U.S. Census: Medina County's racial diversity grows over past decade

Residents who identify as multiracial have essentially quadrupled in Medina County over the past 10 years, according to new U.S. Census data. In 2010, just under 2,000 members of that demographic were registered locally but that shot up to 7,539 in last year's federally mandated head count of every U.S. citizen. "I can see more people nowadays identifying differently (as multiracial) when maybe they wouldn't have in the past," said Medina Ward 1 City Councilwoman Jessica Hazeltine. "In Medina (city) and in Ward 1 overall, it's always been the most diverse ward in the entire city. We've always had the highest percentage of people of color and seeing growth all over the county is very encouraging." While the number of Black residents in Medina County grew by roughly 300 to 2,292 since 2010, their share of Medina County's total population remained essentially even at 1.3 percent. "I think we could be drawing in more diversity but we have increased our number of residents in many areas and I think that's fantastic," Hazeltine said. "I wish the Census happened more often than once every 10 years. You can get unofficial data about once every two years but I wish the Census was just there more often than it is." White residents now make up 90 percent of Medina County's populace but that is five percent less than in 2010. That trend has seemingly carried into all parts of the U.S. as the 2020 Census concluded that the nationwide White population declined for the first time in the program's history. "I love that our county is now home to more people of color," Hazeltine said. "That means we're doing something right and people feel more included. Speaking for Medina city, it shows me our hard work over the past several years is paying off. We passed racism as a public health crisis. We want people to think of Medina as an inclusive and nice place to live." Medina County's Hispanic population grew from roughly 2,800 to 4,592, which spelled them making up 2.5 percent of all local residents in 2020 Census results. Those identifying as Asian American saw gains over the decade amounting to 2,184 residents in 2020 who account for 1.2 percent of Medina County inhabitants. Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders in the county went up from 17 to 28. People who chose to register as American Indian or Alaska native were the only demographic in Medina County to decline in numbers, from 216 to 192. Gains among racial minority groups were spread relatively evenly across Medina County's cities with all three welcoming more Black Hispanic, and Asian residents. Increases or declines for any group in townships and villages were minimal. Counts of 152 Black residents in Brunswick Hills Township and 86 in Montville Township were respectively three and two less than what was recorded between 2000 and 2010. All in all, Medina County's population increased by 5.9 percent to 182,470 residents in this Census cycle, the ninth best rate among all Ohio Counties. A rate of more than 14 percent between 2000 and 2010 was sixth highest in the state. "There's a lot of people in Ward 1 who know what it's like to feel unwelcome," said Hazeltine. "I know they've also put in a lot of work to change that and make new residents feel at home when they get here. It indicates to me that all these forward moving things we're doing is working. There's work left to do but we're increasing our diversity." According to nationwide Census results, the white, non-Hispanic population went down by 8.6 percents. The country is now said to be 57.8 percent white, 18.7 percent Hispanic, 12.4 percent Black, and six percent Asian. This latest Census reported 33.8 million U.S. citizens identifying as multiracial, essentially mirroring Medina County's fourfold increase from 2010 and five times more than 2000, the first year that identification was an option. The country's diversity index, meaning the probability that two or more random people in a given area are of difference racial or ethnic descent, went up from 54.9 percent to 61.1. Overall population growth in the U.S. came in at 7.4 percent, the lowest rate since the heart of The Great Depression in the 1930s. Contact reporter Jonathan Delozier at 330-721-4050 or jdelozier@medina-gazette.com.