Gities, Towns, and Townships in Indiana-The Latest Estimates of Population

tate, county, and township borders withinIndiana are very stable. When we considerpopulation change for these areas, we canattribute it to natural increase (births minusdeaths) and migration. Those factors also

apply to Indiana's cities and towns, but there is anadditional way in which cities can increase their popu-lation: annexation. Annexing surrounding areas notonly expands a community's geographic area, but canalso increase the population of the area as a result.This should be kept in mind when considering thegrowth trends related in the following highlights ofcity population growth.

Indiana's Largest GiliesLooking at the largest cities in Indiana (those with anestimated population in 1996 of 20,000 or more), weuncover the following information:

. The fastest-growing "big" city between 1990and 1996 was Fishers in Hamilton County. From a'1990 population of about 7,000, it has reached anestimated population of more than 20,000, almosttripling its size. This translates to a growth rate of188%, with more than 13,000 peopleadded to its citizenry in the six yearssince the census. Indeed, its growth hasbeen so fast that Fishers has now em-barked on its fourth special censussince 1990. And its 188% growth rate isfour times that of Carmel. the secondfastest-growing city.

. After Fishers, the next two fast-est-growing large Hoosier cities arealso in Hamilton County: Carmel (45%)and Noblesville (36%). Other citiesexperiencing growth exceeding 10%include Lawrence in Marion County(22%), Schererville in Lake County(16%), Greenwood in JohnsonCounty (15%), Merrillville in LakeCounty (12%), and Portage inPorter County (12%).

. Compare these rates to those of the state(5,370) and the nation (6.7%) during the same timeperiod, and you have an idea of just how fast theirgrowth is occurring.

. Other Hoosier cities multiplying faster than thestate between 1990 and 1996 were Jetfersonville inClark County (7%), Bloomington in Monroe County(7%), Valparaiso in Porter County (6%), and Misha-waka up in St. Joseph County (6%).

. Cities adding the largest numbers of peoplebetween 1990 and 1996 were Indianapolis (15,300),Fishers (13,500), Carmel (1 1 ,500), Noblesville (6,300),Lawrence (5,800), Bloomington (4,500), and Green-wood (4,100).

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. Cities that have experienced a population de-cline exceeding 2,000 include Fort Wayne (7000, AllenCounty), Gary (5671, Lake), Hammond (4200, Lake),South Bend (3400, St. Joseph), Terre Haute (2900,Vigo), Evansville (2800, Vanderburgh), Marion (2600,Grant), East Chicago (2100, Lake), and Muncie (2100,Delaware).

. Large cities with the highest rates of populationloss were Marion (8.1%), East Chicago (6.3%), andTerre Haute (5.0%).

The estimates indicate that there has been nochange in the ranking of Indiana's ten largest (mostpopulous) cities since 1 990. These continue to in-clude:

Indianapolis(757,000) Hammond(80,000)Fort Wayne (185,000) Muncie (69,000)Evansville(123,000) Bloomington(66,000)Gary (111,000) Anderson (59,000)South Bend (102,000) Tene Haute (55,000)

Fishers jumped from being the 80th largest Hoosiercommunity in 1990 to 35th in 1996. Carmel is up

from 26th in 1990 to 17th in 1996, andNoblesville's rank increased from 40thto 31st. Marion, however, droppedfrom 20th to 25th. Cities new to the20,000-plus group since 1990 includeFishers, Munster, and Noblesville.

Smaller Gities and TownsWestfield in Hamilton County is thefastest-growing town in the state. ltmore than doubled its 1990 censuspopulation of 3,300 with a 1996 esti-mate of 7,400 people and a groMh rateof 125%. 0ther fast-growing Hoosiertowns and small cities and their growth

rates include North Vernon (69%,Jennings County), St. John (56%, Lake),

DeMotte (51%, Jasper), Whiteland (41%,Johnson), Angola (41%, Steuben), Mooresville (36%,Morgan), Porter (33%, Porter), Cloverdale (33%,Putnam), and Brownsburg (31%, Hendricks).

The city of Peru in Miami County had an esti-mated loss of 1 ,700 people, with a 13.2% rate ofdecline since the 1 990 census.

A Closer Look at Hamilton CountyThese estimates are consistent with previously re-leased county population estimates for 1996. Accord-ing to the latter, Hamilton County grew by 35.6%between 1990 and 1996. All of its townships, cities,and towns have increased as well during this period;however, the growth is not evenly distributed acrossthe county. Most of it has occurred in the three largest

Joan Rainey

Research Director, lndianaBusiness Research Center,Kelley School of Business,lndiana Universitv

cities-Fishers, Carmel, and Noblesville. Together,they account for 80% of Hamilton County's popula-tion explosion.

Population Loss in Miami CountyMiami County has experienced a decline ol11.4o/obetween 1 990 and 1996. All 14 of its townships lostpopulation, with decline rates ranging from 8.1% forClay Township to 14.3% for Pipe Creek Township.Combined population loss of more than 2,700 peoplefor Peru and Pipe Creek townships accounts for 65%of the county's population decline. The resident per-sonnel at Grissom Air Force Base and their familiesare included in the Census Bureau's estimates; thenumber of people assigned to Grissom has beengreatly reduced since 1990.

Indiana Townships0f the 1,008 townships in Indiana, 935 of them expe-rienced population increases between Aprill, 1990and July 1, 1996. The remaining 73 townships experi-enced a decline.

Grouping Cities by SizeWith an estimated 1996 population of 757,000, India-napolis is not only the largest city in the state, it isfour times as populous as the second largest city, FortWayne. Indianapolis experienced a population growthol2joh between 1990 and 1996.

Fort Wayne, Evansville, Gary, and South Bend-with populations between 100,000 and 200,000-have each experienced population loss. As a group,they have declined by 3.5%. 0f the five cities withpopulations between 50,000 and 100,000, onlyBloomington has grown; Hammond, Muncie, Ander-son, and Terre Haute all lost people. The group of fivecities together experienced a loss of 1.5%.

Cities between 25,000 and 50,000 together grewby 4.8%. Smaller cities and towns in the lower popu-lation groups experienced the following rates of in-crease: 15,000 to 25,000-8.3%; 5,000 to 1 5,000-6.4%; and under 5,000--4.7%.

As for the nation, there has been no change inthe rankings of the six largest U.S. cities since 1990:New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago, Houston, Phila-delphia, and San Diego. Phoenix has jumped from 9thin 1990 to 7th in 1996; San Antonio has moved upfrom 1Oth to 8th position, followed by Dallas. Detroithas dropped from 7th in 1990 to 1Oth in 1996,whereas San Jose retains 11th position. Indianapolishas passed Baltimore since the 1990 census to be-come the nation's 12th largest city.

What Are These Estimates?Population estimates for Indiana for 1996 are avail-able through our otfice or at the Indiana State Library

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Data Center for all 1,008 Indiana townships and forincorporated places (cities and towns) in Indiana.Remember, they are only estimates and are not theresult of an attempt to directly count the population,as in a census year. The city and town estimates areaccompanied by revised 1990 Census figures thatmay reflect newer boundaries for the communities.They are based on the Boundary and AnnexationSurvey of the Census Bureau, though not all commu-nities participate in this survey each year.

These estimates were produced by the U.S.Bureau of the Census using the Distributive HousingMethod. Starting with the number of housing units ineach geographic area from the 1990 census, andusing building permit and demolition data for 1990 to1996, an estimate of the number of housing units forJuly 1, 1 996 for each geographic area is calculated.Then, applying the "persons per household" rates

"With an estimated 1996 populationof 757,000, lndianapolis is not onlYthe largest city in the state, it is fourtimes as populous as the secondlargest city, Fort Wayne."

lrom the 1990 Census, estimates of the householdpopulation are calculated. Estimates of 1996 groupquarters population are added to the household popu-lation estimates to yield total estimates for each area.

Using The EslimatesEven census numbers are not what they seem to bebecause our communities are not what they were. Acase in point is the city of Fort Wayne, which appearsto be declining in population when using currentboundaries compared to 1990 Census figures. Theofficial 1990 Census for Fort Wayne, published soonafter the count, was 173,072 people. But because ofboundary changes over the past seven years, the cityof Fort Wayne requested a retabulation of its 1990census figure, as allowed by Indiana state law.

Using boundaries current as of February 1996,the Census Bureau retabulated its 1990 figures, re-sulting in a count of 195,680. But late last year, aspart of its estimation series, the Bureau also pub-lished a retabulated 1 990 number ol 191 ,839. Why isthere a difference of nearly 4,000 people betweenthese retabulated numbers when one set was pro-duced for the city ol Fort Wayne and the other for theestimation series, but both by the same agency?

For the moment, we have no answer t0 thatquestion. lt may involve differences in methodology

or the fact that different units within the Census Bu-reau conducted the work. The net result is that thebase population for 1 990, used by the Bureau in esti-mating the 1996 population, is smaller and resulted ina lower estimate for Fort Wayne in 1996 than other-wise might have been the case.

This could be cause for concern for Fort Wayne,as well as other cities in Indiana. The Census Bureau'sestimates and its modified 1990 Census figures

Table 1Population Estimates for Indiana Cilies Whose 1996 Population Exceeds 20,000

(based on more current city boundaries) are pub-lished and readily available, but readers should beencouraged to exercise considerable caution whenusing them.

Table 1 provides a more detailed breakdown ofthese population estimates. For further information,please use our web site at www.iupui.edu/iVibrc orcontact us in writing (see address on back cover) orby telephone at 317 -27 4-2979 or 81 2-855-5507.

AndersonBloomingtonCarmelColumbusEast ChicagoElkhartEvansvilleFishersFort WayneGaryGoshenGreenwoodHammondHighlandHobartlndianapolisJetfersonvilleKokomoLa PorteLafayetteLawrenceMarionMerrillvilleMichigan CityMishawakaMuncieMunsterNew AlbanyNoblesvillePortageRichmondScherervilleSouth BendTerre HauteValparaisoWest Lafayette

CensusPopulation

4n/9059,51862,01525,38033,94833,89244,661

126,2727,'t89

191,8391 16,64623,79426,50784,23623,69624,440

741,86624,01644,99621,50744,62226,84932,60727,25733,82242,63571,17019,94936,32217,65529,06238,70520,155

105,51 157,47524,41426,144

EstimatedPopulation

7n/9659,1 3166,47936,83732,96331,76144,224

123,45620,665

184,7831 10,97524,93030,60080,08123,56924,463

757,17125,78745,78520,69644,34432,64229,96430,57732,97945,04569,05820,43838,22423,96032,41937,31223,322

1 02,1 0054,58525,80427,177

PopulationChange1990-96-3874,464

11,457-onE

-2,131437

-2,81613,476-7,056-5,6711 ,1364,093

-4,1 55-127

2315,3051,771

789-81 1-2785,793

-2,6433,320-8432,410

-2,112489

1,9026,3053,357

-1,3933,167

-3,411-2,8901,3901,033

Rank ofChange

53963

555559542561

256656531I

564527278

'l

2145

552535

55601 2

5531 5

55854204

Rank1990

I8

261 71 81 23

8024

3024o

3127'1

291 1321 32320221 91 4

T

341 640211 5335

1 02825

2923

b

32301

281 1341 32025241 81 27

361 531211 6335

1 02726

I

483546445469

249752723547

52642740234116134749943130

55478

4752064853252201 183

49444

488530207266

Rank1996

oo

1 71 9221 43

3524

PercentChange Rank of1990-96 % Change

4.7 4357.2 168

45.1-2.9-6.3-1.0-2.2

187.5-3.7-4.94.8

15.4-4.9-0.50.12.17.41 .8

-3.8-0.621.6-8.112.2-2.55.7

-3.02.55.2

35.711 .6-3.6't5.7-3.2-5.05.74.0

1 15561 3

5635622433

Source: U.S. Bureau of the Census. As it appeag here, the 1990 Census figure retlects boundary changes to the cities since lW and is used by theBureau lor comparability purposes.