built, along with a parking garage and commercial spaces for restaurants and retail. This project could bring an expected $1 million in annual tax revenue to the city.
Greenwood has also seen significant industrial growth with the arrival of numerous manufacturers, including Amazon, FedEx, Milwaukee Tool and Pitney Bowes, and the addition of thousands of manufacturing jobs.
Other Johnson County communities also saw growth, but not at the same rates as Bargersville and Greenwood.
Franklin’s population increased by 6.7%, to 25,313 from 23,712. New Whiteland’s population is now 5,550, up 1.4% from 2010, according to census data.
Population data for other Johnson County communities, such as Whiteland, Edinburgh, Trafalgar and Princes Lakes are not available yet due to the populations being below 5,000. More data will be released by Sept. 30, according to the Census Bureau.
Populations become more diverse
Indiana’s population increased 4.7% since 2010 to 6,785,528, data shows, and the state was also part of a national trend toward more racial diversity in the last decade.
Indiana’s white population fell to 77.2% in 2020 from 84.3% in 2010. The Black population grew to 9.6% in 2020 from 9.1% in 2010. The Hispanic population grew to 8.2% from 6.0%. The Asian population grew to 2.5% from 1.6%. The number of people with two or more races increased to 6.4% from 2.0%, according to census data.
Most of those minority populations are concentrated in urban areas, with 52 of Indiana’s 92 counties remaining more than 90% white. Lake and Marion counties are the state’s most diverse as each have white populations just more than 50%.
Johnson County’s white population also dropped to 85.7% in 2020 from 93.9% in 2010. The county’s Black population grew to 2.4% in 2020 from 1.1% in 2010. The Hispanic population grew to 4.0% from 3.1%. The Asian population grew to 4.6% from 2.0%. The number of people with two or more races grew to 5.4% from 1.5%, data shows.
Rural counties bleed, suburbs grow
Many rural counties scattered across the state lost population, including 11 that lost more than 5% of their residents.
The biggest percentage population decline was in Switzerland County, in the southeast corner of the state, which dropped 8.3%. Population declines were recorded for 49 of Indiana’s 92 counties as the state mirrored similar losses in rural areas across the country.
Delaware County, where Muncie is located, lost nearly 5,800 people, one of the state’s largest declines. Grant County also saw a significant decline of almost 3,400.
On the opposite end of the spectrum, counties that are more urban and suburban saw growth.
Five of the six Indiana counties gaining the most people in the last decade were in central Indiana.
Indianapolis and Marion County grew by nearly 74,000 people, or 8.2%, to 977,000 people. Hamilton County was close behind, adding 73,000 people, or 26.5%, to 347,000.
Morgan County grew by 4.4% to 71,780, and Shelby County’s population grew by 1.4% to 45,055, data shows.
Overall, Indianapolis and its seven adjourning counties — including Johnson County — grew by 13%.
Northwestern Indiana’s Lake County remained the state’s second most-populous county, but grew by less than 1% to about 499,000. Fort Wayne’s Allen County kept its place as the third largest as it grew 8.5% to 385,000.
How the data was determined
The data comes from compiling forms filled out last year by tens of millions of Americans, with the help of census takers and government statisticians to fill in the blanks when forms were not turned in or questions were left unanswered.
The numbers reflect decisions made in the last 10 years by individuals to have children, move to another part of the country or come to the United States from elsewhere.
The U.S. population as a whole increased to 331,449,281 in 2020. However, it grew at just 7.4% — the lowest rate since the 1930s.
The release provides the first opportunity to see, on a limited basis, how well the Census Bureau fulfilled its goal of counting every U.S. resident during what many consider the most difficult once-a-decade census in recent memory.
“The data we are releasing today meet our high quality data standards,” acting Census Bureau Director Ron Jarmin said.
Even before it began, the headcount was challenged by attempted political interference from the Trump administration’s failed efforts to add a citizenship question to the census form, a move critics feared would have a chilling effect on immigrant or Hispanic participation. The effort was stopped by the U.S. Supreme Court.
Coronavirus pandemic caused delays
The information was originally supposed to be released by the end of March, but the deadline was pushed back due to delays caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
The start of the 2020 census for most U.S. residents coincided with the spread of the coronavirus last year, forcing the Census Bureau to delay operations and extend the count’s schedule. Because census data is tied to where people were on April 1, 2020, the numbers will not reflect the loss of nearly 620,000 people in the United States who died from COVID-19.
Back in April, the Census Bureau released state population totals from the 2020 census showing how many congressional seats each state gets.
Communities of color have been undercounted in past censuses.
The Census Bureau likely will not know how good a job it did until next year, when it releases a survey showing undercounts and overcounts. But Thursday’s release allows researchers to do an initial quality check, and it could lead to lawsuits alleging the numbers are faulty. The Census Bureau has a program that allows elected officials to challenge the data, but it does not apply to apportionment or redistricting.
For the first time, the numbers will not be entirely accurate at the smallest geographic levels due to a new privacy method used by the Census Bureau. The method inserts controlled errors into the data at small geographic levels, such as neighborhood blocks, to protect people’s identities in an era of Big Data.
Jarmin warned the process may produce weird results, such as blocks showing children living with no adults or housing units not matching the number of people living there.
Redistricting process can begin
The release offers Indiana the first chance to draw new congressional and legislative districts.
Republicans have complete control of the redistricting process in Indiana as they hold the governor’s office and have commanding majorities in both chambers of the Indiana General Assembly. Republicans have rebuffed calls from Democrats and voting-rights activists to turn the map drawing over to an independent commission as has been done in several other states.
Earlier this month, the General Assembly hosted a series of forums to hear the public’s input on Indiana’s redistricting process. Many residents took issue with the fact that the meetings were held before the release of the census data and drawing of maps. The last forum was Wednesday in Indianapolis — the day before the release of the data.
During the Indianapolis forum, voting-rights activists called on Republicans to allow more public input on the process. Republican House Election Chairman Tim Wesco, R-Osceola, said any further delays in approving new districts could cause problems for county officials preparing for next year’s elections.
Republican legislative leaders plan to have House and Senate members return to Indianapolis in late September to vote on the new election districts.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
