When Evansville Living devoted a 2007 cover story to the city’s international population, it was apparent that demographics were shifting.
The magazine noted a growing total of ethnic restaurants and markets, and it reported that from 1980 to 2005, the number of foreign-born residents – mostly Asian and Hispanic – had more than doubled.
Evansville’s higher education institutions were rich in global flavor, the issue pointed out. The city had prioritized a community lecture series to highlight its various forms of diversity.
Fast forward to today, as Evansville Living revisits the city’s worldly cultures. Everything happening in 2007 has only amplified since.
The region has seen an influx from more nations, including Haiti and the Marshall Islands. Data collected in 2022 by Welborn Baptist Foundation’s GROW Capacity partnership with the Polis Center show a 0.8-percent increase in the immigrant population in Vanderburgh, Warrick, Gibson, and Posey counties in Indiana and Henderson County, Kentucky, over a 10-year period, slightly less than the state average.
Today’s Evansville is focused on meeting the practical needs of burgeoning immigrant populations, including finding health care and employment, professional advancement, and strengthening language skills and cross-cultural ties. The former home of Evansville Goodwill Industries at 500 S. Green River Road has been proposed for the site of the city’s first Immigrant Welcome & Resource Center.
One thing that hasn’t changed is that every resident from another nation tells a unique story. In this issue – as in the one back in 2007 – you’ll meet the people, groups, and events weaving together our region’s global tapestry.
