|
|
|
|
POPULATION ESTIMATES:
CHICAGO-AREA RESIDENTS BECOMING HOOSIERS;WESTFIELD AND FISHERS GROWING FASTEST;
PERU, MARION LOSING RESIDENTS
EDITORS: A chart showing estimates for cities with populations greater than 20,000 is available from our office. For information on other localities, call Joan Rainey of the IBRC at 812-855-5507, or go to The Indiana Business Research Center web site.
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- New population estimates for Indiana indicate that many Chicago-area residents are continuing to buy homes on the Hoosier side of the Illinois/Indiana border, likely drawn by lower property taxes. And many other people are moving into the state's other suburban areas.
According to population estimates released today (Nov. 18) by the U.S. Census Bureau and analyzed by the Indiana Business Research Center at Indiana University, several communities in Lake and Porter counties are experiencing significant population growth. They include St. John in Lake County, which has more than doubled in population during the 1990s, and Porter, which has grown by 33 percent.
Other communities in northwest Indiana also are growing, such as Schererville, which has had a growth rate of 16 percent; Merrillville, which grew by 12 percent; Portage, 12 percent; Chesterton, 9.3 percent; Valparaiso, 5.7 percent; and Munster, 2.5 percent.
"We have seen tax return data from the IRS that indicates that about 7,000 people moved from Illinois to Indiana between 1995 and 1996. This would support our thinking that many of these northwestern Indiana communities that are growing include many former Illinois residents," said Joan Rainey, the center's director of research. "I also have heard much anecdotal evidence from people in Porter County that supports that."
During the same time period, the growth rate for the state has been 5.3 percent, and the nation, 6.7 percent.
This trend in northwest Indiana does not include Gary and Hammond, which remain the state's fourth and sixth largest cities respectively, despite a population loss of 4.9 percent each. East Chicago had the second-highest rate of population loss statewide, with a decline of 6.3 percent, and Highland's population was down by 0.5 percent.
Statewide, Fishers, a suburb of Indianapolis, has been Indiana's fastest-growing city with a population increase of more than 20,000 residents during the 1990s. Its rate of growth was four times as much as the rate for the second-fastest-growing city and its Hamilton County neighbor, Carmel. Peru, a Miami County city affected by the closing of a nearby military base, had the state's highest rate of population loss.
The 1996 population estimates are not the result of any attempt to directly count the population. They were produced by the U.S. Bureau of the Census using the Distributive Housing Method, which uses statistics about building and demolition activity and household size to calculate population estimates.
Fishers' population has gone from 7,189 in 1990 to an estimated 20,665, which would be an increase of 188 percent in just six years. Another Hamilton County city, Noblesville, has been the state's third-fastest-growing community.
"The fastest-growing county in the state has been Hamilton County, so it should be no surprise that those three cities have had rapid growth rates," Rainey said. "The rapid growth in those cities is being spurred by the number of people moving in."
"We're seeing a turnaround to what happened in the 1980s," she added, "when we lost people to other states. But that was offset by the number of births over deaths. Today, we're seeing more people moving into the state, and many of them are moving to the suburban areas. This trend, along with a natural increase, accounts for the rapid growth that we are seeing in the 1990s."
Westfield, also in Hamilton County, is the second-fastest-growing town, with an estimated 1996 population of 1,500 persons, compared to a 1990 census count of 372 -- for a growth rate of 311 percent. Other Indianapolis suburban communities with rapid population growth included Whiteland, which has grown by 41 percent; Mooresville, with a growth rate of 36 percent; Brownsburg, 31 percent; Lawrence, 22 percent; and Greenwood, 15 percent.
In comparison, Indianapolis grew by 2.1 percent, from 741,866 to 757,171. Rainey said that increase is due to its natural increase through births. Indianapolis not only is the largest city in the state, but is four times as populous as the second largest city, Fort Wayne.
Peru, a Miami County community hit hard by the 1994 decision by the U.S. Department of Defense to close down part of Grissom Air Force Base, has had the greatest rate of population loss in the first six years of the decade. Its population has declined by 1,700 persons -- or by 13.2 percent -- from its 1990 census count of 12,843.
Overall, Miami County has experienced a population decline of 11.4 percent since the 1990 census. All 14 townships in the county lost population, with rates of decline ranging from 8.1 percent for Clay township to 14.3 percent for Pipe Creek township. Combined population loss of over 2,700 persons for Peru and Pipe Creek townships accounts for 65 percent of the county's population decline.
Other cities with high rates of population loss were Marion, with an 8.1 percent decline, and Terre Haute, which was down by 5 percent.
Many of the rapid increases taking place in the state are happening in communities with populations between 15,000 and 25,000. Behind Indianapolis, eight of the nine most populous cities actually saw declines in their populations, with Bloomington being the sole exception.
The estimates also indicate that there has been no change in the ranking of Indiana's 10 most populous cities since 1990. The 10 largest Hoosier cities and their populations are Indianapolis, 757,171; Fort Wayne 184,783; Evansville, 123,456; Gary, 110,975; South Bend, 102,100; Hammond, 80,081; Muncie, 69,058; Bloomington, 66,479; Anderson, 59,131; and Terre Haute, 54,585.
Cities that have added the largest number of people during the 1990s are Indianapolis, with 15,305 more persons; Fishers, 13,476 new residents; Carmel, 11,457; Noblesville, 6,305; Lawrence, 5,793; Bloomington, 4,464; and Greenwood, 4,093.
Cities that have experienced a population decline exceeding 2,000 persons include Fort Wayne, with 7,056 fewer residents; Gary, with a decline of 5,671; Hammond, 4,155; South Bend, 3,411; Terre Haute, 2,890; Evansville, 2,816; Marion, 2,643; East Chicago, 2,131; and Muncie, 2,112.
Of the 1,008 townships in Indiana, 935 experienced population increases between April 1, 1990, and July 1, 1996, with the remaining 73 townships seeing a population decline.
There has been no change in the rankings of the six largest cities in the nation since 1990. They are New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago, Houston, Philadelphia and San Diego. Indianapolis has passed Baltimore since the 1990 census to become the nation's 12th largest city.
The Indiana Business Research Center, housed in the E.W. Kelley School of Business at IU, serves as the state's official liaison with the U.S. Bureau of the Census. Its present and future role will be to work with the state and its localities to provide a full and accurate census count in the year 2000. The IBRC has provided the state with population projections for more than 30 years.
For more information, contact George Vlahakis, Office of Communication and Marketing, 812-855-0846 or 812-855-3911, gvlahaki@indiana.edu