Indiana ranked 14th in population in the US with an estimated total of 6,159,068 in 2002, an increase of 1.3% since 2000. Between 1990 and 2000, Indiana's population grew from 5,544,159 to 6,080,485, an increase of 9.7%. The population is projected to reach 6,215,000 by 2005 and 6.5 million by 2025. The population density in 2000 was 169.5 persons per sq mi.
In 2000 the median age was 35.2. Persons under 18 years old accounted for 25.9% of the population while 12.4% were age 65 or older.
Although the French founded the first European settlement in Indiana in 1717, the census population was no more than 5,641 in 1800, when the Indiana Territory was established. Settlers flocked to the state during the territorial period, and the population rose to 24,520 by 1810. After Indiana became a state in 1816, its population grew even more rapidly, reaching 147,178 in 1820 and 988,416 in 1850. At the outbreak of the Civil War, Indiana had 1,350,428 inhabitants and ranked 5th in population among the states.
Indiana was relatively untouched by the great waves of European immigration that swept the US from 1860 to 1880. In 1880, when the state's population was 1,978,301, Indiana had fewer foreign-born residents (about 7% of its population) than any other northern state. Indiana doubled its 1900 population to 5,193,669 by the time of the 1970 census.
Indianapolis, the capital and largest city, expanded its boundaries in 1970 to coincide with those of Marion County, thereby increasing its area to 388 sq mi (1,005 sq km) and its
Indiana Counties, County Seats, and County Areas and Populations
COUNTY | COUNTY SEAT | LAND AREA (SQ MI) | POPULATION (2002 EST.) | COUNTY | COUNTY SEAT | LAND AREA (SQ MI) | POPULATION (2002 EST.) |
Adams | Decatur | 340 | 33,500 | Madison | Anderson | 453 | 132,068 |
Allen | Fort Wayne | 659 | 337,512 | Marion | Indianapolis | 396 | 863,429 |
Bartholomew | Columbus | 409 | 71,636 | Marshall | Plymouth | 444 | 45,735 |
Benton | Fowler | 407 | 9,207 | Martin | Shoals | 339 | 10,370 |
Blackford | Hardford City | 166 | 13,804 | Miami | Peru | 369 | 36,199 |
Boone | Lebanon | 424 | 48,277 | Monroe | Bloomington | 385 | 121,229 |
Brown | Nashville | 312 | 15,211 | Montgomery | Crawfordsville | 505 | 37,957 |
Carroll | Delphi | 372 | 20,226 | Morgan | Martinsville | 409 | 67,791 |
Cass | Logansport | 414 | 40,752 | Newton | Kentland | 401 | 14,360 |
Clark | Jeffersonville | 376 | 98,198 | Noble | Albion | 413 | 47,209 |
Clay | Brazil | 360 | 26,357 | Ohio | Rising Sun | 87 | 5,804 |
Clinton | Frankfort | 405 | 33,972 | Orange | Paoli | 408 | 19,433 |
Crawford | English | 307 | 11,076 | Owen | Spencer | 386 | 22,541 |
Davies | Washington | 432 | 29,851 | Parke | Rockville | 444 | 17,262 |
Dearborn | Lawrenceburg | 307 | 47,333 | Perry | Cannelton | 481 | 18,827 |
Decatur | Greensburg | 373 | 24,515 | Pike | Petersburg | 341 | 12,908 |
Dekalb | Auburn | 364 | 40,525 | Porter | Valparaiso | 419 | 150,403 |
Delaware | Muncie | 392 | 118,197 | Posey | Mt.vernon | 410 | 26,990 |
Dubois | Jasper | 429 | 40,015 | Pulaski | Winamac | 435 | 13,731 |
Elkhart | Goshen | 466 | 186,465 | Putnam | Greencastle | 482 | 36,440 |
Fayette | Connersville | 215 | 25,249 | Randolph | Winchester | 454 | 27,191 |
Floyd | New Albany | 150 | 71,633 | Ripley | Versailles | 447 | 27,525 |
Fountain | Covington | 398 | 17,700 | Rush | Rushville | 408 | 17,918 |
Franklin | Brookville | 385 | 22,585 | St. Joseph | South Bend | 459 | 267,120 |
Fulton | Rochester | 369 | 20,728 | Scott | Scottsburg | 192 | 23,334 |
Gibson | Princeton | 490 | 32,590 | Shelby | Shelbyville | 412 | 43,674 |
Grant | Marion | 415 | 72,189 | Spencer | Rockport | 400 | 20,353 |
Greene | Bloomfield | 546 | 33,155 | Starke | Knox | 309 | 22,832 |
Hamilton | Noblesville | 398 | 205,610 | Steuben | Angola | 308 | 33,429 |
Hancock | Greenfield | 307 | 58,343 | Sullivan | Sullivan | 452 | 21,825 |
Harrison | Corydon | 486 | 35,244 | Switzerland | Vevay | 224 | 9,410 |
Hendricks | Danville | 409 | 114,301 | Tippecanoe | Lafayette | 502 | 152,001 |
Henry | New Castle | 395 | 47,983 | Tipton | Tipton | 261 | 16,534 |
Howard | Kokomo | 293 | 84,838 | Union | Liberty | 163 | 7,440 |
Huntington | Huntington | 366 | 38,243 | Vanderburgh | Evansville | 236 | 171,744 |
Jackson | Brownstown | 514 | 41,557 | Vermillion | Newport | 260 | 16,499 |
Jasper | Rensselaer | 561 | 30,815 | Vigo | Terre Haute | 405 | 105,078 |
Jay | Portland | 384 | 21,630 | Wabash | Wabash | 398 | 34,655 |
Jefferson | Madison | 363 | 32,113 | Warren | Williamsport | 366 | 8,747 |
Jennings | Vernon | 378 | 28,192 | Warrick | Boonville | 391 | 53,624 |
Johnson | Franklin | 321 | 121,604 | Washington | Salem | 516 | 27,618 |
Knox | Vincennes | 520 | 38,531 | Wayne | Richmond | 404 | 70,547 |
Kosciusko | Warsaw | 540 | 74,794 | Wells | Bluffton | 370 | 27,796 |
Lagrange | Lagrange | 380 | 35,410 | White | Monticello | 506 | 24,985 |
Lake | Crown Point | 501 | 487,016 | Whitley | Columbia City | 336 | 31,339 |
Laporte | Laporte | 600 | 110,384 | ————— | ——— | ——— | |
Lawrence | Bedford | 452 | 46,097 | Totals | 35,932 | 6,159,068 |
population by some 50% (the city and county limits also include four self-governing communities). The estimated population was 783,612 in 2002, and the Indianapolis metropolitan area had an estimated population of 1,536,665 in 1999. Other cities with 2002 populations estimated at more than 100,000 were Fort Wayne, 210,070; Evansville, 119,081; South Bend, 106,558; and Gary, 100,945. All of these cities suffered population declines in the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s.