County Counts: 2010 Business Numbers

Population statistics for Indiana counties in 2010 don’t reveal many surprises. For those interested, we’ll list the top 10 below.

I came across some recent numbers, however, that included businesses, sales and employees by county. Among the items that jumped out: Elkhart, while sixth in population, number of businesses and employees, generated the third highest sales total.

Here’s the numbers; draw your own conclusions.

Top 10 in population:

1. Marion: 892,403

2. Lake: 501,248

3. Allen: 356,857

4. Hamilton: 280,425

5. St. Joseph: 271,159

6. Elkhart: 202,892

7. Vanderburgh: 176,122

8. Tippecanoe: 168,650

9. Porter: 165,244

10. Hendricks: 143,458

Top 10 in businesses (ranked by number of employees)

COUNTY                            BUSINESSES           EMPLOYEES              SALES

1. Marion                                33,788                     633,691             $157,929,646

2. Allen                                   12,540                     197,661              $48,525,593

3. Lake                                   15,207                     176,748              $37,617,188

4. St. Joseph                           9,146                     135,683              $24,793,763

5. Vanderburgh                       7,432                     131,769              $24,693,842

6. Elkhart                                  7,137                     122,835              $38,245,084

7. Hamilton                              9,350                     115,316              $24,953,277

8. Tippecanoe                         4,871                        88,321             $22,935,115

9. Monroe                                 4,608                        62,571             $11,051,280

10. Porter                                 5,362                        58,493              $15,312,321 

MySmartgov Enthused Over Assessor Referendum Results

Inside INdiana Business has the good news today regarding MySmartgov’s success on Election Day. Many voters in the state supported moving township assessing duties to the counties — a move that was encouraged by the Kernan-Shepard Report and supported by the Indiana Chamber.

Voters in 31 of the 43 townships where township assessors still existed called for uniform assessments and fair taxation yesterday by voting to eliminate township assessors.

“Voters across the state cried ‘Enough!’ loudly and clearly,” said Marilyn Schultz, executive director of MySmartgov.org, an organization formed to advocate for streamlined local government. “Their votes were a resounding call for change in the antiquated, redundant and unfair way that property has been assessed in Indiana for far too long.”

The decisive vote is an unambiguous sign to members of the General Assembly that Hoosiers want to update and streamline their local government, most of which was established to meet 19th-century needs. Lawmakers will be asked during the upcoming legislative session to enact additional reforms recommended by the Indiana Commission on Local Government Reform.

Continue reading