What are Louisville's most and least diverse neighborhoods? The answers may surprise you

What's the most diverse neighborhood in Louisville?

The answer is changing by the year — especially as the city's white population declines and the numbers of Black, Asian and Hispanic residents rise.

To determine which area currently holds the designation, The Courier Journal analyzed 2020 census data to assign diversity index scores to more than 100 neighborhoods and small cities in Jefferson County.

More: Why some Louisville neighborhoods remain segregated even as the city becomes more diverse

A diversity index shows — from 0% to 100% — the likelihood two residents randomly selected from the same area would be of a different race or ethnicity.

The higher the number, the more likely the two people would be different. The lower the number, the more likely they'd be the same.

The most and least diverse areas are listed below.

But first, a quiz.

LOUISVILLE'S MOST DIVERSE NEIGHBORHOODS

Newburg: 78%

Newburg, located south of Interstate 264 and east of Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport, is a historically Black neighborhood that was partially settled by formerly enslaved people around the time of the Civil War.

The neighborhood continues to have a large Black population. But it's also becoming home to more Hispanic residents.

Over the past decade, the Hispanic population increased 115% — driving the neighborhood's diversity index up from 65% to 78%.

Newburg is now 48% Black, 34% white and 2% Asian. A quarter of its population is Hispanic.

Bashford Manor & West Buechel: 76% & 75%

Bashford Manor and West Buechel are located along Bardstown Road, just south of Interstate 64.

The area has a dense mix of lower-priced homes and apartments — attributes likely to draw more diverse residents.

In Jefferson County, 64% of Black households and 60% of Hispanic households rent, compared to 31% of white households, according to 2019 census estimates.

In Bashford Manor, 62% of households are renters. That number jumps to 78% in West Buechel.

Bashford Manor is currently 41% Black, 40% white and 6% Asian. It is 16% Hispanic.

West Buechel is 40% white, 37% Black and 13% Asian. It is 11% Hispanic.

Southland Park & Southside: 76% & 75%

Southland Park and Southside are also adjacent neighborhoods, just west of the airport.

The area has one of the highest Asian populations in the city, largely because refugees and immigrants from Burma, Vietnam and other countries have settled there.

Southland Park is currently 50% white, 24% Black and 13% Asian. It is 16% Hispanic.

Southside is 41% Black, 36% white and 14% Asian. It is 12% Hispanic.

LOUISVILLE'S LEAST DIVERSE NEIGHBORHOODS

Highlands Douglass & Strathmoor Village: 21%

Highlands Douglass and Strathmoor Village are located just north of Interstate 264, opposite Bashford Manor and West Buechel.

The interstate serves as a stark dividing line when it comes to diversity along Bardstown Road.

One reason could be housing. Median home values in Highlands Douglass and Strathmoor Village are about three times the price of median home values in the neighborhoods south of them, according to census data.

Highlands Douglass is now 91% white, 3% Black and 1% Asian. It is 3% Hispanic.

Strathmoor Village is now 92% white, 1% Black and 1% Asian. It is 3% Hispanic.

Windy Hills: 19%

Windy Hills and Woodlawn Park are both small cities in eastern Jefferson County, located near the interchange of Interstate 264 and Brownsboro Road.

The area saw a slight increase in its diversity score between 2010 and 2020, rising from 12% to 19%. But it's overwhelmingly white population keeps it near the bottom of the list.

The area is 92% white, 3% Black and 1% Asian. It is 2% Hispanic.

Park DuValle: 18%

On the opposite side of the county from Windy Hills, Park DuValle has a majority Black population.

The historic Black neighborhood was the victim of redlining — a discriminatory policy that let banks deny loans to residents in predominantly Black communities in the 1930s and 40s, closing off investments in the area.

In the 1950s, the city built two barracks-style public housing complexes in the neighborhood, further concentrating poverty there.

The complexes were replaced with mixed-income housing in the late 1990s, though the neighborhood continues to have a higher rate of poverty than the rest of the county at 23%, compared to 14%.

Park DuValle is currently 92% Black and 4% white. It is 3% Hispanic.

Fisherville: 18%

Fisherville remains one of few undeveloped areas in Louisville.

It covers a large area south of Interstate 65 in southeastern Jefferson County, but its population has remained about the same over the last decade.

Fischerville is now 93% white, 1% Black and 1% Asian. It is 3% Hispanic.

Indian Hills: 16%

The Indian Hills area includes Mockingbird Valley, Riverwood and Rolling Hills — all smaller cities within Jefferson County.

The area is located near the Ohio River in the eastern part of the county and is home to Louisville Country Club and Locust Grove.

Though its Asian and Hispanic populations increased over the past decade, it remains overwhelmingly white.

The median household income in Indian Hills was $190,000, and the median home value was $529,000 in 2019, according to census data.

Indian Hills is now 93% white, 1% Black and 2% Asian. It is 2% Hispanic.

NOTABLE MENTIONS

Cloverleaf

Cloverleaf, located east of Dixie Highway and south of Shively, grew the most in diversity between 2010 and 2020.

It's diversity index grew from 40% to 73% in that period, largely because its white population decreased 28% while its Black, Asian and Hispanic populations increased.

Cloverleaf is near other neighborhoods where immigrants and refugees have settled.

It is now 53% white, 23% Black, 12% Asian and 14% Hispanic.

Okolona

Okolona, south of Newburg, had the second largest jump in diversity index scores — rising from 43% to 71%.

Like Cloverleaf, its white population decreased while its Black, Asian and Hispanic populations increased. It now has the second largest population of Hispanic residents in the city, trailing Newburg, at 4,077.

Okolona is 64% white, 18% Black, 3% Asian and 22% Hispanic.

Fincastle & Worthington Hills

Fincastle and Worthington Hills are pockets of diversity in far eastern Jefferson County, likely because of their location near a Ford plant.

The median income in Fincastle was $61,781 in 2019, and median in Worthington Hills was $73,203.

While the area around them is predominantly white, the two neighborhoods have diversity index scores of 68% (Fincastle) and 66% (Worthington Hills).

Fincastle is 54% white, 29% Black, 7% Asian and 9% Hispanic.

Worthington Hills is 57% white, 26% Black, 7% Asian and 8% Hispanic.

Learn more about neighborhoods across Jefferson County in the graphics below.

How we did it

The Courier Journal used USA Today's diversity index formula to calculate scores for neighborhoods in Louisville using 2020 census population data.

Our neighborhoods are modeled off profiles created by the Kentucky State Data Center, which matched census tracts to corresponding neighborhoods. Because some census tracts changed between 2010 and 2020, our neighborhoods look a little different.

Neighborhood shapes in the included maps are based on census tracts that make them up.

Reach reporter Bailey Loosemore at bloosemore@courier-journal.com, 502-582-4646 or on Twitter @bloosemore.

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: US Census: Newburg, West Buechel most diverse Louisville neighborhoods