The Ohio-Kentucky-Indiana Regional Council of Governments has unveiled a new digital tool aimed at helping community members, planning officials and the public access key demographic data more efficiently.
The OKI Demographics Data Dashboard, designed to be accessible for all users experience levels, draws from the American Community Survey – an annual event conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau — and includes information on population, immigration, households, employment, income, commuting, education and health.
The dashboard “combines frequently requested demographic, economic and social data into a single, user-friendly platform,” said Michael Outrich, senior planner and demographer at OKI. “It also provides comprehensive insights into counties, jurisdictions and neighborhoods across the OKI region, supporting data-driven policy and planning decisions.”
This type of data is “often hard to source or cumbersome to acquire,” said Outrich, project manager of the tool. “By compiling baseline data in one place, communities can better understand their surroundings and make more informed decisions.”
Demographic data are facts and numbers that describe people, like their age, gender, race, income, education, and where they live.
“Demographics describe not just who we are serving — but tell us if we are reaching those needing our services the most,” said Breanna Williams, programs manager at Meals on Wheels Southwest Ohio and Northern Kentucky. “They help us identify gaps and where services can be most impactful.”
Non-profit organizations, such as Meals on Wheels, use demographics to discover service trends over time, address social isolations and help sponsors see who is benefitting from services, as well as its measurable impact over time.The demographics dashboard “will benefit Meals on Wheels of Southwest Ohio and Northern Kentucky by supporting staff with reliable, accurate and accessible data, reducing time spent pulling data from the same sources compiled by the dashboard,” Williams said.
“In the future, these trends will aid us in forecasting needs for the ever-growing aging population, as well as guiding programs in design and expansion,” Williams explained.
OKI is a council of local governments, business organizations and community groups dedicated to developing collaborative strategies that enhance quality of life and economic development in the tristate region.
Federally mandated and funded, OKI serves as the metropolitan planning organization (MPO) for southwest Ohio — including Butler, Hamilton, Warren and Clermont counties — southeast Indiana’s Dearborn County, and northern Kentucky’s Boone, Kenton and Campbell counties.
Although OKI holds regional authority, every decision truly begins at the local level. Transportation projects originate with villages, cities, townships, counties, and transit agencies, ensuring the region’s investment strategy is built from the community up rather than the federal level down.
With a 118-member board representing eight counties across three states, OKI annually approves about $400 million in transportation projects and invests between $50 million and $80 million into regional infrastructure. Since 2002, the agency has allocated nearly $1.27 billion in infrastructure initiatives.
Ohio-Kentucky-Indiana Regional Council of Governments