DeKalb is not only increasing in size and population, but in diversity as well.

According to the 2000 Census, less than 80 percent of DeKalb residents classified themselves as white. This number is down from the nearly 89 percent in 1990.

Ruth Anne Tobias, a research associate for the Center for Governmental Studies, pointed out that there has been a rise in population in many races, but she said that the addition of a new classification in 2000 may have altered the percentages.

Tobias said the government added the category of “two or more races” as an option when declaring race in the 2000 Census. This addition allowed for multi-racial citizens to more accurately describe themselves.

Overall, every race increased in population over the decade between the censuses except for the white population which actually decreased by 28 people. The black population more than doubled and almost three times as many people classified themselves as “other” in 2000.

Tobias explained that the terms “Hispanic” and “Latino” are not races, but instead describe the origin of the person. She said hispanic or latino citizens are allowed to classify themselves as a separate race and later declare themselves as being of Latin American descent. This is why the total number of latino or hispanic citizens is not included in the total population of the city.

This increase in diversity is not only apparent in DeKalb, but also throughout the county. Tobias said 4,084 of the 88,969 people in DeKalb County people classified themselves as black in 2000, nearly twice as many as in 1990. The hispanic and latino population also increased by 4 percent county-wide.

These figures, as well as many more from the past two censuses, are available on the government Web site, www.census.gov, through the American Fact Finder.