Elsmere is a home rule-class city in Kenton County, Kentucky, in the United States. The population was 9,159 at the 2020 census.

Geography

Elsmere is located in western Kenton County and is bordered to the north and east by Erlanger, to the south by Independence, and to the west by Florence in Boone County. The Dixie Highway (U.S. Routes 25, 42, and 127) forms the northern border of the city and leads northeast to Covington and southwest to the center of Florence.

According to the United States Census Bureau, Elsmere has a total area of , of which , or 0.73%, are water.

History

The community was first settled in 1885 as "South Erlanger". Elsmere has historically been a largely African-American city, and originally had an African-American school house Known as the Dunbar School on Spring Street. Elsmere also had an African-American baseball team. There is also a park on Capitol Avenue named after Rosella Porterfield, who taught at the Historic Dunbar School. Elsmere organized as a city in 1896, renamed after Elsmere Avenue in Norwood, Ohio, the hometown of one of its founders.

Government

In 1998, Billy Bradford was elected mayor of Elsmere, the first African-American mayor elected in northern Kentucky. He served 12 years (three terms), and now serves as a member of the city council. The current mayor is Marty Lenhof.

Economy

Regal Beloit (formerly Emerson Power Transmission) and L'Oréal have facilities in an unincorporated pocket of Kenton County surrounded by Elsmere. Portions of Elsmere have a Florence mailing address. Mazak's North American headquarters are in Elsmere.

Education

Portions of the cities of Elsmere and adjacent Erlanger share a public school system: Erlanger/Elsmere Independent School District.

The following schools are shared by the areas of the two cities within the Erlanger/Elsmere school district:

;Primary schools

  • Arnett Elementary School
  • Howell Elementary School
  • Lindeman Elementary School
  • Miles Elementary School
  • Tichenor Middle School

;Secondary schools

  • Lloyd Memorial High School

A portion of Elsmere is in the Kenton County School District

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, Elsmere had a population of 9,159. The median age was 32.8 years. 28.0% of residents were under the age of 18 and 11.3% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 94.2 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 92.6 males age 18 and over.

100.0% of residents lived in urban areas, while 0.0% lived in rural areas.

There were 3,304 households in Elsmere, of which 38.0% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 38.3% were married-couple households, 20.0% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 28.9% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 24.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 7.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.

! Race !! Number !! Percent

|-

| White || 7,047 || 76.9%

|-

| Black or African American || 567 || 6.2%

|-

| American Indian and Alaska Native || 53 || 0.6%

|-

| Asian || 89 || 1.0%

|-

| Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander || 13 || 0.1%

|-

| Some other race || 549 || 6.0%

|-

| Two or more races || 841 || 9.2%

|-

| Hispanic or Latino (of any race) || 979 || 10.7%

|}

2010 census

According to the 2010 U.S. census, there were 8,451 people, 2,992 households, and 2,131 families residing in the city. The racial makeup was 61.0% white, 22.2% black, 0.4% Native American, 0.4% Asian American, 0.2% Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander, 4.2% some other race, and 3.4% two or more races. 8.2% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

References

  • Official website
  • Historical Texts and Images of Elsmere, Kentucky