BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — With a population increase of 7.7% in 2021, Westfield ranked as the fastest growing place in Indiana among those with a population of at least 5,000, according to estimates released by the US Census Bureau and analyzed by the Indiana Business Research Center at Indiana University Kelley School of Business.
The county city of Hamilton also saw the strongest numerical growth, with a gain of 3,640 residents. This increase was more than twice as large as that of Fort Wayne, which added 1,805 residents in 2021. The state’s overall population increased by 0.3%
Indianapolis-area suburban communities claimed each of the top five spots on Indiana’s fastest-growing towns list, with Whitestown just behind the leader with a growth rate of 7.4 percent. followed by McCordsville (7% increase), Avon (5.7%) and Bargersville (5.4%)
Three Lake County communities also rank among the 10 fastest growing communities in the state, with St. John posting a 4.9% increase in 2021, followed by Cedar Lake (3.9%) and Winfield (3.7%).
In total, 17 of the 20 fastest growing communities in the state are in either the Indianapolis metro area or Lake County. Outside these areas, the Clark County duo of Charlestown (4.1%) and Sellersburg (2.1%), as well as Plymouth in Marshall County (2.1%), opened the way in 2021.
Indy-area suburbs also topped the list of places with the largest digital population increases last year, claiming 8 of the top 10 spots. Behind Westfield and Fort Wayne, the largest gains were in Fishers (1,720 residents), Avon (1,236) and Noblesville (1,126).
Indianapolis itself lost its population in 2021. The state’s largest city saw a drop of 5,343 residents last year, a drop of 0.6%.
With a population of 882,039, Indianapolis was the 15th largest city in the nation in 2021, ranking just behind Columbus, Ohio (906,528) and ahead of Charlotte, North Carolina (879,709). Fort Wayne’s population reached 265,974 in 2021 and ranks 84th among cities in the United States.
Evansville (116,486) and South Bend (103,353), Indiana’s second-largest cities, both saw population declines last year, with Evansville losing 772 residents and South Bend losing 174 residents. Meanwhile, Hamilton County neighbors Fishers (101,171) and Carmel (100,777) each eclipsed the 100,000 population mark for the first time in 2021.
“Looking at the differences between urban and rural communities, these population estimates show that most Hoosiers live in cities or towns,” said Matthew Kinghorn, senior demographer at the Indiana Business Research Center. “Almost 37% of the state’s population lived in one of Indiana’s 21 cities with a population of at least 50,000 last year. About 19% of Hoosiers lived in an incorporated place of 10,000 to 49,999 residents, while 12% lived in one of Indiana’s 485 cities or towns with populations under 10,000.”
In total, just over two-thirds of Indiana’s 6.8 million people lived in incorporated communities, while the remaining 2.2 million Hoosiers lived in unincorporated areas of Indiana. State. Indiana’s cities and towns as a group accounted for 72% of the state’s total population growth in 2021.
For more information on these estimates, visit the STATS Indiana Population data page. The Indiana Business Research Center is part of a nationwide network of state data centers and acts as the official representative of the State of Indiana to the Census Bureau for matters relating to the census and population estimates. population. He receives support from the Indiana Department of Workforce Development for this work, including the award-winning websites Hoosiers by the Numbers and STATS Indiana.