Global InformationList of counties in Indiana information
| Counties of Indiana | |
|---|---|
Lake
Porter
La
Porte St.
Joseph Elk-
hart La-
Grange Steuben
Newton
Jasper
Starke
Pulaski
Mar-
shall Fulton
Kosci-
usko Noble
Whitley
De
Kalb Allen
Benton
White
Carroll
Cass
Mi-
ami Wa-
bash Hunting-
ton Wells
Adams
Warren
Tippe-
canoe Clinton
Howard
Tipton
Grant
Black-
ford Jay
Foun-
tain Mont-
gomery Boone
Hamilton
Madi-
son Dela-
ware Randolph
Vermillion
Parke
Put-
nam Hen-
dricks Marion
Han-
cock Henry
Wayne
Vigo
Clay
Owen
Morgan
John-
son Shelby
Rush
Fayette
Union
Sullivan
Greene
Mon-
roe Brown
Bartho-
lomew Decatur
Franklin
Knox
Daviess
Mar-
tin Law-
rence Jack-
son Jennings
Ripley
Dearborn
← Ohio
Gibson
Pike
Dubois
Orange
Washing-
ton Scott
Jefferson
↑
Switzer- land Posey
↑
Vanderburgh Warrick
Spencer
Perry
Craw-
ford Harri-
son ← Floyd
Clark
| |
| Location | State of Indiana |
| Number | 92 |
| Populations | 6,004 (Ohio) – 968,460 (Marion) |
| Areas | 86 square miles (220 km2) (Ohio) – 657 square miles (1,700 km2) (Allen) |
| Government |
|
| Subdivisions |
|
There are 92 counties in the U.S. state of Indiana. Each county serves as the local level of government within its borders. Although Indiana was organized into the United States since the Northwest Ordinance in 1787, its land was not always available for settlement. The Vincennes Tract, Clark's Grant and an area known as "The Gore" in southeastern Indiana (resulting from the Treaty of Greenville 1795) existed during the Northwest Territory. The remainder of Indiana land was acquired by Indian Removal Act and purchases by treaty between 1804 and 1840. The largest purchase (called "Delaware New Purchase" or just "New Purchase") resulted from the Treaty of St. Mary's (1818) which acquired about 1/3 of the state in the central portion. All or most of 35 counties were eventually carved from the area. The oldest counties are generally in the south near the Ohio River, whereas newer ones were in the north in territory acquired later. Many of the final counties were formed subsequent to the acquisition and break up of the Big Miami Reserve (encompassing present day Howard County and parts of surrounding counties) between 1834 and 1840. The oldest and newest counties in Indiana are Knox County, created in 1790, and Newton County, created in 1859.[1]
As of the 2023 Census estimates, the population of Indiana was 6,862,199, the average population of Indiana's 92 counties is 74,589, with Marion County as the most populous (968,460), and Ohio County (6,004) the least. 54 counties have 30,000 or more people; 17 counties have populations exceeding 100,000, five of which exceed 250,000; and only five counties have fewer than 10,000 people. The average land area is 396 square miles (1,030 km2).[2] The largest county is Allen (657 sq. mi., 1,702 km2) and the smallest is Ohio (86 sq. mi., 223 km2).[3] According to the Constitution of Indiana, no county may be created of less than 400 square miles (1,000 km2), nor may any county smaller than this be further reduced in size, which precludes any new counties.[4]
County government in Indiana consists of two bodies, the county council and the commissioners.
Many Indiana counties are named for United States Founding Fathers and personalities of the American Revolutionary War, the War of 1812 and Battle of Tippecanoe; early leaders of Indiana Territory and Indiana, as well as surrounding states like Michigan and Kentucky; plus Native American tribes and geographical features.
The Federal Information Processing Standard (FIPS) code, which is used by the United States government to uniquely identify states and counties, is provided with each entry. Indiana's code is 18, which when combined with any county code would be written as 18XXX. The FIPS code for each county links to census data for that county.[5]
In Indiana, the most commonly seen number associated with counties is the state county code, which is a sequential number based on the alphabetical order of the county. It has been used on automobile license plates since 1963. It first held a prominent place on the left side of the plates as part of the license plate number until the year 2008 when it was moved above the serial number and 2012 when it was moved to the lower right corner. On license plates, county codes 93, 95, and 97-99 were also used for Marion County in addition to 49. 94 and 96 were used for Lake County in addition to 45. These additional numbers ceased to be used as of 2008.[6] In addition these codes are also used by INDOT for structure IDs on objects such as bridges and overpasses.
- ^ though Newton County was first formed in 1835
- ^ "Population Estimates for Indiana Counties, 2010-2017". StatsIndiana. Retrieved June 1, 2018.
- ^ National Association of Counties. "NACo - Find a county". Retrieved June 1, 2014.
- ^ "IN Const. art. XV, § 7 - Constitution of the State of Indiana, as amended". Indiana Legislature. 1851. Retrieved December 28, 2008.
- ^ "FIPS Publication 6-4". National Institute of Standards and Technology. Archived from the original on September 29, 2013. Retrieved April 11, 2007.
- ^ "Indiana License Plates, 1969-Present". February 28, 2016.