One of the simplest measures of whether a community is succeeding is whether people choose to live there. Population growth reflects thousands of individual decisions about where families want to build their lives and where businesses see opportunity. Although no single statistic tells the entire story of a local economy, population growth often captures the cumulative effect of many factors that make a community attractive. This week, we compare Indiana’s twenty fastest-growing counties over the past five years with its twenty slowest-growing counties to see how they differ across several important economic indicators. Clark and Floyd Counties are among the fastest-growing counties in the state, and both appear in the fastest-growing group.
One of the primary benefits of population growth is a growing labor force. Businesses can only expand if workers are available, and regions can only attract new employers if they can meet workforce needs. Not surprisingly, we see stark differences between the fastest and slowest-growing counties in both job growth and business formation.
In the twenty slowest-growing counties, employment increased by just over 8,000 jobs, representing a 4% increase over the five-year period. The number of business establishments grew by only 334, or 3%. Average weekly wages increased by more than $163, an 18% gain.
By comparison, the twenty fastest-growing counties added more than 173,000 jobs, a 9% increase. Not a big surprise because the fastest growing counties in Indiana are also the largest, but the growth on a percentage basis is more than double. The number of establishments expanded by 13,237, representing a 14% increase. Average weekly wages rose by $196, also an 18% increase.
One factor behind stronger population growth is in-migration. The twenty fastest-growing counties gained more than 18,000 residents through domestic migration over the five-year period, while the twenty slowest-growing counties barely surpassed 1,000. Much of that migration occurred in the years immediately following COVID, when remote and flexible work arrangements allowed more people to relocate. The source of that migration is also revealing. Cook County, Illinois, was the largest contributor of new residents to the fastest-growing counties. For the slowest-growing counties, Marion County was the largest feeder, followed by Daviess County, likely reflecting moves to neighboring counties.
Educational attainment also differs substantially between the two groups. In the fastest-growing counties, bachelor’s and graduate degree attainment exceed the Indiana average and closely mirror national averages. In the slowest-growing counties, both measures fall below state and national averages.
The industrial composition of these counties also tells an interesting story. The slowest-growing counties are less economically diversified, with just three industries accounting for 46% of total employment. In the fastest-growing counties, the top three industries account for only 38% of total employment, reflecting a broader mix of economic activity.
Manufacturing remains the largest industry in the slowest-growing counties, but average annual wages are approximately $28,000 lower than manufacturing wages in the fastest-growing counties, perhaps reflecting differences in educational attainment, technology adoption, and productivity. Healthcare is the largest industry in the fastest-growing counties, where average annual wages exceed those in the slowest-growing counties by nearly $16,000.
The differences become even more pronounced in knowledge-based industries such as professional and business services, finance and insurance, and information. Together, these sectors account for 16.4% of employment in the fastest-growing counties compared to just 8.9% in the slowest-growing counties. Salaries in these industries are also substantially higher, ranging from 21% to 47% above those found in the slowest-growing counties.
The counties experiencing the strongest growth have built more diversified economies, attracted higher-skilled workers, and generated stronger business formation and higher wages. While every community has unique strengths and challenges, the data suggest that long-term prosperity depends on more than recruiting a single employer or industry. It requires building places that offer economic opportunity, quality jobs, educational attainment, and a quality of life that attracts and retains talent.
The lesson is clear: communities that invest in talent, economic diversification, and quality of place are also the communities that are best positioned for sustained population and economic growth. For areas that resist or combat population growth, in whatever form that might take, the result could be the opposite.