Carol Johnson, Southern Indiana Business Report
BEDFORD – Recent data from the US Census shows that the Radius Indiana region has reported two consecutive years of population growth since experiencing a population decline at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
After losing 101 residents from 2020-21, the Radius region rebounded the following year, gaining 278 residents in 2021-22.
From 2020 to 2023, the eight-county area added 461 residents, an increase of 0.21%. In 2023, 221,660 residents lived in the Radius region.
Two Radius counties – Greene and Daviess – reported three straight years of population growth from 2020-23. Greene grew by 1.3% (400 residents) and Daviess grew 0.83% (276 residents). Martin County reported two straight years of growth, adding to its population in 2021-22 and 2023. Martin County added 86 residents from 2020-23 and its growth rate of 0.71% was better than the state average. Population growth in Greene County (1.3%) and Daviess County (0.48%) exceeded the state average as well.
Population declined in three Radius counties from 2020-23 as Crawford (-90), Dubois (-85) and Orange (-232) lost residents.
The first year of the pandemic saw five counties in the region – Crawford, Dubois, Martin, Orange and Washington – lose residents with Washington County losing 100 residents, the most of any county in the region, and Martin County losing the fewest at five.
State population growth
The pandemic slowed population growth around the state of Indiana. The latest data indicate the region and state are returning to numbers in keeping with the average annual increases.
Indiana added 29,925 residents in 2023 to reach a total population of 6.862 million, according to the latest population estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau.
Analysis by the Indiana Business Research Center at Indiana University’s Kelley School of Business indicates that after two years of comparatively slow growth through the pandemic era, Indiana’s gains in 2023 nearly matched its average annual increase of 30,170 residents between 2010 and 2020.
Rural trends
The IBRC analysis by senior demographer Matt Kinghorn also observed a notable shift in the state’s demographic trends over the last three years, noting that population growth has become more evenly distributed around the state with rural counties making small gains.
The state’s 23 rural counties — counties that are not designated as being part of either a metropolitan or micropolitan statistical area by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget — combined for a 0.2% increase last year, according to the IBRC analysis. Between 2010 and 2020, by contrast, rural Indiana declined by 2.3% as a whole.
In the Radius region, the cities of Jasper/Dubois County, Washington/Daviess County and Bedford/Lawrence County are micropolitan areas. Washington County is designated as part of the Louisville/Jefferson County metropolitan area.
Another positive in the IBRC report was rural Indiana’s population growth in 2023. That growth was driven by a combined net inflow of nearly 1,630 residents, marking the third consecutive year these counties as a group posted a positive net in-migration. On a per capita basis, rural Indiana’s 3.6 net in-migrants per 1,000 residents surpassed the combined net migration rates for the state’s 44 metro-area counties (3.4 per 1,000 residents) and its 25 micropolitan counties (2.7 per 1,000).