In Indiana, immigrants comprised 5% of the population in 2018 and that number is expected to go up.
According to U.S. Census projections, by the year 2030, immigration will be the primary driver of population growth in the country.
Here’s a look at Indiana and Indianapolis’ immigrant and refugee populations and their contributions to the Hoosier state.
Indiana immigrants’ country of origin
According to a 2020 report by the American Immigrant Council, 354,348 (5%) immigrants lived in Indiana in 2018.
Immigrants from Mexico comprised 30% of that population, 9% were from India, 7% from China, 3% from Myanmar (Burma), and 3% from the Philippines.
In the Indianapolis metro area, more than 70% of immigrants who identified as Hispanic or Latino were from Mexico, 13% from Central America, 6% were from Puerto Rico, and 4% from South America.
Shelby, Hancock, Marion, Madison, Johnson and Hamilton counties have large populations of immigrants from Mexico, according to a 2018 study by the Indy Chamber’s Hispanic Business Council. About 16% of Boone County’s Hispanic or Latino population is from Puerto Rico.
Some Hoosiers with roots in India are Sikhs. Sikhism is the fifth-largest religion in the world, and there are more than 500,000 Sikh Americans living in the United States. There are an estimated 5,000 — including foreign-born and U.S.-born — Sikhs in Central Indiana and 10,000 in the state. Many live in Hendricks County and the south side of…
