More than half of Indiana counties saw an increase in their populations last year, according to a recent study from the Indiana Business Research Center at Indiana University.
The study, which analyzed data from the U.S. Census Bureau, shows that 55 of Indiana's 92 counties saw growth in 2017. That's the highest one-year increase since 2008.
Matt Kinghorn is senior demographer for the Indiana Business Research Center. He says Indiana gained more than 30,000 residents in 2017.
"Population growth trends really took a hit during the Great Recession, and haven't really improved much since," Kinghorn says. "And so to see a little uptick is a positive sign."
Kinghorn says the areas that saw the highest rate of growth include metropolitan areas like Indianapolis. He says most of the decline was seen in midsize and rural communities, particularly in North Central and East Central Indiana.
Kinghorn also says even in areas that didn't see growth, the decline was less significant than in recent years.
"It's never good to be losing population, but even to see those losses have been blunted a little bit is something," Kinghorn says.
A press release from the university says Boone County was at the top of the list, growing by 2.5 percent. Monroe and Tippecanoe counties each saw growth of about 1 percent.