IU Analyst: Indiana Sees Stronger Population Growth in 2018

The Kelley School of Business and School of Public and Environmental Affairs on the IU Bloomington campus. (photo courtesy Indiana University)

The latest population estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau report that Indiana added nearly 31,800 residents in 2018, reaching a total population of 6.69 million. Matt Kinghorn, senior demographic analyst at the Indiana University Kelley School of Business’ Indiana Business Research Center, says while population is increasing, the level of growth is still well below that seen during much of the 1990s and 2000s.

The Indiana Business Research Center, part of a national network of state data centers and acts as Indiana’s official state representative to the Census Bureau on matters relating to the census and population estimates, reports that the upswing in the state’s population growth last year was driven entirely by an increase in net migration. The 0.5 percent increase represents the state’s largest annual gain since 2009 and outpaced each of its neighboring states.

Sixty of Indiana’s 92 counties experienced a population gain in 2018, the largest such tally since 2005, according to the analysis.

Between 2010 and 2017, Indiana had an average annual net inflow of  1,900 residents, and 12,800 residents in 2018.

"Not only does this number stand out in this largely low-migration period after the Great Recession, it is also significantly higher than the state’s average annual net inflow of 9,200 residents per year in the 2000s, although it is still well below the mark of 17,600 residents per year during the 1990s," Kinghorn said in a news release.