The Signs, They Are A-Changin'

(Headline revised as of Sept. 21, 2017, 4:16 pm, EDT-- Previously "Making Sense of the Census: Changing Demographics)
As I mentioned last week in "What's on the Menu: Restaurant Census", a lot of new Indian restaurants have opened since I first moved to the area in 1989. Poring over U.S. Census Bureau data for Franklin Park (zip code 08823) and Kendall Park (zip code 08824), it's not surprising. The percentage of the population that identify themselves as Asian Indian jumped to 25.1%, according to an estimate of 2015 statistics, from 21% in the 2010 census. And there's a big difference between the two towns. Almost one out of three people living in Franklin Park (29.6%) is Indian, while more than one out of five people in Kendall Park is Indian (21.8%).  

Under Five Declines

So I looked at what else has changed in terms of demographics. With three childcare centers within three miles, the number of children under five years old must have increased, right? Maybe not. The number has decreased to 1,197 in '15 from 1,307 in 2010, an 8.4%

decline. The '15 estimate, though, may not accurately reflect the area's demographics. The U.S. Census Bureau's website estimates the number of Franklin Park children under the age of five in 2015 at 660, with a margin of error of plus or minus 212. That's an enormous margin of error.  

The Over-60 Set

Let's look at the other end of the age spectrum. How about those older than 60? (And, really, 60 isn't that old.)  We've heard a lot about the aging of the population. Maybe the next trend will be adult daycare facilities and health related services, such as dialysis centers. I certainly see enough adult daycare vans driving around town (though I haven't seen any actual adult daycare facilities on this stretch of Route 27). Overall, the figure appears fairly stable between 2010 and 2015. Seniors living in both towns total about 3,098 in '15 (or 14% of the population), compared with 3,043 in '10 (also about 14% of the population). 

Again, there's a significant difference between the two towns. People over 60 years old accounted for almost 15% of Franklin Park's population in 2015, up from 12% in 2010. Meanwhile, in Kendall Park, senior citizens accounted for 13.2% of its population, down from 16.2% in 2010. 

Diversity Analysis

How are other racial/ethnic demographics changing? Diversity is definitely on the rise. White people make up 46% of Franklin Park/Kendall Park's combined population, and there's a stark contrast between the two towns. In Franklin Park, 30% of the population is white, while in Kendall Park that number is almost 58%. The percentage of the two towns' population identified as black or African/American is 12.7% in '15, up slightly from 12.1% in '10. In Franklin Park, the figure is 23%, while in Kendall Park it's 5%.

Hispanics/Latinos made up 8.41% in '15  of the two zip codes, up from 6.9% in '10, with the percentage similar in both towns. Those who identify themselves as two or more races are increasing as well. In Franklin Park they make up about 5.9% of the population, up from 3.3% in '10; and in Kendall Park, only 2.37% of the population describe themselves as two or races versus 2.14% in '10.

The average household income in the area rose about 4% in 2015 from the previous year, according the the Census Bureau's estimate, with a rise of almost 6% in Kendall Park to $147,014 and 1.9% in Franklin Park to $113,878.

Looking at the bigger picture, the area's total population is increasing at a faster rate than U.S. population overall. Kendall Park/Franklin Park's total population rose 4.8% from '10 to '15, according to the Census Bureau's estimates and data, while the total U.S. population rose 2.5% during that same period.

Let me know what's going on in your business on Route 27 between Finnegan's Lane and Route 518. Email me at lkiesche@gmail.com

Liz Kiesche
Liz, a business journalist, formerly worked for Bloomberg News in Princeton and New York.