List of counties in Indiana

There are 92 counties in the U.S. state of Indiana. 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. The Vincennes Tract, Clark's Grant and an area known as "The Gore" in southeastern Indiana (resulting from the Treaty of Greenville 1795) existed during the Northwest Territory. The remainder of Indiana land was acquired by Indian Removal Act and purchases by treaty between 1804 and 1840. The largest purchase (called "Delaware New Purchase" or just "New Purchase") resulted from the Treaty of St. Mary's (1818) which acquired about 1/3 of the state in the central portion. All or most of 35 counties were eventually carved from the area. The oldest counties are generally in the south near the Ohio River, whereas newer ones were in the north in territory acquired later. Many of the final counties were formed subsequent to the acquisition and break up of the Big Miami Reserve (encompassing present day Howard County and parts of surrounding counties) between 1834 and 1840. The oldest and newest counties in Indiana are Knox County, created in 1790, and Newton County, created in 1859.^[1]

Counties of Indiana
Lake Porter La Porte St. Joseph Elk- hart La- Grange Steuben Newton Jasper Starke Pulaski Mar- shall Fulton Kosci- usko Noble Whitley De Kalb Allen Benton White Carroll Cass Mi- ami Wa- bash Hunting- ton Wells Adams Warren Tippe- canoe Clinton Howard Tipton Grant Black- ford Jay Foun- tain Mont- gomery Boone Hamilton Madi- son Dela- ware Randolph Vermillion Parke Put- nam Hen- dricks Marion Han- cock Henry Wayne Vigo Clay Owen Morgan John- son Shelby Rush Fayette Union Sullivan Greene Mon- roe Brown Bartho- lomew Decatur Franklin Knox Daviess Mar- tin Law- rence Jack- son Jennings Ripley Dearborn ← Ohio Gibson Pike Dubois Orange Washing- ton Scott Jefferson ↑ Switzer- land Posey ↑ Vanderburgh Warrick Spencer Perry Craw- ford Harri- son ← Floyd Clark
Location	State of Indiana
Number	92
Populations	6,004 (Ohio) – 968,460 (Marion)
Areas	86 square miles (220 km2) (Ohio) – 657 square miles (1,700 km2) (Allen)
Government	County government
Subdivisions	1,008 Townships

As of the 2023 Census estimates, the population of Indiana was 6,862,199, the average population of Indiana's 92 counties is 74,589, with Marion County as the most populous (968,460), and Ohio County (6,004) the least. 54 counties have 30,000 or more people; 17 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).^[2] The largest county is Allen (657 sq. mi., 1,702 km²) and the smallest is Ohio (86 sq. mi., 223 km²).^[3] 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, which precludes any new counties.^[4]

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.^[5]

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 plates, county codes 93, 95, and 97-99 were also used for Marion County in addition to 49. 94 and 96 were used for Lake County in addition to 45. These additional numbers ceased to be used as of 2008.^[6] In addition these codes are also used by INDOT for structure IDs on objects such as bridges and overpasses.

Counties

County	FIPS code[7]	County seat[3][8]	Est.[3][8]	Origin	Etymology[9]	BMV Number [10]	Population[11]	Area[3][12]	Map
Adams County	001	Decatur	Feb 7, 1836	Adams New Purchase	U.S. President John Quincy Adams	1	36,288	339 sq mi (878 km2)
Allen County	003	Fort Wayne	Dec 12, 1823	Delaware New Purchase	Col. John Allen, Kentucky state senator[13]	2	394,545	657 sq mi (1,702 km2)
Bartholomew County	005	Columbus	Jan 8, 1821	Jackson County and Delaware New Purchases	Lt. Col. Joseph Bartholomew, a hero of the Battle of Tippecanoe[13]	3	84,003	407 sq mi (1,054 km2)
Benton County	007	Fowler	Feb 18, 1840	Jasper County	Thomas H. Benton, U.S. Senator from Missouri	4	8,729	406 sq mi (1,052 km2)
Blackford County	009	Hartford City	Feb 15, 1838	Jay County	Judge Isaac Blackford, Speaker of the Indiana House of Representatives and Chief Justice of the Indiana Supreme Court	5	11,893	165 sq mi (427 km2)
Boone County	011	Lebanon	Jan 29, 1830	Adams and Wabash New Purchases	Frontiersman Daniel Boone	6	76,120	423 sq mi (1,096 km2)
Brown County	013	Nashville	Feb 3, 1836	Bartholomew County Jackson County Monroe County	General Jacob Brown, hero of the War of 1812[13]	7	15,653	312 sq mi (808 km2)
Carroll County	015	Delphi	Jan 17, 1828	Adams and Wabash New Purchases	Charles Carroll, signer of the Declaration of Independence	8	20,525	372 sq mi (963 km2)
Cass County	017	Logansport	Dec 18, 1828	Non-county Area	Gen. Lewis Cass, Governor of Michigan Territory and U.S. Secretary of State	9	37,666	412 sq mi (1,067 km2)
Clark County	019	Jeffersonville	Feb 3, 1801	Knox County	General George Rogers Clark, American Revolutionary War hero	10	125,467	373 sq mi (966 km2)
Clay County	021	Brazil	Feb 12, 1825	Owen County Putnam County Sullivan County Vigo County	U.S. Speaker of the House Henry Clay	11	26,460	358 sq mi (927 km2)
Clinton County	023	Frankfort	Jan 29, 1830	Adams and Wabash New Purchases	DeWitt Clinton, Governor of New York	12	32,730	405 sq mi (1,049 km2)
Crawford County	025	English	Jan 29, 1818	Orange County Harrison County Perry County	Col. William Crawford, surveyor of the Midwest and hero of the Indian Wars	13	10,438	306 sq mi (793 km2)
Daviess County	027	Washington	Feb 2, 1818	Knox County	Col. Joseph Hamilton Daveiss,[13] hero of the Battle of Tippecanoe	14	33,656	429 sq mi (1,111 km2)
Dearborn County	029	Lawrenceburg	Mar 7, 1803	Clark County, IN; Hamilton County, OH	U.S. Secretary of War Henry Dearborn	15	51,215	305 sq mi (790 km2)
Decatur County	031	Greensburg	Dec 12, 1821	Delaware New Purchase	Commodore Stephen Decatur, hero of the War of 1812	16	26,399	373 sq mi (966 km2)
DeKalb County	033	Auburn	Feb 7, 1835	Non-county Area	Johann de Kalb, German noble who trained colonial soldiers for the American Revolutionary War	17	44,198	363 sq mi (940 km2)
Delaware County	035	Muncie	Jan 26, 1827[14]	Delaware New Purchase	Delaware Native American people	18	112,321	392 sq mi (1,015 km2)
Dubois County	037	Jasper	Dec 20, 1817	Perry County Pike County	Toussaint Dubois,[13] hero of the Battle of Tippecanoe	19	43,546	427 sq mi (1,106 km2)
Elkhart County	039	Goshen	Jan 29, 1830	Non-county Area	Disputed, but possibly the Elkhart Native American people	20	206,409	463 sq mi (1,199 km2)
Fayette County	041	Connersville	Jan 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	23,362	215 sq mi (557 km2)
Floyd County	043	New Albany	Jan 2, 1819	Clark and Harrison Counties	Either John Floyd, a War of 1812 hero and Governor of Virginia, or early settler and state legislator Davis Floyd[13]	22	80,809	148 sq mi (383 km2)
Fountain County	045	Covington	Dec 20, 1825	Montgomery County and Wabash New Purchase	Major James Fontaine, a hero of the American Revolutionary War	23	16,731	396 sq mi (1,026 km2)
Franklin County	047	Brookville	Feb 1, 1811	Clark County Dearborn County Knox County	Writer, orator, scholar, and founding father Benjamin Franklin	24	23,096	384 sq mi (995 km2)
Fulton County	049	Rochester	Feb 7, 1836	Non-county Area	Robert Fulton, developer of the steamboat	25	20,358	368 sq mi (953 km2)
Gibson County	051	Princeton	Apr 1, 1813	Knox County	John Gibson, secretary of the Indiana Territory[13]	26	32,904	487 sq mi (1,261 km2)
Grant County	053	Marion	Feb 10, 1831	Madison County, New Purchase and un-organized	Captains Samuel and Moses Grant, former American soldiers and early settlers	27	66,200	414 sq mi (1,072 km2)
Greene County	055	Bloomfield	Jan 5, 1821	Sullivan County Non-county Area	Gen. Nathanael Greene, hero of the American Revolutionary War	28	31,196	543 sq mi (1,406 km2)
Hamilton County	057	Noblesville	Jan 8, 1823	Delaware New Purchase	Alexander Hamilton, first Secretary of the Treasury and founding father	29	371,645	394 sq mi (1,020 km2)
Hancock County	059	Greenfield	Mar 1, 1828	Madison County	John Hancock, first signer of the Declaration of Independence	30	86,166	306 sq mi (793 km2)
Harrison County	061	Corydon	Dec 1, 1808	Clark and Knox County	William Henry Harrison, governor of Indiana Territory and U.S. President	31	40,006	485 sq mi (1,256 km2)
Hendricks County	063	Danville	Dec 20, 1823[15]	Delaware and Wabash New Purchase	Governor of Indiana William Hendricks[13]	32	186,387	407 sq mi (1,054 km2)
Henry County	065	New Castle	Dec 31, 1821	Delaware New Purchase	Patrick Henry, attorney, orator, and founding father	33	48,929	392 sq mi (1,015 km2)
Howard County	067	Kokomo	Jan 15, 1844[16]	un-organized	Gen. Tilghman Howard, a U.S. Representative from Indiana	34	83,831	293 sq mi (759 km2)
Huntington County	069	Huntington	Feb 2, 1832	Adams New Purchase and un-organized	Samuel Huntington, signer the Declaration of Independence	35	36,781	383 sq mi (992 km2)
Jackson County	071	Brownstown	Jan 1, 1816	Clark, Jefferson and Washington	U.S. President Andrew Jackson	36	46,460	509 sq mi (1,318 km2)
Jasper County	073	Rensselaer	Feb 7, 1835	Wabash New Purchase	Sgt. William Jasper, hero of the American Revolutionary War	37	33,535	560 sq mi (1,450 km2)
Jay County	075	Portland	Feb 7, 1835	Adams New Purchase	John Jay, first Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court	38	20,032	384 sq mi (995 km2)
Jefferson County	077	Madison	Nov 23, 1810	Clark, Dearborn and Knox County	U.S. President Thomas Jefferson	39	33,056	361 sq mi (935 km2)
Jennings County	079	Vernon	Dec 27, 1816	Jackson and Jefferson Counties	Jonathan Jennings, first Governor of Indiana	40	27,622	377 sq mi (976 km2)
Johnson County	081	Franklin	Dec 31, 1823	Delaware New Purchase	John Johnson, first Chief Justice of the Indiana Supreme Court	41	167,819	320 sq mi (829 km2)
Knox County	083	Vincennes	Jun 6, 1790	Original County	U.S. Secretary of War Henry Knox	42	36,070	516 sq mi (1,336 km2)
Kosciusko County	085	Warsaw	Feb 7, 1835	un-organized	Tadeusz Kościuszko, Polish-born hero of the American Revolutionary War	43	80,364	531 sq mi (1,375 km2)
LaGrange County	087	LaGrange	Feb 2, 1832	un-organized	The ancestral estate of the Marquis de la Fayette, the French-born hero of the American Revolutionary War	44	40,907	380 sq mi (984 km2)
Lake County	089	Crown Point	Jan 28, 1837	Newton and Porter Counties	Its location on Lake Michigan	45, 94, 96	500,598	499 sq mi (1,292 km2)
LaPorte County	091	LaPorte	Jan 29, 1832	St. Joseph and un-organized	Means the door in French, which refers to the city of LaPorte	46	111,706	598 sq mi (1,549 km2)
Lawrence County	093	Bedford	Jan 7, 1818	Orange	Capt. James Lawrence,[13] hero of the War of 1812	47	45,084	449 sq mi (1,163 km2)
Madison County	095	Anderson	Jan 4, 1823	Delaware New Purchase	U.S. President James Madison	48	132,504	452 sq mi (1,171 km2)
Marion County	097	Indianapolis	Dec 31, 1821	Delaware New Purchase	Gen. Francis Marion, American Revolutionary War hero	49, 93, 95, 97, 98, 99	968,460	396 sq mi (1,026 km2)
Marshall County	099	Plymouth	Feb 7, 1835	St. Joseph County	U.S. Chief Justice John Marshall	50	46,352	444 sq mi (1,150 km2)
Martin County	101	Shoals	Jan 17, 1820	Daviess and Dubois Counties	Major John T. Martin, hero of the War of 1812	51	9,897	336 sq mi (870 km2)
Miami County	103	Peru	Jan 30, 1833	Cass County and un-organized	Miami Native American people	52	35,402	374 sq mi (969 km2)
Monroe County	105	Bloomington	Jan 14, 1818	Orange County	U.S. President James Monroe	53	139,342	395 sq mi (1,023 km2)
Montgomery County	107	Crawfordsville	Dec 21, 1822	Wabash New Purchase	Gen. Richard Montgomery, hero of the American Revolutionary War	54	38,573	505 sq mi (1,308 km2)
Morgan County	109	Martinsville	Dec 31, 1822	Delaware and Wabash New Purchase	Gen. Daniel Morgan, hero of the American Revolutionary War	55	73,227	404 sq mi (1,046 km2)
Newton County	111	Kentland	Dec 8, 1859[17]	Jasper County	Sgt. John Newton, hero of the American Revolutionary War	56	13,960	402 sq mi (1,041 km2)
Noble County	113	Albion	Feb 7, 1835	un-organized	U.S. Senator James Noble or Governor of Indiana Noah Noble, brothers	57	47,430	411 sq mi (1,064 km2)
Ohio County	115	Rising Sun	Jan 4, 1844	Dearborn County	The Ohio River forms its east boundary	58	6,004	86 sq mi (223 km2)
Orange County	117	Paoli	Feb 1, 1816	Gibson, Knox and Washington	Orange County, North Carolina, in turn named for the Dutch Protestant House of Orange	59	19,638	398 sq mi (1,031 km2)
Owen County	119	Spencer	Dec 21, 1818	Daviess and Sullivan County	Abraham Owen,[13] hero of the Battle of Tippecanoe	60	21,532	385 sq mi (997 km2)
Parke County	121	Rockville	Jan 9, 1821	Vigo County	Benjamin Parke, a delegate of Indiana Territory to the U.S. Congress[13]	61	16,484	445 sq mi (1,153 km2)
Perry County	123	Tell City	Nov 1, 1814	Gibson and Warrick Counties	Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry, hero of the War of 1812	62	19,209	382 sq mi (989 km2)
Pike County	125	Petersburg	Dec 21, 1816	Gibson and Perry County	Zebulon M. Pike, explorer of the American West	63	12,106	334 sq mi (865 km2)
Porter County	127	Valparaiso	Feb 7, 1835	un-organized	Capt. David Porter, hero of the War of 1812	64	175,335	418 sq mi (1,083 km2)
Posey County	129	Mount Vernon	Nov 11, 1814	Gibson County Warrick County	Thomas Posey, governor of Indiana Territory	65	25,040	410 sq mi (1,062 km2)
Pulaski County	131	Winamac	Feb 7, 1835	un-organized	Kazimierz Pułaski, Polish-born noble who led the colonial cavalry in the American Revolutionary War	66	12,385	434 sq mi (1,124 km2)
Putnam County	133	Greencastle	Dec 21, 1821[18]	Vigo, Owen counties	Gen. Israel Putnam, hero of the American Revolutionary War	67	37,567	481 sq mi (1,246 km2)
Randolph County	135	Winchester	Jan 10, 1818	Wayne County	Randolph County, North Carolina, which is named for first President of the Continental Congress Peyton Randolph	68	24,216	452 sq mi (1,171 km2)
Ripley County	137	Versailles	Dec 27, 1816	Dearborn and Jefferson County	Gen. Eleazer Wheelock Ripley, hero of the War of 1812	69	29,227	446 sq mi (1,155 km2)
Rush County	139	Rushville	Dec 31, 1821	Delaware New Purchase	Benjamin Rush, signer the Declaration of Independence	70	16,847	408 sq mi (1,057 km2)
St. Joseph County	141	South Bend	Jan 29, 1830	un-organized	St. Joseph River, which flows through it toward Lake Michigan	71	272,848	458 sq mi (1,186 km2)
Scott County	143	Scottsburg	Jan 12, 1820	Clark, Jefferson, Jennings and Washington Counties	Charles Scott, Governor of Kentucky	72	24,657	190 sq mi (492 km2)
Shelby County	145	Shelbyville	Dec 31, 1821	Delaware New Purchase	Gen. Isaac Shelby, Governor of Kentucky	73	45,231	411 sq mi (1,064 km2)
Spencer County	147	Rockport	Jan 10, 1818	Perry and Warrick Counties	Capt. Spier Spencer,[13] hero of the Battle of Tippecanoe	74	19,910	397 sq mi (1,028 km2)
Starke County	149	Knox	Feb 7, 1835	St. Joseph County and un-organized	Gen. John Stark, hero of the American Revolutionary War	75	23,206	309 sq mi (800 km2)
Steuben County	151	Angola	Feb 7, 1837	un-organized	Baron Frederick von Steuben, Prussian-born noble who trained colonial soldiers during the American Revolutionary War	76	34,917	309 sq mi (800 km2)
Sullivan County	153	Sullivan	Dec 30, 1816	Knox	General Daniel Sullivan, American Revolutionary War hero	77	20,757	447 sq mi (1,158 km2)
Switzerland County	155	Vevay	Oct 1, 1814	Dearborn and Jefferson County	The home country of many of the early settlers, Switzerland	78	10,019	221 sq mi (572 km2)
Tippecanoe County	157	Lafayette	Jan 20, 1826	Wabash New Purchase and un-organized	The Tippecanoe River and the Battle of Tippecanoe	79	188,792	500 sq mi (1,295 km2)
Tipton County	159	Tipton	Jan 15, 1844	Adams New Purchase and un-organized	John Tipton,[13] U.S. Senator	80	15,256	261 sq mi (676 km2)
Union County	161	Liberty	Jan 5, 1821	Parts of Fayette, Franklin and Wayne counties	Named because it united sections of three adjacent counties into one new entity	81	6,973	161 sq mi (417 km2)
Vanderburgh County	163	Evansville	Jan 7, 1818	Gibson, Posey, and Warrick Counties	Henry Vanderburgh, a judge for Indiana Territory	82	179,810	233 sq mi (603 km2)
Vermillion County	165	Newport	Jan 2, 1824	Parke County and Wabash New Purchase	The Vermillion River	83	15,417	257 sq mi (666 km2)
Vigo County	167	Terre Haute	Jan 21, 1818	Sullivan County	Francis Vigo, Italian-born colonial spy during the American Revolutionary War	84	106,153	403 sq mi (1,044 km2)
Wabash County	169	Wabash	Jan 30, 1833[19]	Adams New Purchase and un-organized	The Wabash River	85	30,670	412 sq mi (1,067 km2)
Warren County	171	Williamsport	Jan 19, 1827	Wabash New Purchase and un-organized	Joseph Warren, American Revolutionary War hero	86	8,518	365 sq mi (945 km2)
Warrick County	173	Boonville	Apr 30, 1813	Gibson and Knox Counties	Capt. Jacob Warrick,[13] hero of the Battle of Tippecanoe	87	65,867	385 sq mi (997 km2)
Washington County	175	Salem	Dec 21, 1813	Clark, Harrison and Knox Counties	U.S. President George Washington	88	28,205	514 sq mi (1,331 km2)
Wayne County	177	Richmond	Nov 27, 1810	Clark, Dearborn and Knox	Gen. "Mad" Anthony Wayne, hero of the American Revolutionary War	89	66,127	402 sq mi (1,041 km2)
Wells County	179	Bluffton	Feb 7, 1837	Adams New Purchase	Capt. William A. Wells a hero in the War of 1812	90	28,555	368 sq mi (953 km2)
White County	181	Monticello	Feb 1, 1834	Wabash New Purchase and un-organized	Capt. Isaac White,[13] hero of the Battle of Tippecanoe	91	24,917	505 sq mi (1,308 km2)
Whitley County	183	Columbia City	Feb 7, 1835	un-organized	Col. William Whitley,[13] hero of the Battle of Tippecanoe	92	34,742	336 sq mi (870 km2)

See also

• Indiana portal

• List of cities in Indiana
• List of former United States counties § Indiana
• List of Indiana townships
• Vehicle registration plates of Indiana

References

1. though Newton County was first formed in 1835
2. "Population Estimates for Indiana Counties, 2010-2017". StatsIndiana. Retrieved June 1, 2018.
3. National Association of Counties. "NACo - Find a county". Retrieved June 1, 2014.
4. "IN Const. art. XV, § 7 - Constitution of the State of Indiana, as amended". Indiana Legislature. 1851. Retrieved December 28, 2008.
5. "FIPS Publication 6-4". National Institute of Standards and Technology. Archived from the original on September 29, 2013. Retrieved April 11, 2007.
6. "Indiana License Plates, 1969-Present". February 28, 2016.
7. "EPA County FIPS Code Listing". EPA.gov. Retrieved February 23, 2008.
8. "Origin of Indiana County Names". Indiana Historical Bureau. Retrieved January 4, 2009.
9. "Origin of Indiana County Names". January 4, 2009.
10. "Indiana BMV website". February 28, 2016.
11. "U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts: Indiana". U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved April 21, 2024.
12. "Indiana -- County". U.S. Census Bureau. Archived from the original on February 10, 2020. Retrieved January 4, 2009.
13. Fought in the Battle of Tippecanoe
14. Delaware County was originally formed on January 1, 1820, but for lack of population it was dissolved shortly thereafter. (Funk, p. 192)
15. Hadley, John V. History of Hendricks County, Indiana . . BF Brown Co., Indianapolis. p. 8 (1914)
16. Originally named Richardville County for Chief Richardville, but renamed in 1872 (Funk, p. 193)
17. Originally organized February 7, 1835, but merged with Jasper County in 1839 and recreated later. (Funk, p. 193)
18. "Welcome to Putnam County, Indiana/History]". The USGenWeb Project. 1910. Retrieved October 4, 2020.
19. 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.

Further reading

• "Indiana County Government Overview" (PDF). National Association of Counties. 2022. Retrieved January 3, 2025.

External links

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