New data from the U.S. Census Bureau shows Brown County's population is becoming more ethnically and racially diverse.
Brown County's population grew 7.7 percent from 2010 to 2020. Total 2020 population was 268,740, according to the latest census.
The majority of residents in Brown County identify as white, making up nearly 78 percent of the population. In 2010 white residents made up about 84 percent of the county's population. Data shows the white population grew less than 1 percent in the last 10 years.
Meanwhile the Hispanic or Latino population in Brown County saw 46 percent growth in the last decade, becoming the county's second largest ethnic group at almost 10 percent of the population.
Brown County's Black and Asian populations each make up about 3 percent of the population. The Indigenous population is the smallest at nearly 6,330 residents.
“Our community certainly is changing very rapidly," said Andrea Huggenvik , YWCA Greater Green Bay social justice program specialist. “I was not surprised at all to see that our Hispanic community has grown and has a larger share of the community demographics than they have in the past. It’s certainly something that I’ve been seeing. I also am generally seeing that work places are much more racially and ethnically diverse than they have been in the past and people are really noticing that."
This increased diversity is something St. Norbert College is seeing in its incoming class.
“Over the last four or five years, we’ve seen a wonderful growth in our racial and ethnically diverse populations," said Brian Bruess, St. Norbert College president
Nearly 17 percent of new students at St. Norbert College identify as non-white. Last year, the number was close to 13 percent. Bruess said this will be the most diverse class in the history of the college.
“We’ve really been working hard to recruit and retain more diverse students," Bruess said. "We believe it creates a more dynamic, engaging and more real world experience educationally.”
Bruess said staff is constantly building a more responsive and comprehensive co-curriculum to help with diversity efforts. St. Norbert also recently hired an institutional diversity officer.
There will be about 600 new students at St. Norbert this year from 23 states and 10 countries. Bruess said this class also has the highest high school GPA in the college's history.
