| Official Name: | Elsmere, Kentucky |
| Settlement Type: | City |
| Mapsize: | 250px |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Subdivision Name: | United States |
| Subdivision Type1: | State |
| Subdivision Name1: | Kentucky |
| Subdivision Type2: | County |
| Subdivision Name2: | Kenton |
| Government Type: | Mayor-Council |
| Leader Title: | Mayor |
| Leader Name: | Marty Lenhof |
| Established Title: | Incorporated |
| Established Date: | May 11, 1896 |
| Unit Pref: | Imperial |
| Area Footnotes: | [1] |
| Area Total Km2: | 6.85 |
| Area Land Km2: | 6.81 |
| Area Water Km2: | 0.04 |
| Area Total Sq Mi: | 2.65 |
| Area Land Sq Mi: | 2.63 |
| Area Water Sq Mi: | 0.02 |
| Population As Of: | 2020 |
| Population Total: | 9159 |
| Population Density Km2: | 1345.83 |
| Population Density Sq Mi: | 3485.16 |
| Timezone: | Eastern (EST) |
| Utc Offset: | -5 |
| Timezone Dst: | EDT |
| Utc Offset Dst: | -4 |
| Elevation Ft: | 833 |
| Coordinates: | 38.995°N -84.6017°W |
| Postal Code Type: | ZIP code |
| Postal Code: | 41018 |
| Area Code: | 859 |
| Blank Name: | FIPS code |
| Blank Info: | 21-24778 |
| Blank1 Name: | GNIS feature ID |
| Blank1 Info: | 2403562 |
| Pop Est As Of: | 2022 |
| Pop Est Footnotes: | [2] |
| Population Est: | 9148 |
Elsmere is a home rule-class city[3] in Kenton County, Kentucky, in the United States. The population was 9,159 at the 2020 census.
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 7miles to Covington and southwest to the center of Florence.
According to the United States Census Bureau, Elsmere has a total area of 6.9km2, of which 0.05sqkm, or 0.73%, are water.[4]
The community was first settled in 1885 as "South Erlanger". Elsmere organized as a city in 1896, renamed after Elsmere Avenue in Norwood, Ohio, the hometown of one of its founders.[5] [6]
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.[7]
Regal Beloit (formerly Emerson Power Transmission[8]) and L'Oréal[9] have facilities in an unincorporated pocket of Kenton County surrounded by Elsmere. Portions of Elsmere have a Florence mailing address.[10] Mazak's North American headquarters are in Elsmere.[11]
Portions of the cities of Elsmere and adjacent Erlanger share a public school system: Erlanger/Elsmere Independent School District.[12]
The following schools are shared by the areas of the two cities within the Erlanger/Elsemere school district:[13]
A portion of Elsmere is in the Kenton County School District[14]
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 84.3 percent white, 7.1 percent 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.[15]