How has Lexington changed in the past 10 years? To answer this question, LexObserver sorted through a decade of data from the American Community Survey of the Census Bureau and visualized the data points in graphs and charts.
In Part 1, we look at changes in demographics and the diversity of the town’s population. In Part 2, we dive deeper into the economics and housing market.
Note: some graphs are interactive. Please feel free to explore them by hovering over data points or clicking on different elements for more detailed information.
Demographics
More than 34,000 people live in Lexington. The town’s population has steadily climbed by 8% in the past decade, with a significant increase in 2021.
The largest age group is 45-54 years old. The 65-74 category has also grown significantly.
The largest segment of Lexington’s population works in educational and healthcare services, a trend that has remained consistent from 2012 to 2022. The number of people who identify as working in what the Census calls professional fields, such as scientific, management and administrative jobs, has increased significantly.
In addition, the number of people working in manufacturing industries has risen by 40% over the past decade, the sharpest increase among all industries. The number of people who work in public administration, retail, wholesale, and information has gone down over time.
The number of people with disabilities in Lexington has grown slightly. Notably, the number of children and teenagers with a disability increased by 66% in the past decade. The steepest rise occurred in 2018 when the number nearly doubled.
Race & Ethnicity
Lexington has become more diverse since 2012, when nearly 75% of the population was white. From 2012 to 2022, the Asian population grew by 70%, to more than 10,000 residents. The Hispanic population also increased by about 60%, and the Black or African American population nearly doubled, however, those groups remain relatively small, with less than 1,000 people each.
The AAPI community represented 30% of the population in 2022. While people of Chinese heritage remained the largest group, the Indian population has seen significant growth, tripling since 2012. This trend differs from the overall AAPI population change in Massachusetts — the state has seen more significant increases in southeast Asians, such as Malaysians, Burmese, and Indonesians, the Boston Globe reports.
More new immigrants are settling in Lexington. The number of people who arrived in the U.S. after 2010 has grown more substantially than those who entered before 2010. About one-third of the foreign-born residents in Lexington are not currently citizens.
Does “white” population include people from India?
It would be helpful to have that group separated from European white population , as this is a group that has recently migrated to Lexington along with the Asian groups.
People from India are represented by the “Indian” portion of the AAPI graph. They are not considered “white”
Great data viz project, actually one of the few that I have read in local newspapers in recent days. Love the idea of including interactive charts.
What goes around comes around! According to the US census, in 1920 56% of Lexington residents were “foreign born” or had “foreign or mixed parentage.” Lexington has been a home to immigrants for a very long time.
See p. 36 here: https://www2.census.gov/prod2/decennial/documents/06229686v20-25.pdf
Excellent information on the changing demographics of our affluent town. Astute editorial decision to inform the residents of the ethnic mix and its evolution over the 2012-2022 decade.
Great article and visualizations.
Well done.
Everyone should make a regular contribution to support the cause of good local journalism.
Can anyone explain to me what “manufacturing” means? I think of this as meaning people working in factories making products, but I’m sure that’s not correct in this instance. (I doubt very much that 2400 Lexington residents work in factories — but maybe I’m wrong.)
Susan, I know it has been a while since this article was published, but I only read it now. I am not completely sure what they mean by “manufacturing”, but for example, I had a neighbor here in Lexington who told me he works in manufacturing at a medical device company. I suppose there are many different types of factories people could be involved in.