Indiana County Map

What Do the Numbers on Indiana License Plates Mean?

Each Indiana county has a state county code from 1 to 92, assigned in strict alphabetical order. The sequence begins with Adams at 1 and ends with Whitley at 92, with Marion at 49, Lake at 45, and Hamilton at 29. The number has appeared on standard plates since 1963, originally on the left as part of the plate serial, then above the serial from 2008, and in the lower right corner since 2012. Marion and Lake once used overflow codes in the 90s because of their vehicle volume, a practice that ended in 2008.

How Many Counties Are in Indiana?

Indiana has 92 counties. Knox County came first, organized on June 20, 1790 under the Northwest Territory with its seat at Vincennes, and Newton County came last in 1859. Newton has an unusual history, since it was first organized in 1835, merged into Jasper County in 1839, and then re-created twenty years later. Article XV, Section 7 of the state constitution bars the creation of any new county below 400 square miles and bars shrinking an existing county below that threshold, which is why the map has been fixed for more than a century and a half.

What Is the Largest County in Indiana?

Allen County covers about 657 square miles, more than any other county in the state, and its seat is Fort Wayne. LaPorte County ranks second at roughly 598 square miles of land. Lake County holds the most water area of any Indiana county, because the Census Bureau assigns it a share of Lake Michigan, which brings its total area to about 627 square miles against 499 square miles of land. The average Indiana county covers about 396 square miles, so most fall in a narrow band between roughly 300 and 450 square miles.

Which Indiana County Is the Smallest?

Ohio County covers about 86 square miles in the far southeast corner along the Ohio River, and its seat is Rising Sun. It is also the least populous county in the state at an estimated 5,994 residents. Union County is second smallest by population at 6,863, followed by Warren at 8,474 and Benton at 8,883. Ohio County predates the 400 square mile constitutional minimum, which is the only reason a county that size exists in Indiana at all. Some sources give its area as 87.2 square miles, a figure that includes its share of the river.

Which Indiana County Has the Most Residents?

Marion County, which contains Indianapolis, is the most populous county in Indiana, with an estimated 992,196 residents as of July 1, 2025. Lake County follows at 504,612, then Allen at 402,329, Hamilton at 387,036, and St. Joseph at 272,861, so Marion has nearly twice the population of the next county down. Statewide the estimate stands at 6,973,333. Seventeen counties exceed 100,000 residents and five exceed 250,000, while five have fewer than 10,000, which leaves most of the 92 well under six figures. The median county population is near 35,000, so the distribution is heavily weighted toward the Indianapolis metropolitan ring and the northwest corner near Chicago.

What Is Unigov and How Does It Affect Marion County?

Unigov took effect on January 1, 1970 after the General Assembly passed it in 1969 without a referendum. It made the city limits of Indianapolis coterminous with Marion County and placed most city and county executive functions under a single mayor and a single City-County Council. The city went from 82 square miles to 402 square miles and from roughly 480,000 residents to about 740,000 overnight. Four municipalities were excluded and still govern themselves, namely Beech Grove, Lawrence, Southport, and the town of Speedway, though their residents pay countywide taxes and fall under countywide ordinances.

Indiana Counties on Central Time

Twelve counties observe Central Time and the other 80 observe Eastern Time. The northwestern group is Lake, Porter, LaPorte, Newton, Jasper, and Starke, closest to Chicago. Nearer Evansville and the Kentucky line are Gibson, Posey, Vanderburgh, Warrick, Spencer, and Perry. Indiana did not observe daylight saving time statewide until April 2, 2006, and the federal government moved eight counties from Eastern to Central on that same date. Five of them, Daviess, Dubois, Knox, Martin, and Pike, returned to Eastern in 2007, with Pulaski following shortly after.

Which County Is Fort Wayne, Carmel, or Bloomington In?

Fort Wayne is the seat of Allen County, Carmel is in Hamilton County, and Bloomington is the seat of Monroe County. Hamilton County alone contains Carmel, Fishers, Westfield, and its seat at Noblesville, which is why it comes up so often in questions about suburban Indianapolis. Evansville is the seat of Vanderburgh County, South Bend the seat of St. Joseph County, and Gary is in Lake County. Columbus is the seat of Bartholomew County, Greenwood is in Johnson County, Zionsville is in Boone County, and Avon and Brownsburg both lie in Hendricks County west of Indianapolis.

Who Runs County Government in Indiana?

Indiana splits county authority between two elected bodies. A three-member board of county commissioners handles administration, adopting ordinances and overseeing county property, roads, bridges, and departments, with members required to live in separate districts but elected countywide. A seven-member county council controls finances, adopting the budget, setting tax levies and salaries, and approving spending above the commissioners' administrative ceiling. Counties separately elect an auditor, treasurer, assessor, recorder, surveyor, coroner, sheriff, clerk of the circuit court, and prosecuting attorney. Marion County is the exception, since Unigov replaced that structure with a mayor and City-County Council.

What Is the Fastest Growing County in Indiana?

Boone County led the state in percentage terms between July 2024 and July 2025, adding 2.6 percent to reach 80,689 residents, its third consecutive year at the top. Hancock followed at 2.4 percent and Clark at 2.1 percent, with Clark recording its largest annual gain since at least 1980. Hamilton County added the most people in raw terms at 7,351, more than double the next county. Sixty-six of the 92 counties grew, and roughly 95 percent of statewide growth came from the 44 counties inside metropolitan areas.