A look at the numbers: Diversity in the Kentucky National Guard 

EDITOR’S NOTE: We consulted diversity, equity, and inclusion professors at Eastern Kentucky University to ensure we were sensitive in using the term “minority.” MilitaryOneSource identifies non-white members as “minorities”; however, after careful consideration, we have chosen to refer to them as “diverse” members of the National Guard.

The National Guard’s diversity has improved in recent years, but the statistics give more insight into Kentucky’s ranking amongst the rest of the country.

Nationally, the Guard reported 93,392 members that identified as diverse in 2000. That number dropped to 70,756 in 2010 but rose to 81,943 in 2020, up by 5% in 10 years.

Kentucky ranked No. 29 in the nation, in terms of diversity, with 929 Guard members identifying as diverse in 2020. This was compared to No.1, Georgia, with 5,338 diverse members and No. 50, Maine, with 107 diverse members. Rankings are based on the number of soldiers that identify as diverse in the specific state, not the percentage.

Compared to surrounding states, Kentucky is second to last in the number of diverse members enlisted in the Guard. The surrounding states include West Virginia, Virginia, Tennessee, Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio, with West Virginia having the fewest diverse soldiers in the Guard at 366. 

The Kentucky Guard’s 2020 demographics were representative of the state’s population, where 85.9% of members identified as white, 8.4% identified as Black or African American, 0.3% as American Indian or Alaska Native, 1.3% as Asian, 0.2% as Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander and 3.1% as Hispanic/Latino. 

Kentucky’s state demographics include 87.5% of people identifying as white, 8.5% as Black or African American, 0.3% as American Indian or Alaska Native, 1.6% as Asian, 0.1% as Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander and 3.9% as Hispanic/Latino. 

Additionally, the Kentucky Guard had 1,001 female members and 5,576 male members in 2020, with females making up 15.2% of the Guard.  

Source: Military OneSource and US Census Bureau