The constituent U.S. state of Indiana is an incredibly historical place, located in the midwest region of the U.S. and bordering a total of 4 other states, Michigan to the north, Ohio to the east, Kentucky to the south, and Illinois to the west. Indiana truly does live up to its nickname, “the Crossroads of America”.
Indiana offers a lot to do and see when either visiting family, vacationing or choosing to call the Hoosier State your new home. The brightly colored vibrant forests, plains, lakes, rivers, and farmlands highlight the sheer beauty the state has to offer, with the added attraction of numerous activities readily available in the stunning places dotted around Indiana.
Not only is Indiana’s nature and wildlife something to take note of, but there is also a plethora of awesome towns, and cities, that all come with their own unique cultures, and delightful places to eat, drink, and relax, or anything for that matter. Indiana is not just easy on the eye, the Hoosier States oozes personality and excitement, and we are going to dive straight into some of the most incredible facts about the state of Indiana!
If you want to skip straight to the Indiana Economic Facts, click on the link to take you there, or scroll down the page.
24 Stunning Facts About the State of Indiana
1. Indiana’s name can be translated to, or mean “Land of the Indians”, or “Indian Land”. The state’s name was adopted for the native American tribes that gave the land to the white settlers.
2. The Hoosier State boasts a population of approximately 6.7 million, which makes Indiana the 17th most populous state out of all 50.
3. Funnily enough, people believe that the North Pole is the only place in the world to receive letters addressed to Santa Claus. However, this could not be further from the truth, in fact, the North Pole gets no letters to Santa, instead, the town of Santa Claus, Indiana is where all of these letters end up. Coming in their thousands year upon year, every single letter gets a reply!
4. Baseball’s inception took place in Fort Wayne, Indiana, where the very first pro game occurred on May 4, 1871.
5. The capital city of Indiana is Indianapolis, which is located right in the middle of the state, some may call it the “mini crossroads of America” due to its accessibility from other places within the state. Indianapolis’ metro area has a population of roughly 1.8 million.
6. Whichever state you visit within the U.S., you are bound to run into some extremely odd laws and rules, and Indiana is no different! It is illegal to sport a mustache as long as the mustache wearer has a troubling addiction toward kissing people, how bizarre.
7. Indiana has been an inhabited location since the end of the ice age (around 8,000 BC)!
8. One of the world’s most popular cartoon furry friends, Garfield made Indiana his home. This probably has something to do with his creator, Jim Davis, coming from Marion, Indiana.
9. Each state has a two-letter postal abbreviation used to identify the state when sending letters, packages, or writing addresses down. Indiana’s abbreviation consists of the opening two-letters from its name, IN.
10. Indiana’s natural beauty is on full display with the 3 state national parks; Lincoln Boyhood National Memorial, George Rogers Clark National Historical Park, and Indiana Dunes National Park.
Economic Facts About Indiana
There is a lot to think about when looking into the economic facts about Indiana as there is much to unbox. The state has been observed by many over the years as being one of the most up-and-coming environments for business growth and development, for entrepreneurs, and investors alike.
Indiana Economic Facts
- Indiana’s GDP is around $380 billion!
- Indiana has a progressive income tax rate of 3.23%.
- Indiana ranks #6 out of all 50 states for fiscal stability (US News & World Report).
- Indiana ranks #12 for business and economic opportunity (US News & World Report).
- Over 36% of Indiana’s population are college-educated (US News & World Report).
- Wallethub has put Indiana 24th for its economic health rank.
- The Indiana minimum wage is $7.25 per hour.
- Indiana has the highest number of manufacturing employees in the whole of the U.S.
- The mining and energy sectors within the state are some of the most profitable in the nation.
- The average house price in Indiana is $169,156, however, this number is seasonally adjusted, to keep updated, take a look at Zillow’s website.
- There are over 522,000 small businesses operating out of Indiana.
- Small businesses make up over 99% of all Indiana businesses.
- There are over 1.2 million small business employees in Indiana.
- Over 44% of Indianas employees work for small businesses.
- Indiana is home to over 7,167 small business exporters.
- The sales tax rate in Indiana is currently 7%.
All of these economic facts about Indiana prove the reasons people move to the state for business and work opportunities, and it’s hard to argue with any of them!
Interesting Facts About Indiana
Here are the rest of them!
11. The iconic home that Michael and the rest of the famous Jackson 5 grew up in is still standing in Gary, IN. The home is located at 2300 Jackson Street, and since the world-famous music icon’s death, the house has been renovated with the addition of a memorial statue paying respects to the king of pop on the front lawn.
12. Historic Parke County, located in Indiana has the most covered bridges out of any county in the world! With 32 of them dotted around the county. This has also lead to many calling Indiana, “The Covered Bridge Capital of the World”.
13. Indiana resides at the top of one of the richest concentrations of limestone in the world, and the state prides itself on the fine quality of limestone produced. Limestone originating from Indiana is more important than many would believe, helping build the Pentagon, Empire State Building, the Holocaust Memorial Museum, National Cathedral, and many of the famous U.S. bridges.
14. Indiana is home to the largest Batman memorabilia collection in the world. Kevin Silva, from Indianapolis, starting his Batman collection at the age of 5 and has since collected over 2,500 Batman souvenirs.
15. The first-ever U.S. train robbery took place within the state, during the 1840s, the railway line connecting Indianapolis with Madison, Wisconsin was raided!
16. The deadliest tornado in the history of the United States struck Indiana, on March 25, 1995, the category F-5 “Tri-State Tornado” traveled approximately 300 miles through Indiana, Illinois, and Missouri, devastating the lives of 695, and injuring over 2,000 others!
17. Ironically, the founder of the fast-food franchise, “KFC” is from Indiana and not Kentucky!
18. Unlike anywhere else in the world, Indiana was lucky enough to host Elvis Presley’s last ever concert in Market Square Arena during 1977.
19. The maximum speed limit in Indiana is 70 MPH, this top speed can only be reached when driving on rural highways.
20. Indiana is home to one of the most awesome, and popular races in the world. The Indianapolis 500 takes place annually within the state, people also refer to the race as the “Indy 500”.
21. Some famous people to come from Indiana include:
- Michael Jackson (Music Artist).
- The Jackson 5 (Music Group).
- Michael Elliot “Mike” Epps (Comedian).
- David Letterman (Comedian).
- Larry Bird (Basketball Player).
- Adam Driver (Actor).
22. There are 5 different Lake Michigan beaches in Indiana; Porter Beach, Lake Street Beach, Dunbar Beach, Washington Park Beach, Central Avenue Beach.
23. The largest city in Indiana is Indianapolis, located right in the middle of the Indiana territory and boasts a population of around 887,000.
24. Indiana was the 19th state to join the union, on the 11th of December 1816.
Thanks for taking a look at our 24+ interesting facts about Indiana! If you have some facts and fun information regarding Indiana’s past and present that we have not covered, make sure to add a comment below.
