Census Redistricting Data for Indiana Released March 9, 2001
Analysis by Joan Morand, Research Director at the Indiana Business Research Center at the IU Kelley School of Business
March 9, 2001





The U.S. Census Bureau delivered to Gov. Frank O’Bannon and the leaders of the state legislature the official Census 2000 
Redistricting Data File for Indiana today, March 9, 2001. The data are among the first released from the census that was 
conducted on April 1, 2000. The data are used to redraw boundaries for federal, state and local legislative districts. The 
census counts also provide information about the size and composition of the state’s population, with detailed population 
counts for Indiana’s counties, cities, towns and townships, by race and ethnicity.
 
Highlights from an initial look at the data:
 
Hispanic Population
 
· As anticipated, the state’s Hispanic population has grown substantially, from about 99,000 in 
1990 to almost 215,000 in 2000, for growth of 116,000 or 117%.
· Only 1.8% of Indiana’s 1990 population claimed Hispanic ethnicity, while 3.5% indicated 
Hispanic ethnicity on their census forms in 2000.
· Counties showing the largest numeric growth in their Hispanic populations include Marion, Lake, 
Elkhart, Allen, St. Joseph, Tippecanoe and Porter counties. Together these counties accounted for 70% of the
state’s Hispanic population and for 68% of the state’s growth in Hispanic population.
 
The Race Data
 
· A small portion of Indiana’s population, 1.2% responded with more than one race category, a new option in 2000.
· Looking at those who responded to the race question with a single category (98.8% of all Hoosiers), growth rates 
for the race categories were: White ( 6%), Black (18%), Asian (62%), American Indian (24%).
· In 1990, 90.6% of Indiana’s population checked the white category for race. In 2000, of those who responded 
with a single race, 88.6% considered their race to be white.
· Growth in the Hispanic population and more rapid growth in minority race categories support the general 
observation that Indiana has become more racially and ethnically diverse.
· At the same time, population in the minority categories still represents a small portion of the state’s 
population: the Asian population in Indiana represents 1% of the total population.
 
 
County Totals
 
· Hamilton County was the fastest growing Indiana county, growing from 109,000 in 1990 to almost 183,000 in 
2000, for growth of 74,000 persons or 68%. Hamilton County’s growth outpaced all other Indiana counties, the state as a whole,
which grew at 9.7% and the nation, which grew at 13.2%.
· Other rapidly growing counties include Hendricks, Johnson, Owen, Noble, Hancock, Steuben, Boone and 
Jasper counties. Each of these counties grew by at least 20% since 1990.
· The high population growth rates in many suburban Hoosier counties are consistent with growth 
patterns experienced by the nation as a whole, with much of the rapid population growth occurring in suburban areas.
· Marion County grew by 7.9% between 1990 and 2000. By far the most populous Hoosier county, 
Marion County’s population stood at 860,000 on census day 2000. Marion County’s population growth exceeded 
what previously released estimates had indicated when the county’s 1999 population had been estimated to be 811,000.
· The Indianapolis Metro Area, consisting of Marion and eight surrounding counties grew by 227,000 persons, or 16.4%. 
· In 1990, one in four Hoosiers lived in the Indy Metro Area. In 2000, 26.4% of the state’s population lived in the Indianapolis Metro Area.
· Miami County is a good example of the incomplete picture that we get when we look only at two endpoints of a time interval. 
· The counts indicate that Miami County’s population declined by 815 people between 1990 and 2000. However, it is likely
 that the county’s population bottomed out mid-decade (1995 estimate was 32,400) after the restructuring of Grissom Air Force 
Base and that the county’s population has rebounded since 1995, almost to its 1990 level.
 
Census data for Indiana will be available at www.stats.indiana.edu and analysis will be available at www.ibrc.indiana.edu





The Indiana Business Research Center at IU's Kelley School of Business serves as the Governor's Liaison to Census 2000;
is a State Partner in the Census Bureau's State Data Center Program; and is the official State Representative to the Federal 
State Cooperative on Population.