Census Results: Indiana adds 400,000 new residents since 2000
Analysis by the Indiana Business Research Center at Indiana University's Kelley School of Business reveals that Indiana added 403,317 residents since the last census was taken in 2000 -- a 6.6 percent increase. The first results from the 2010 U.S. Census were released Dec. 21, 2010, and Indiana's official population count was 6,483,802.
This once-a-decade head count indicates that Indiana's rate of population change this decade falls short of the state's 9.7 percent growth during the 1990s but exceeds the change seen in the 1970s (5.7 percent) and the 1980s (1 percent).
Census Bureau Director Robert Groves presents the 2010 Census apportionment counts of the U.S. House of Representatives.
Indiana's population growth was strong enough to ensure that the state retained its nine seats in the U.S. House of Representatives. The State of Indiana's Complete Count Chairman, Mark W. Everson, said, "Through the efforts of so many across the state, the Census Count in Indiana went smoothly, making sure we didn't get short-changed in the size of our congressional delegation."
According to the IBRC state demographer Matt Kinghorn, 12 of the nation's 435 House seats will be reassigned based on the Census data. Ohio and New York will have the greatest losses, with each losing two seats, while Texas will have the greatest gain with four new seats.
The U.S. population grew 9.7 percent over the decade to reach 308.7 million. Most of the nation's fastest growing states over the period are found in the South and the West, led by Nevada (35 percent), Arizona (25 percent) and Utah (24 percent). Among neighboring states, Indiana's growth rate outpaced Illinois (3.3 percent), Ohio (1.6 percent) and Michigan (-0.6 percent) but lagged Kentucky's mark of 7.4 percent.
Michigan is the only state in the country that lost population over the last decade. At 37.3 million residents, California is the most populous state in the country followed by Texas, New York, Florida and Illinois. Indiana is the nation's 15th most populous state.
Indiana's allotment of representatives was 13 in 1920 but the state lost seats following the censuses of 1930, 1940, 1980 and 2000. Indiana has roughly 722,400 residents for each representative, up from 676,800 in 2000. The United States has an average of 710,800 people per representative in 2010.
The Census Bureau will issue several more data releases from the 2010 Census over the coming months. These releases will provide an in-depth look at the characteristics of the U.S. population in great geographic detail. These data and more will be released on the STATS Indiana website.
About the IBRC
The IBRC is part of a national network of State Data Centers and acts as the official state representative to the Census Bureau on matters relating to the census and population estimates. The IBRC also develops and maintains STATS Indiana, the award-winning, state-supported Web service (www.stats.indiana.edu).
