Indiana is a first-level division of United States, in North America. Its mapped cities centre on 40.1558° N, 86.2226° W.

What is the largest city in Indiana?

Indianapolis is the largest city mapped in Indiana, with a metropolitan population of about 1.44 million.

How many cities are in Indiana?

YearMaps maps 14 cities and towns in Indiana, with a combined metropolitan population of about 3.55 million. This counts mapped settlements, not every municipality.

Indiana Map — Cities & Geography, United States

Interactive Map of Indiana

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About Indiana

Indiana ( IN-dee-AN-ə) is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Michigan to the northwest, Michigan to the north and northeast, Ohio to the east, the Ohio River and Kentucky to the south and southeast, and the Wabash River and Illinois to the west. Nicknamed "the Hoosier State", Indiana is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 states. The state's capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the Union as the 19th state on December 11, 1816.

Indigenous resistance to American settlement was broken with their defeat in Battle of Tippecanoe in 1811, and the collapse of Tecumseh's confederacy in 1813. The new settlers were primarily Americans of British ancestry from the eastern seaboard and the Upland South, and Germans. After the Civil War, in which the state fought for the Union, natural gas attracted heavy industry and new European immigrants to its northern counties. In the first half of the 20th century, northern and central sections experienced a boom in goods manufacture and automobile production. Southern Indiana remained largely rural. After the rise and fall of the Klan in the 1920s, the state swung politically from the Republican to Democratic Party in the New Deal 1930s. Today, with a decades-long record of returning Republican majorities, Indiana is counted a "red state".

Indiana has a diverse economy with a gross state product in 2023 of 404.3 billion. Indianapolis is at the center of the state's largest metropolitan area, with a population of over two million. The Fort Wayne metro area follows with a population of 645,000.

The state's largest city, Indianapolis, is home to professional sports teams, including the NFL's Indianapolis Colts, the NBA's Indiana Pacers, and the WNBA's Indiana Fever. The city also hosts several notable competitive events, such as the Indianapolis 500, held at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Summary adapted from Wikipedia: Indiana (CC BY-SA 4.0).

Indiana in Depth

History

The first inhabitants in what is now Indiana were the Paleo-Indians, who arrived about 8000 BC after the melting of the glaciers at the end of the Ice Age. Divided into small groups, the Paleo-Indians were nomads who hunted large game such as mastodons. They created stone tools made out of chert by chipping, knapping and flaking.

The Archaic period between 5000 and 4000 BC saw the development of new ground-stone tools the building of earthwork mounds and middens, suggesting that settlements were becoming more permanent. The Woodland period began around 1500 BC marked by ceramics and pottery and the extended cultivation of plants eventually including crops such as corn and squash, and the development of long-term trade, notably by the Hopewell people.

Geography

With a total area (land and water) of 36,418 square miles (94,320 km2), Indiana ranks as the 38th largest state in size. The state has a maximum dimension north to south of 250 miles (400 km) and a maximum east to west dimension of 145 miles (233 km). The state's geographic center (39° 53.7'N, 86° 16.0W) is in Marion County.

Located in the Midwestern United States, Indiana is one of eight states that make up the Great Lakes Region. Indiana is bordered on the north by Michigan, on the east by Ohio, and on the west by Illinois, partially separated by the Wabash River. Lake Michigan borders Indiana on the northwest and the Ohio River separates Indiana from Kentucky on the south.

The average altitude of Indiana is about 760 feet (230 m) above sea level.

Economy and infrastructure

In 2017, Indiana had a civilian labor force of nearly 3.4 million, the 15th largest in the United States. Indiana has an unemployment rate of 3.7%, as of May 2025. The total gross state product in 2016 was $347.2 billion. A high percentage of Indiana's income is from manufacturing. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, nearly 17% of the state's non-farm workforce is employed in manufacturing, the highest of any state in the U.S. The state's five leading exports were motor vehicles and auto parts, pharmaceutical products, industrial machinery, optical and medical equipment, and electric machinery.

Despite its reliance on manufacturing, Indiana has been less affected by declines in traditional Rust Belt manufacturers than many of its neighbors.

Demographics

Indiana recorded a population of 6,785,528 in the 2020 United States census, a 4.65% increase since the 2010 United States census.

The state's population density was 70/km2 or 181/mi2, the 16th-highest in the United States. As of the 2010 U.S. census, Indiana's population center was northwest of Sheridan, in Hamilton County (+40.149246, −086.259514).

In 2005, 77.7% of Indiana residents lived in metropolitan counties, 16.5% lived in micropolitan counties and 5.9% lived in non-core counties.

Sections adapted from Wikipedia: Indiana (CC BY-SA 4.0).

History of Indiana: Empires and States

The atlas records 6 polities whose mapped territory included part of Indiana, from Haudenosaunee in 1670 CE to 2024 CE. They are listed in the order they first appear.

Polities that held Indiana, in chronological order
Polity	Period here
Haudenosaunee	1670–1701 CE
Kingdom of France	1718–1762 CE
New France	1718–1762 CE
British Colonial Empire	1763–1768 CE
The British Empire	1763–1768 CE
United States of America	1796–2024 CE

Historical Maps of Indiana

Indiana on the world map in each year one of these states held it:

Derived by testing mapped cities against dated territorial polygons. Dates are when the polygons cover this place, not the polity's whole lifespan, and polities absent from the source dataset are not listed.

Visiting Indiana

Indiana is a state in the heart of the Midwest region of the United States. Indiana is more than a fly-over state with one large metropolitan area, rural farmland, and cozy college towns.

Travel notes adapted from Wikivoyage: Indiana (CC BY-SA 4.0).

Largest Cities in Indiana

14 cities mapped. Ranked by metropolitan population. A port city's harbour is written up on the page of its sea.

Largest Cities in Indiana
#	Name	Population	Region	Role
1	Indianapolis	1.44 million	Indiana	Admin-1 capital
2	Gary	591,180	Indiana	Populated place
3	Fort Wayne	299,871	Indiana	Populated place
4	South Bend	239,822	Indiana	Populated place
5	Evansville	174,102	Indiana	Populated place
6	Elkhart	149,190	Indiana	Populated place
7	Lafayette	133,977	Indiana	Populated place
8	New Albany	120,625	Indiana	Populated place
9	Bloomington	100,310	Indiana	Populated place
10	Muncie	85,449	Indiana	Populated place
11	Terre Haute	73,236	Indiana	Populated place
12	Kokomo	61,121	Indiana	Populated place
13	Richmond	44,400	Indiana	Populated place
14	Marion	38,297	Indiana	Populated place

Ports in Indiana

4 ports mapped. Ranked by approach channel depth, the figure that limits which ships can call. Harbours link to their write-up on the page of the sea or coast they lie on. Assigned by the nearest mapped city, so features near the boundary may belong to a neighbouring division.

Ports in Indiana
#	Name	Channel Depth	Class	Sea	Max Vessel
1	Indiana Harbor	42.1 m	Minor	Great Lakes & St. Lawrence Seaway	large vessels
2	Buffington	42.1 m	Minor	Great Lakes & St. Lawrence Seaway	large vessels
3	Gary	42.1 m	Minor	Great Lakes & St. Lawrence Seaway	large vessels
4	Michigan City	—	Small	Great Lakes & St. Lawrence Seaway	medium vessels

Indiana: Quick Answers

Where is Indiana?: Indiana is a first-level division of United States, in North America. Its mapped cities centre on 40.1558° N, 86.2226° W.
What is the largest city in Indiana?: Indianapolis is the largest city mapped in Indiana, with a metropolitan population of about 1.44 million.
How many cities are in Indiana?: YearMaps maps 14 cities and towns in Indiana, with a combined metropolitan population of about 3.55 million. This counts mapped settlements, not every municipality.