Indiana's moderate growth during the last decade was largely propelled by an influx of Hispanics as well as the significant growth of the Indianapolis area, according to data from the 2010 Census released Thursday.
The state's growth rate of 6.6 percent from 2000 to 2010 to more than 6.4 million residents was one of the highest in the Midwest and more than all of its neighbors, except for Kentucky, which grew more than 7 percent.
Evansville remained the state's third-largest city — behind Indianapolis and Fort Wayne — but declined by 3.4 percent for an official count of 117,429 residents compared with 121,582 people 10 years ago. Overall though, Vanderburgh County grew by more than 4.5 percent during the last decade.
While Indianapolis grew less than 5 percent, three of its surrounding counties were among the top 11 in population. Hamilton County, which borders Indianapolis to the north, jumped from sixth in 2000 to fourth in terms of population and grew by more than 50 percent. It is also home to the state's three fastest-growing cities. Carmel, which is now the state's eighth-largest city, and Fishers both more than doubled in size, while Noblesville grew by 80 percent.
That area's significant growth didn't surprise Carol Rogers, the deputy director of the Indiana Business Research Center. She said the main factor for the growth is the prospect of jobs, and she said there has been a trend of people wanting to be near a large metropolitan area, especially one such as Indianapolis, which has worked to make itself more attractive and prosperous.
"People are gravitating more and more toward the largest cities. They're (feeling) some of that irresistible pull that (there is) an area that has undergone quite a bit of change during the last couple of decades," she said.
Statewide, the Hispanic population exploded, growing by more than 81 percent during the last decade to almost 400,000, or about 6 percent of all Hoosiers.
But while Vanderburgh County ranks as the state's seventh-most populous county, it is home to only 3,873 Hispanics, or 2 percent of its population, or 17th out of the 20 largest counties. Vanderburgh is the only area county included on that list. By comparison, the state's two largest counties, Marion and Lake, are both home to more than 80,000 Hispanics.
The figures were part of a package of data delivered to state lawmakers, who are tasked with redrawing the boundaries of federal and state legislative districts during the current General Assembly session.
After receiving the new data, House Speaker Brian Bosma, R-Indianapolis, said it would take at least a couple of weeks to plug all of the information into the state's computer software before lawmakers could start the redistricting process.
After announcing the first results of the 2010 count in December, the Census Bureau started releasing more detailed information, including the population of cities and towns, on a rolling schedule that stretches into March.
Minorities made up much of the state's growth during the last decade. In addition to hike in Hispanics, the number of Asians increased by almost 75 percent and make up 2 percent of the overall population. Blacks still account for the state's largest minority, about 10 percent of the total population.
Eighty-four percent of Hoosiers identify themselves as white, a figure that grew by 1.3 percent during the last decade.
In Vanderburgh County, blacks make up about 9 percent of the population, while Asians account for about 1 percent.
Like Vanderburgh, most Southwestern Indiana counties grew slightly compared with 2000. However, Posey and Knox counties' population declined during the decade. Compared with some parts of state hardest hit by the economic woes of the last decade, this area seems relatively stable, Rogers said.
Most of the largest Hoosier cities that aren't near Indianapolis lost people during the last decade, except for Fort Wayne, which grew by almost 25 percent to 253,691, widening the gap between the state's second-largest city and Evansville. However, Gary's population plummeted by more than 21 percent, dropping the northwest Indiana city from No. 5 to No. 7.
South Bend and Hammond, the state's fourth and fifth-largest cities, also lost population compared with 2000.