Louisville/Jefferson County, KY


Total Population: 1,278,413

(An increase of 3.46 % in the past 5 years.)

Census Data

  • Foreign Born - 51,486
  • Language Spoken at Home - 63,263

[Source: American Community Survey (ACS) 5-Year Foreign Born and Language Spoken at Home]

Quick Facts

  • Home to University of Louisville, which attracts international students from a wide range of nations.

  • Annually over 2000 refugees first call Louisville their home and scattered throughout Louisville predominantly residing in apartment complexes.

  • More than 100,000 people attend the annual WorldFest (a 4 day event) that features international food, music, vendors, ethnic display, and art.

  • The Jefferson County Public School system reports that students speak 109 languages, with 7,106 in ESL classes and 14,008 who speak another language other than English.


Profile

Louisville is one example of a city that is increasing in diversity due to international immigration, where ethnic minority or immigrant-owned businesses are profoundly influencing the Metro Area. As a result, Louisville has become an international city home to immigrants from around the world. One quarter of the children in public schools are foreign-born. There are over 100 different languages spoken throughout the metro area. People groups come as refugees, international students, immigrants, and business professionals, all looking to start a new life in the greater Louisville area.

The more recent migration include the Japanese who have the longest tenure in Louisville with many arriving in the 1980s. In general, Asian people groups migrated in the early 1990s and the years just prior. The next wave was made up of refugees from Bosniaks to Somalia. Bosniaks arrived after 1995, during and after the regime of ethnic cleansing in the former Yugoslavia.

The "Southside" of the Metro near the Americana Apartments is the home to numerous different people groups, especially those who arrived in the United States as refugees. A couple of represented regional affinities in the "Southside" include East Africans and Southeast Asians. In addition, approximately 3,000 Bosniaks call Metro their home as do over 7,000 Cubans.


People Group Highlights

Displaying 1-25 of 78 results.
PG Name Country Of Birth IMB Affinity Group Affinity Bloc Primary Religion Baseline Population Total
WolofSenegalSub-Saharan African PeoplesSub-Saharan AfricanIslam1,000
SinhaleseSri LankaSouth Asian PeoplesSouth Asian PeoplesBuddhism50
MalayMalaysiaSoutheast Asian PeoplesMalay PeoplesIslam20
Arab, IraqiIraqNorth African and Middle Eastern PeoplesArab WorldIslam3,295
BosniakBosnia and HerzegovinaEuropean PeoplesEurasian PeoplesIslam2,500
Arab, MoroccanMoroccoNorth African and Middle Eastern PeoplesArab WorldIslam - Sunni2,029
PersianIranCentral Asia PeoplesPersian-MedianIslam - Shia2,000
Somali BantuSomaliaSub-Saharan African PeoplesSub-Saharan AfricanIslam - Sunni1,600
SomaliSomaliaNorth African and Middle Eastern PeoplesHorn of AfricaIslam - Sunni1,290
Arab, Palestinian (Muslim)IsraelNorth African and Middle Eastern PeoplesArab WorldIslam1,088
Arab, Lebanese (Muslim)LebanonNorth African and Middle Eastern PeoplesArab WorldIslam - Sunni938
Fulbe FutaSenegalSub-Saharan African PeoplesSub-Saharan AfricanIslam - Sunni900
BengaliBangladeshSouth Asian PeoplesSouth Asian PeoplesIslam - Sunni500
TurkTurkeyCentral Asia PeoplesTurkic PeoplesIslam429
GujaratiIndiaSouth Asian PeoplesSouth Asian PeoplesHinduism337
Burmese, BhamaMyanmar [Burma]Southeast Asian PeoplesTibetan / Himalayan PeoplesBuddhism273
ThaiThailandSoutheast Asian PeoplesSoutheast Asian PeoplesBuddhism - Theravada261
UrduPakistanSouth Asian PeoplesSouth Asian PeoplesIslam238
Kurd, CentralIranCentral Asia PeoplesPersian-MedianIslam - Sunni200
Kurd, BehdiniIraqCentral Asia PeoplesPersian-MedianIslam200
Ethiopian, OromoEthiopiaNorth African and Middle Eastern PeoplesHorn of AfricaIslam - Sunni200
Arab, SyrianSyriaNorth African and Middle Eastern PeoplesArab WorldIslam190
EritreanEritreaNorth African and Middle Eastern PeoplesHorn of AfricaIslam120
IndonesianIndonesiaSoutheast Asian PeoplesMalay PeoplesIslam76
Southern LuriIranCentral Asia PeoplesPersian-MedianIslam - Shia50


Ethnic Links

Louisville Cultural Events - A list of ethnic cultural events, festivals, etc.

Americana Community Center - support families and individuals from 92 countries helping individuals realize their potential, build strong families, and create a safe community.

GLIP - showcases Louisville’s welcoming and inclusive nature by serving as a trusted source of information, conversations and connections between international professionals and the region’s business community.

Kentucky Refugee Ministries, Inc. - news, events, and etc. on Refugees within the state of Kentucky.


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