Indiana sees population growth in 2023
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. (WISH-TV) — Indiana’s population increased in 2023, according to data analyzed by the Indiana Business Research Center at the Indiana University Kelley School of Business.
Data from the U.S. Census Bureau shows Indiana added 29,925 residents in 2023 to reach a total population of 6.86 million, the Indiana Business Research Center said in a release Wednesday. That number matched Indiana’s annual increase from 2010 to 2020 of 30,170 residents.
The research center says the Hoosier state’s population gained by an amount an amount that matched Indiana’s annual increase from 2010 to 2020. The increase came after what researchers said had been two years slow growth through the pandemic.
The Indiana Business Research Center at the Indiana University Kelley School of Business is part of a national network of state data centers. It also represents the state in matters pertaining to the U.S. Census Bureau.
“Indiana’s growth was fueled by another year of exceptionally high net in-migration,” said Matt Kinghorn, senior demographer at the center. “For context, we estimate the state had an average net in-migration of 9,100 people per year last decade.”
In 2023, births in the state out numbered the amount of deaths by 7,510 people, according to a release from the center. Researchers called the rate a “significant improvement over the previous two years” but remained “well below” pre-pandemic levels; that number from 2010 to 2019 was about 21,150 residents each year.
Population grew last year in the suburbs, causing population growth to be more evenly distributed all over the state, said the center.
The number of people living in Indiana’s 23 rural counties went up in 2023, researchers said Thursday. That same population shrank 2.3% between 2010 and 2020.
Most of Indiana’s fastest growing counties in 2023 were all in the “donut” counties surrounding Marion County: Hancock, Boone, Hendricks, Hamilton, Morgan, and Johnson.
Rush County, White County, Clark County and Warrick County completed the list of Indiana’s 10 fastest-growing areas.
For the third straight year, Marion County declined at the largest amount in the state with a loss of 763 residents — a 0.1% drop.
Overall, 66 of Indiana’s 92 counties posted a population gain in 2023.