Hispanics number more than 41.8 million in the United States, according to 2005 census data, and are the largest minority nationwide. There are 34.8 million black Americans. The Census Bureau reports 191 million white people, or 66.3 percent of all Americans. Hispanics are 14.5 percent and blacks, 12.1 percent.

The ethnic balance in Indianapolis is very different. The Hispanic population is growing rapidly; from 1990 to 2005, the number of Hispanics in Indianapolis grew 501 percent – from only about 8,450 to more than 50,789. Despite this increase of 42,339 Hispanic residents, the Hispanic population accounts for only about 6 percent of Indianapolis residents.⁷

During the same period, the number of black Indianapolis residents increased by 40,539, or nearly as many new black residents as Hispanics. The percentage increase was smaller, however – just 23.7 percent. Indianapolis blacks compose a larger share of the population here than in all but a few large cities in the U.S. The urban parts of Detroit, Cleveland and St. Louis have larger shares of black residents, but when counties are compared, Indianapolis (25 percent) rises above St. Louis (21.5 percent). Gary, Ind., has 84 percent black residents, but throughout Lake County blacks are 25.8 percent of the population – only slightly more than in Indianapolis. Given that Indianapolis blacks outnumber Gary blacks by 211,376 (including black Hispanics) to 126,233, it seems reasonable to say that the black community of Indianapolis is Indiana’s foremost ethnic minority group, and is among the nation’s most prominent minority communities.

The fourth significant minority group in the Indianapolis population is Asians. That group includes Chinese, Indians, Japanese, Koreans and other Asians, and has remained steady since 1990. According to 2005 census data, Indianapolis is home to 13,360 Asian.

7 As noted in the Introduction, Census Bureau methods may result in an underestimation of the Hispanic population.