Austin Miller / Daily Express

While Kirksville’s overall population hasn’t changed much, it’s certainly a much more diverse city than it was 10 years ago.

After being delayed due to the pandemic, 2020 census data has been released this year.

The city has grown over the past 10 years, but not the growth one would expect. Kirksville had a enumerated population of 17,505 inhabitants in 2010. The 2020 census had 17,530 inhabitants. And Adair County saw a slight decline, falling 1.1%. There were 25,607 residents enumerated in 2010 and 25,314 enumerated in 2020.

Rural areas across the country saw steep declines. So Adair County is not declining too much and Kirksville sees some growth is good signs.

“It is no secret that rural America, for decades, has faced demographic and macroeconomic forces that have led to global decline, both in the economies of rural America and therefore in the people of rural America, “said Kirksville deputy director Ashley Young. “Whether it’s a declining manufacturing sector, an aging population or whatever, none of it is a secret. Kirksville is a community that has weathered these storms. We have seen what happens when a big industry leaves our community. Going back before that, we have seen the effects that events like the farm crisis are having on our community. And right now, we are seeing the lower overall birth rates 20 years ago and the effect that is having on communities, as a college town in rural America. Despite this, Kirksville surpasses his weight class.

“… We have managed to grow where so many others have failed. It’s a big success and something we should celebrate. Do we all want this growth to be higher? Would we have liked our community to experience greater population growth? Of course we would. I would also say that this story is not over. The 2020 Census is a snapshot of the makeup of our community in April 2020 – and that was a year and a half ago. We must continue to move forward with investing and improving and developing our community and our economy if we are to continue the success, however small, that we have enjoyed, overall, over the past 10 years. years, especially in terms of population. “

The city’s progress in diversity reflects some of the economic changes that have taken place over the past decade.

Kirksville saw a 226.7% increase in the number of black residents from 2010 to 2020. A total of 389 black residents were counted in the 2010 census, representing 2.2 of the city’s population. But by 2020, the black population grew to 1,271, now 7.3% of Kirksville’s total population. The census did not include any data on migration, but much of this growth is attributed to the influx of Africans to Kirksville.

In addition, the Métis population increased by 169.5%, the Asian population increased by 54.7%, those who classified their race as “other” increased by 43.3% and the Hispanic or Latino population increased. by 18.6%.

Overall, the United States has also shown big changes in diversity. So it’s no surprise to see these national trends spill over to a town the size of Kirksville. And similar to other national trends, the white population has declined 10.7 percent in Kirksville. There were 16,160 white residents counted in the 2010 census, up from 14,424 in the 2020 census. Although still in the majority, Kirksville’s white population has grown from 92.3% of the town’s population in 2010 to 82.3% in 2020.

With a more diverse population, Young said this has created a more diverse economy and culture. New churches have opened over the past decade and different types of businesses have opened over the same period.

“So that diversity has led to new businesses and new community organizations – it’s what makes the work of bringing people together to cooperate in a community to work,” Young said.

The effects of the census will continue until 2022 as legislative constituencies are redesigned. This process takes place every 10 years after the census.