List of counties in Indiana

Counties of Indiana
Location	State of Indiana
Number	92
Populations	6,128 (Ohio) – 903,393 (Marion)
Areas	86 square miles (220 km^2) (Ohio) – 657 square miles (1,700 km^2) (Allen)
Government	County government
Subdivisions	1,008 Townships

The U.S. state of Indiana has 92 counties. Each county serves as the local level of government within its borders. Although Indiana was organized into the United States since the Northwest Ordinance in 1787, its land was not always available for settlement. Eventually, land was purchased from Native Americans by treaties and Indian removals. The oldest counties are generally in the south near the Ohio River, whereas newer ones were in the north in territory acquired later. The oldest and newest counties in Indiana are Knox County, created in 1790, and Newton County, created in 1859.

As of the 2000 United States Census, the population of Indiana was 6,045,485, the average population of Indiana's 92 counties is 65,712, with Marion County as the most populous (903,393), and Ohio County (5,623) the least. 54 counties have 30,000 or more people; 16 counties have populations exceeding 100,000, five of which exceed 250,000; and only five counties have fewer than 10,000 people. The average land area is 396 square miles (1,030 km²). The largest county is Allen (657 sq. mi., 1,702 km²) and the smallest is Ohio (86 sq. mi., 223 km²).^[1] According to the Constitution of Indiana, no county may be created of less than 400 square miles (1,000 km²), nor may any county smaller than this be further reduced in size.^[2]

County government in Indiana consists of two bodies, the county council and the commissioners.

Many Indiana counties are named for United States Founding Fathers and personalities of the American Revolutionary War, the War of 1812 and Battle of Tippecanoe; early leaders of Indiana Territory and Indiana, as well as surrounding states like Michigan and Kentucky; plus Native American tribes and geographical features.

The Federal Information Processing Standard (FIPS) code, which is used by the United States government to uniquely identify states and counties, is provided with each entry. Indiana's code is 18, which when combined with any county code would be written as 18XXX. The FIPS code for each county links to census data for that county.^[3]

In Indiana, the most commonly seen number associated with counties is the state county code, which is a sequential number based on the alphabetical order of the county. It has been used on automobile license plates since 1963. It first held a prominent place on the left side of the plates as part of the license plate number until the year 2008 when it was moved above the serial number and 2012 when it was moved to the lower right corner. On license plate numbers, county codes 93 - 99 were also used for Marion county in addition to 49.^[4]

List of counties

County	FIPS County Code [5]	County seat [1][6]	Established [1][6]	Origin	Etymology [7]	BMV Number [8]	Population [1][9]	Area (Land only) [1]	Map
Adams County	001	Decatur	February 7, 1836	Adams New Purchase	U.S. President John Quincy Adams	1	33,625	339 sq mi (878 km^2)
Allen County	003	Fort Wayne	December 12, 1823	Delaware New Purchase	Col. John Allen, Kentucky state senator[10]	2	355,329	657 sq mi (1,702 km^2)
Bartholomew County	005	Columbus	January 8, 1821	Jackson County and Delaware New Purchases	Lt. Col. Joseph Bartholomew, a hero of the Battle of Tippecanoe[10]	3	71,435	407 sq mi (1,054 km^2)
Benton County	007	Fowler	February 18, 1840	Jasper County	Thomas H. Benton, U.S. Senator from Missouri	4	8,854	406 sq mi (1,052 km^2)
Blackford County	009	Hartford City	February 15, 1838	Jay County	Judge Isaac Blackford, Speaker of the Indiana House of Representatives and Chief Justice of the Indiana Supreme Court	5	14,048	165 sq mi (427 km^2)
Boone County	011	Lebanon	January 29, 1830	Adams and Wabash New Purchases	Frontiersman Daniel Boone	6	56,640	423 sq mi (1,096 km^2)
Brown County	013	Nashville	February 3, 1836	Bartholomew County Jackson County Monroe County	General Jacob Brown, hero of the War of 1812[10]	7	14,957	312 sq mi (808 km^2)
Carroll County	015	Delphi	January 17, 1828	Adams and Wabash New Purchases	Charles Carroll, signer of the Declaration of Independence	8	20,165	372 sq mi (963 km^2)
Cass County	017	Logansport	December 18, 1828	Non-county Area	Gen. Lewis Cass, Governor of Michigan Territory and U.S. Secretary of State	9	40,930	412 sq mi (1,067 km^2)
Clark County	019	Jeffersonville	February 3, 1801	Knox County	General George Rogers Clark, American Revolutionary War hero	10	96,472	373 sq mi (966 km^2)
Clay County	021	Brazil	February 12, 1825	Owen County Putnam County Sullivan County Vigo County	U.S. Speaker of the House Henry Clay	11	26,556	358 sq mi (927 km^2)
Clinton County	023	Frankfort	January 29, 1830	Adams and Wabash New Purchases	DeWitt Clinton, Governor of New York	12	33,866	405 sq mi (1,049 km^2)
Crawford County	025	English	January 29, 1818	Orange County Harrison County Perry County	Col. William Crawford, surveyor of the Midwest and hero of the Indian Wars	13	10,743	306 sq mi (793 km^2)
Daviess County	027	Washington	February 2, 1818	Knox County	Col. Joseph Hamilton Daveiss,[10] hero of the Battle of Tippecanoe	14	30,820	429 sq mi (1,111 km^2)
Dearborn County	029	Lawrenceburg	March 7, 1803	Clark County, IN; Hamilton County, OH	U.S. Secretary of War Henry Dearborn	15	50,047	305 sq mi (790 km^2)
Decatur County	031	Greensburg	December 12, 1821	Delaware New Purchase	Commodore Stephen Decatur, hero of the War of 1812	16	24,555	373 sq mi (966 km^2)
DeKalb County	033	Auburn	February 7, 1835	Non-county Area	Johann de Kalb, German noble who trained colonial soldiers for the American Revolutionary War	17	40,285	363 sq mi (940 km^2)
Delaware County	035	Muncie	January 26, 1827[11]	Delaware New Purchase	Delaware Native American people	18	118,769	392 sq mi (1,015 km^2)
Dubois County	037	Jasper	December 20, 1817	Perry County Pike County	Toussaint Dubois,[10] hero of the Battle of Tippecanoe	19	39,674	427 sq mi (1,106 km^2)
Elkhart County	039	Goshen	January 29, 1830	Non-county Area	Disputed, but possibly the Elkhart Native American people	20	182,791	463 sq mi (1,199 km^2)
Fayette County	041	Connersville	January 29, 1818	Franklin Wayne County and Non-county Area	Marquis de la Fayette, French noble who trained colonial soldiers in the American Revolutionary War	21	25,588	215 sq mi (557 km^2)
Floyd County	043	New Albany	January 2, 1819	Clark and Harrison Counties	Col. Either John Floyd, a War of 1812 hero and Governor of Virginia, or early settler and state legislator Davis Floyd[10]	22	78,823	148 sq mi (383 km^2)
Fountain County	045	Covington	December 20, 1825	Montgomery County and Wabash New Purchase	Major James Fontaine, a hero of the American Revolutionary War	23	17,954	396 sq mi (1,026 km^2)
Franklin County	047	Brookville	February 1, 1811	Clark County Dearborn County Knox County	Writer, orator, scholar, and founding father Benjamin Franklin	24	22,151	384 sq mi (995 km^2)
Fulton County	049	Rochester	February 7, 1836	Non-county Area	Robert Fulton, inventor of the steamboat	25	20,511	368 sq mi (953 km^2)
Gibson County	051	Princeton	April 1, 1813	Knox County	John Gibson, secretary of the Indiana Territory[10]	26	33,503	487 sq mi (1,261 km^2)
Grant County	053	Marion	February 10, 1831	Formed from Madison County, Adams New Purchase and un-organized	Captains Samuel and Moses Grant, former American soldiers and early settlers	27	70,061	414 sq mi (1,072 km^2)
Greene County	055	Bloomfield	January 5, 1821	Sullivan County Non-county Area	Gen. Nathanael Greene, hero of the American Revolutionary War	28	32,157	543 sq mi (1,406 km^2)
Hamilton County	057	Noblesville	January 8, 1823	Formed from Delaware New Purchase	Alexander Hamilton, first Secretary of the Treasury and founding father	29	274,569	394 sq mi (1,020 km^2)
Hancock County	059	Greenfield	March 1, 1828	Formed from Madison County	John Hancock, first signer of the Declaration of Independence	30	70,002	306 sq mi (793 km^2)
Harrison County	061	Corydon	December 1, 1808	Formed from Clark and Knox County	William Henry Harrison, governor of Indiana Territory and U.S. President	31	34,325	485 sq mi (1,256 km^2)
Hendricks County	063	Danville	December 20, 1824	Formed from Delaware and Wabash New Purchase	Governor of Indiana William Hendricks[10]	32	145,488	407 sq mi (1,054 km^2)
Henry County	065	New Castle	December 31, 1821	Formed from Delaware New Purchase	Patrick Henry, attorney, orator, and founding father	33	48,508	392 sq mi (1,015 km^2)
Howard County	067	Kokomo	January 15, 1844[12]	Formed from un-organized	Gen. Tilghman Howard, a U.S. Representative from Indiana	34	84,964	293 sq mi (759 km^2)
Huntington County	069	Huntington	February 2, 1832	Formed from Adams New Purchase and un-organized	Samuel Huntington, signer the Declaration of Independence	35	38,075	383 sq mi (992 km^2)
Jackson County	071	Brownstown	January 1, 1816	Formed from Clark, Jefferson and Washington	U.S. President Andrew Jackson	36	41,335	509 sq mi (1,318 km^2)
Jasper County	073	Rensselaer	February 7, 1835	Formed from Wabash New Purchase	Sgt. William Jasper, hero of the American Revolutionary War	37	30,043	560 sq mi (1,450 km^2)
Jay County	075	Portland	February 7, 1835	Formed from Adams New Purchase	John Jay, first Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court	38	21,806	384 sq mi (995 km^2)
Jefferson County	077	Madison	November 23, 1810	Formed from Clark, Dearborn and Knox County	U.S. President Thomas Jefferson	39	31,705	361 sq mi (935 km^2)
Jennings County	079	Vernon	December 27, 1816	Formed from Jackson and Jefferson Counties	Jonathan Jennings, the first Governor of Indiana	40	27,554	377 sq mi (976 km^2)
Johnson County	081	Franklin	December 31, 1823	Formed from Delaware New Purchase	John Johnson, first Chief Justice of the Indiana Supreme Court	41	139,654	320 sq mi (829 km^2)
Knox County	083	Vincennes	June 6, 1790	Original County	U.S. Secretary of War Henry Knox	42	39,256	516 sq mi (1,336 km^2)
Kosciusko County	085	Warsaw	February 7, 1835	Formed from un-organized	Tadeusz Kościuszko, Polish-born hero of the American Revolutionary War and leader of a Polish nationalistic revolt against Russia	43	74,057	531 sq mi (1,375 km^2)
LaGrange County	087	LaGrange	February 2, 1832	Formed from un-organized	The ancestral estate of the Marquis de la Fayette, the French-born hero of the American Revolutionary War	44	34,909	380 sq mi (984 km^2)
Lake County	089	Crown Point	January 28, 1837	Formed from Newton and Porter Counties	Its location on Lake Michigan	45	496,004	499 sq mi (1,292 km^2)
LaPorte County	091	LaPorte	January 29, 1832	Formed from St. Joseph and un-organized	Means the door in French, which refers to the city of LaPorte	46	111,467	598 sq mi (1,549 km^2)
Lawrence County	093	Bedford	January 7, 1818	Formed from Orange	Capt. James Lawrence,[10] hero of the War of 1812	47	45,922	449 sq mi (1,163 km^2)
Madison County	095	Anderson	January 4, 1823	Formed from Delaware New Purchase	U.S. President James Madison	48	133,358	452 sq mi (1,171 km^2)
Marion County	097	Indianapolis	December 31, 1821	Formed from Delaware New Purchase	Gen. Francis Marion, American Revolutionary War hero	49, 93-99	903,393	396 sq mi (1,026 km^2)
Marshall County	099	Plymouth	February 7, 1835	Formed from St. Joseph County	U.S. Chief Justice John Marshall	50	45,128	444 sq mi (1,150 km^2)
Martin County	101	Shoals	January 17, 1820	Formed from Daviess and Dubois Counties	Major John T. Martin, hero of the War of 1812	51	10,369	336 sq mi (870 km^2)
Miami County	103	Peru	January 30, 1833	Formed from Cass County and un-organized	Miami Native American people	52	36,082	374 sq mi (969 km^2)
Monroe County	105	Bloomington	January 14, 1818	Formed from Orange County	U.S. President James Monroe	53	137,974	395 sq mi (1,023 km^2)
Montgomery County	107	Crawfordsville	December 21, 1822	Formed from Wabash New Purchase	Gen. Richard Montgomery, hero of the American Revolutionary War	54	37,629	505 sq mi (1,308 km^2)
Morgan County	109	Martinsville	December 31, 1822	Formed from Delaware and Wabash New Purchase	Gen. Daniel Morgan, hero of the American Revolutionary War	55	68,894	404 sq mi (1,046 km^2)
Newton County	111	Kentland	December 8, 1859[13]	Formed from Jasper County	Sgt. John Newton, hero of the American Revolutionary War	56	14,566	402 sq mi (1,041 km^2)
Noble County	113	Albion	February 7, 1835	Formed from un-organized	U.S. Senator James Noble or Governor of Indiana Noah Noble, brothers	57	46,275	411 sq mi (1,064 km^2)
Ohio County	115	Rising Sun	January 4, 1844	Formed from Dearborn County	The Ohio River	58	6,128	86 sq mi (223 km^2)
Orange County	117	Paoli	February 1, 1816	Formed from Gibson, Knox and Washington	Orange County, North Carolina, in turn named for the Dutch Protestant House of Orange	59	19,306	398 sq mi (1,031 km^2)
Owen County	119	Spencer	December 21, 1818	Formed from Daviess and Sullivan County	Abraham Owen,[10] hero of the Battle of Tippecanoe	60	21,786	385 sq mi (997 km^2)
Parke County	121	Rockville	January 9, 1821	Formed from Vigo County	Benjamin Parke, a delegate of Indiana Territory to the U.S. Congress[10]	61	17,241	445 sq mi (1,153 km^2)
Perry County	123	Tell City	November 1, 1814	Formed from Gibson and Warrick Counties	Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry, hero of the War of 1812	62	18,899	382 sq mi (989 km^2)
Pike County	125	Petersburg	December 21, 1816	Formed from Gibson and Perry County	Zebulon M. Pike, explorer of the American West	63	12,837	334 sq mi (865 km^2)
Porter County	127	Valparaiso	February 7, 1835	Formed from un-organized	Capt. David Porter, hero of the War of 1812	64	146,798	418 sq mi (1,083 km^2)
Posey County	129	Mount Vernon	November 11, 1814	Gibson County Warrick County	Thomas Posey, governor of Indiana Territory	65	27,061	410 sq mi (1,062 km^2)
Pulaski County	131	Winamac	February 7, 1835	Formed from un-organized	Kazimierz Pułaski, Polish-born noble who led the colonial cavalry in the American Revolutionary War	66	13,755	434 sq mi (1,124 km^2)
Putnam County	133	Greencastle	December 31, 1822	Formed from Owen County and Wabash New Purchase	Gen. Israel Putnam, hero of the American Revolutionary War	67	36,019	481 sq mi (1,246 km^2)
Randolph County	135	Winchester	January 10, 1818	Formed from Wayne County	Randolph County, North Carolina, which is itself named for first President of the Continental Congress Peyton Randolph	68	27,401	452 sq mi (1,171 km^2)
Ripley County	137	Versailles	December 27, 1816	Formed from Dearborn and Jefferson County	Gen. Eleazer Wheelock Ripley, hero of the War of 1812	69	26,523	446 sq mi (1,155 km^2)
Rush County	139	Rushville	December 31, 1821	Formed from Delaware New Purchase	Dr. Benjamin Rush, signer the Declaration of Independence	70	18,261	408 sq mi (1,057 km^2)
St. Joseph County	141	South Bend	January 29, 1830	Formed from un-organized	St. Joseph River, which flows through it toward Lake Michigan	71	266,931	458 sq mi (1,186 km^2)
Scott County	143	Scottsburg	January 12, 1820	Formed from Clark, Jefferson, Jennings and Washington Counties	Charles Scott, Governor of Kentucky	72	22,960	190 sq mi (492 km^2)
Shelby County	145	Shelbyville	December 31, 1821	Formed from Delaware New Purchase	Gen. Isaac Shelby, Governor of Kentucky	73	44,436	411 sq mi (1,064 km^2)
Spencer County	147	Rockport	January 10, 1818	Formed from Perry and Warrick Counties	Capt. Spier Spencer,[10] hero of the Battle of Tippecanoe	74	20,391	397 sq mi (1,028 km^2)
Starke County	149	Knox	February 7, 1835	Formed from St. Joseph County and un-organized	Gen. John Stark, hero of the American Revolutionary War	75	23,556	309 sq mi (800 km^2)
Steuben County	151	Angola	February 7, 1837	Formed from un-organized	Baron Frederick von Steuben, Prussian-born noble who trained colonial soldiers during the American Revolutionary War	76	33,214	309 sq mi (800 km^2)
Sullivan County	153	Sullivan	December 30, 1816	Formed from Knox	General Daniel Sullivan, American Revolutionary War hero	77	21,751	447 sq mi (1,158 km^2)
Switzerland County	155	Vevay	October 1, 1814	Formed from Dearborn and Jefferson County	The home country of many of the early settlers, Switzerland	78	10,613	221 sq mi (572 km^2)
Tippecanoe County	157	Lafayette	January 20, 1826	Formed from Wabash New Purchase and un-organized	The Tippecanoe River and the Battle of Tippecanoe	79	172,780	500 sq mi (1,295 km^2)
Tipton County	159	Tipton	January 15, 1844	Formed from Adams New Purchase and un-organized	John Tipton,[10] U.S. Senator	80	16,577	261 sq mi (676 km^2)
Union County	161	Liberty	January 5, 1821	Parts of Fayette, Franklin and Wayne counties	Named because it united sections of three adjacent counties into one new entity	81	7,516	161 sq mi (417 km^2)
Vanderburgh County	163	Evansville	January 7, 1818	Gibson, Posey, and Warrick Counties	Henry Vanderburgh, a judge for Indiana Territory	82	188,922	233 sq mi (603 km^2)
Vermillion County	165	Newport	January 2, 1824	Formed from Parke County and Wasbash New Purchase	The Vermillion River	83	16,788	257 sq mi (666 km^2)
Vigo County	167	Terre Haute	January 21, 1818	Formed from Sullivan County	Francis Vigo, Italian-born colonial spy during the American Revolutionary War	84	105,848	403 sq mi (1,044 km^2)
Wabash County	169	Wabash	January 30, 1833[14]	Formed from Adams New Purchase and un-organized	The Wabash River	85	34,960	412 sq mi (1,067 km^2)
Warren County	171	Williamsport	January 19, 1827	Formed from Wabash New Purchase and un-organized	Dr. Joseph Warren, American Revolutionary War hero	86	8,508	365 sq mi (945 km^2)
Warrick County	173	Boonville	April 30, 1813	Gibson and Knox Counties	Capt. Jacob Warrick,[10] hero of the Battle of Tippecanoe	87	60,010	385 sq mi (997 km^2)
Washington County	175	Salem	December 21, 1813	Clark, Harrison and Knox Counties	U.S. President George Washington	88	27,223	514 sq mi (1,331 km^2)
Wayne County	177	Richmond	November 27, 1810	Formed from Clark, Dearborn and Knox	Gen. "Mad" Anthony Wayne, hero of the American Revolutionary War	89	71,097	402 sq mi (1,041 km^2)
Wells County	179	Bluffton	February 7, 1837	Formed from Adams New Purchase	Capt. William A. Wells, Native American who became a hero in the War of 1812	90	27,600	368 sq mi (953 km^2)
White County	181	Monticello	February 1, 1834	Formed from Wabash New Purchase and un-organized	Capt. Isaac White,[10] hero of the Battle of Tippecanoe	91	25,267	505 sq mi (1,308 km^2)
Whitley County	183	Columbia City	February 7, 1835	Formed from un-organized	Col. William Whitley,[10] hero of the Battle of Tippecanoe	92	30,707	336 sq mi (870 km^2)

See also

• List of cities in Indiana
• List of Indiana townships
• Vehicle registration plates of Indiana

References

1. National Association of Counties. "NACo - Find a county". Retrieved 2014-06-01.
2. "IN Const. art. XV, § 7". Indiana Legislature. 1851. pp. Constitution of the State of Indiana, as amended. Retrieved 2008-12-28.
3. "FIPS Publish 6-4". National Institute of Standards and Technology. Retrieved 2007-04-11.
4. "Indiana License Plates, 1969-Present". 2016-02-28.
5. "EPA County FIPS Code Listing". EPA.gov. Retrieved 2008-02-23.
6. "Origin of Indiana County Names". Indiana Historical Bureau. Retrieved 2009-01-04.
7. "Origin of Indiana County Names". 2009-01-04.
8. "Indiana BMV website". 2016-02-28.
9. "Indiana -- County". U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved 2009-01-04.
10. Fought in the Battle of Tippecanoe
11. Delaware County was originally formed on January 1, 1820, but for lack of population it was dissolved shortly thereafter. (Funk, p. 192)
12. Originally named Richardville County for Chief Richardville, but renamed in 1872 (Funk, p. 193)
13. Originally organized February 7, 1835 but merged with Jasper County in 1839 and recreated later. (Funk, p. 193)
14. Originally formed January 20, 1820 but soon dissolved for lack of population. (Funk, p. 194)

Sources

• Funk, Arville (1983) [1969]. A Sketchbook of Indiana History. Rochester, Indiana: Christian Book Press. pp. 192–194.

External links

• Association of Indiana Counties
• Census 2000 Gazetteer
• National Association of Counties