Our Changing City, Block by Block
New data from the 2020 census several demographic trends in Indiana. The region is growing, driven by rapid development in suburban counties and increased Latino, Black, and Asian populations in Marion County. Downtown Indianapolis has also experienced a resurgence, increasing in population for the first time in six decades.
Small-scale data illustrate exactly how these trends have taken shape. Data about the people living in each block tell us which new subdivisions contributed to suburban population growth, how many people were added to the downtown population with the construction of a new apartment block, or how the racial composition of a block changed over the decade.
The maps below illustrate these trends, first by looking at overall population change and decline and then visualizing where different races or ethnicities grew or declined. Click or tap an area to get exact numbers about population changes between 2010 and 2020. Expand a map to full-screen using the icon in the top-right corner of the map.
This map shows blocks with net increases or net decreases in population.
Suburban growth
Much of Indianapolis' growth continues to be in suburban areas, just like in decades past . Carmel grew by 26 percent and Westfield by 54 percent.
This growth is mostly fueled by the development of large subdivisions like these, just south of Grand Park in Westfield.
But some growth occurred from the construction of dense developments, like these in downtown Carmel, where a development of a single block added 256 residents.
New apartments in downtown Fishers' Nickel Plate District add 700 residents to a three block area.
Western and southern suburbs also added to the region's growth.
Avon grew by 9,000 residents since 2010, reaching a population of 21,474 in 2020.
Greenwood grew by 28 percent, from 49,791 in 2010 to 63,830 in 2020.
An undeveloped area southwest of C.R. 750 North and Emerson Ave had a population of 15 in 2010. By 2020, development of the Briarstone Subdivision added 900 residents to the area.
Urban growth
The city of Indianapolis grew by 74,000 residents between 2010 and 2020. Some of that growth is due to growth in the center of city. After losing population for six decades, Center Township grew by nearly 11,000 residents.
This growth is fueled in part by new apartment development downtown.
For example, The Whit and Pulliam Square, two buildings east of University Park on New York, account for 629 new residents in those blocks.
Fletcher Place also experience high-density, mixed-use development. The block that contains City Way grew by 400 residents.
Multi-family housing developments marketed to IUPUI students attracted new growth along Indiana Avenue.
Despite overall growth of the city, some areas in Indianapolis lost significant population.
Fountain Square and Bates-Hendricks had explosive growth in home prices and development activity in the last decade, but actually experienced a sharp decline in population.
This is partly explained by the loss housing units in many blocks, even as blocks near the intersection of Virginia Avenue and Prospect Street added new apartments.
A six block area along Fletcher Avenue lost 172 residents and 20 housing units.
Two-hundred thirty fewer residents live in the five blocks of East Street south of Interstate 70. There are 26 fewer housing units.
Most of the city's growth came from places outside the urban core. For example, Wayne Township grew faster than Center Township, adding 11,616 residents.
Some of that growth was urban redevelopment, such as in the Near West. The former campus of Central State Hospital added 675 residents through a mix of new detached homes, townhomes, and apartments.
But much of the growth was in older suburban neighborhoods, like those northwest of the Speedway.
An apartment complex north of the Interstate 465/Crawfordsville Road interchange grew by nearly 700 residents.
Streets south of 38th Street with residential housing increased by over 1,000 new people (between High School Road, 34th Street, and Georgetown Road).
The neighborhood and apartment developments around Speedway Shopping Center on Crawfordsville Road grew by more than 900 residents.
The rate of residential development in downtown Indianapolis reversed sixdecades of population decline. While less concentrated, the most notable population-based change in the Indianapolis region is related to suburban sprawl. Marion County added more population than any other county in the region, but two-thirds of the region's growth occurred in the suburban counties. Marion County experienced population growth of 74,000 residents, while all the suburban counties combined grew by nearly twice that number—135,000 people.
While Center Township in Marion County added almost 11,000 residents, many suburban townships experienced higher population growth. Westfield Washington Township in Hamilton County added over 16,000 people. Fall Creek Township, where Fishers is located, added over 19,000 people.
Even within Marion County, most growth occurred outside of the center-city. The population of Marion County's outer townships grew by 63,000 residents. The fastest growing townships were the suburban townships on the south side of the city: Decatur, Perry, and Franklin. Combined, these townships grew by 15 percent. Center Township grew by eight percent.
Race and ethnicity
Population growth in some neighborhoods was driven by an increase inthe white population, but in most neighborhoods within Marion County,growth was fueled by people of color. The Mile Square , centered around Monument Circle, grew by 2,917 residents. This net increase waslargely among the white population (2,558 net growth). This is starklydifferent from the total population growth in Marion County. Despite anet decline in the white population of over 44,000, Indianapolis grew bynearly 120,000 new Latino, Black, Asian, and other residents of color.
This map shows where Black, white, Latino, and Asian residents lived in 2010 (left) and in 2020 (right). Swipe to compare and explore the demographic changes from block to block. Look for key trends, like more Asian residents in northern and southern suburbs, growth of white population downtown and along the North College Avenue corridor, growth of Black population on the far west side of Marion County, and the diversification of Martindale Brightwood through an influx of Latino residents.
To highlight changes in population, these maps show growth or decline separately for each race or ethnicity.
By viewing each race in isolation, it is easier to see distinct trends. This map reflects change in the white population for each block. Again, blue dots represent growth and red dots decline.
White population growth is most notable downtown and north to 52ndStreet in Marion County, and the exurbs of the outer metro counties. The area between these largely experienced net decline over the past decade.
In many ways, Black population changes show the opposite trends. Black population declined in many historically black neighborhoods and grew in suburban Marion County neighborhoods outside Interstate 465.
North of 38th Street, many blocks in Butler Tarkington lost dozens of Black residents. In a twelve-block area west of the Indiana State Fairgrounds, there are 532 fewer Black residents than a decade ago.
White population trends in the area show the reverse: Today, there are 430 additional white residents in those same twelve blocks.
The Latino population increased in many parts of the city, especially in neighborhoods northwest and northeast of Downtown.
In a subdivision in International Marketplace (between 30th and 34 Streets, from Georgetown Road to Lafayette Road) over 750 more Latino live in this subdivision today than did in 2010.
But Latino residents are also moving into Martindale Brightwood, a historically Black neighborhood.
The greatest Asian population growth was on the south side of the city, in Perry Township and Greenwood, and in the northern suburbs of Carmel and Fishers.
In one southside Indianapolis area between Meridian Street and State Road37, the Asian population consisted of 259 residents in 2010. Ten years later, the Asian population grew by tenfold to 2,520 residents.
The Asian population increased in many parts of Carmel, too. This population is very diverse, and the socioeconomic status of these groups vary widely. In Carmel, the median income for an Asian household is an estimated $148,000, compared to $59,000 in Greenwood.
The American Community Survey estimates the population of 23 distinct ethnic groups. Indian, Chinese, and Burmese are the most common groups in Central Indiana.
Asian groups in Central Indiana
Chinese and Burmese populations have grown the fastest since 2015, according to 2019 estimates. The chart below shows the increase in population for each group from 2015 to 2019.
Asian groups growth
The decrease in Black residents and increase in white residents in central city neighborhoods confirms the concerns raised by community activists in the last decade: Gentrification is leading to displacement. It also confirms our own analysis of gentrification. Updates to our neighborhood change index using the latest available estimates (2015-2019 estimates from the American Community Survey) show eight census tracts that have gentrified along College Avenue. While the city's white population decreased overall, these tracts increased from 43 percent white in 2010 to 60 percent white in 2019. The Black share of the population fell from 49 to 31 percent.
The displacement of Black residents from historically Black neighborhoods illustrates the need for policies that allow people to remain in a gentrifying community, like affordable rent and affordable home ownership opportunities. These can include solutions such as income-based, affordable rental housing and homeownership opportunities for those who do not qualify for a conventional mortgage or struggle to save for a down payment.
The median assessed value of residential properties in these tracts along College Avenue increased by 61 percent, compared to 27 percent across Marion County. However, this is not a problem that can be solved by one city. The scale is too big. While Indianapolis used state and federal funds to subsidize 20,331 subsidized rental housing units as of 2018 (National Housing Preservation Database), there are still an estimated 91,000 residents who cannot afford monthly housing costs in excess of $625. There are only 37,000 rental units available in that price range (2015-2019 American Community Survey).
Addressing this gap will require additional affordable housing stock and good jobs that pay a living wage. The “wicked problem” of unaffordable housing and insufficient income points to a need for resources of an order that a municipality is not able to provide. Congress is currently considering spending $170 billion on affordable housing, including $65 billion to prepare, replace, or construct public housing and $24 billion for Section 8 Housing Choice Vouchers. As of 2020, Indianapolis Housing Agency had a 50 month waitlist to receive a voucher. The waitlist was open briefly in July 2021, accepting new applications for only two days. Additional funding for housing vouchers or rental assistance will help alleviate these long wait times.
However, it would be a mistake to assume relocation by Black residents is a result of being "forced out" by neighborhood change. Since the integration and fair housing laws of the 1960s, the Black population in Indianapolis has a long history of developing suburban neighborhoods. Black residents continue to have agency in where they live, facing the same practical concerns that all households do, such as family, social networks, schools, safety, and housing costs.
The detail afforded by these block-level maps highlights the broad trends influencing our community. From suburban growth to revitalization and displacement, regional change is driven by block-to-block changes. Observing micro-level changes is helpful to understand and make macro-level changes more personal, which has the potential to inspire local action in our communities.
