Indianapolis, Indiana

Indianapolis in the 1910s

Indianapolis is the capital of Indiana, a state of the United States of America. As of the census of 2000, its population is 791,926. It is the county seat of Marion County.

As the result of a 1970 consolidation between city and county government (known as "Unigov"), the city of Indianapolis merged most government services with those of the county. For the most part, this resulted in a unification of Indianapolis with its immediate suburbs. Four communities (Beech Grove, Lawrence, Southport, and Speedway) within Marion County, however, are exempt from Unigov arrangement, and certain local services such as schools, fire and police remain unconsolidated. However, the mayor of Indianapolis is also the mayor of all of Marion County.

Indianapolis is the home of the Indianapolis Indians, a minor league baseball team in the International League, the Indiana Pacers of the National Basketball Association, the Indiana Fever of the Women's National Basketball Association, and the Indianapolis Colts of the National Football League.

The Indianapolis Motor Speedway, located in Speedway, is the site of the Indianapolis 500, an automobile race held each Memorial Day weekend. This race gives its name to the "Indy Car" class of racecars. The Brickyard, as it is often called, also hosts the NASCAR Brickyard 400 each August and the Formula 1 U.S. Grand Prix each September.

Indianapolis is served by Indianapolis International Airport.

Geography

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there are 781,870 people, 320,107 households, and 192,704 families residing in the balance. The population density is 835.1/km² (2,163.0/mi²). There are 352,429 housing units at an average density of 376.4/km² (975.0/mi²). The racial makeup of the balance is 69.09% White, 25.50% African American, 0.25% Native American, 1.43% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 2.04% from other races, and 1.64% from two or more races. 3.92% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There are 320,107 households out of which 29.8% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 40.6% are married couples living together, 15.1% have a female householder with no husband present, and 39.8% are non-families. 32.0% of all households are made up of individuals and 8.5% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 2.39 and the average family size is 3.04.

In the balance the population is spread out with 25.7% under the age of 18, 10.2% from 18 to 24, 32.9% from 25 to 44, 20.3% from 45 to 64, and 11.0% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 34 years. For every 100 females there are 93.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 90.2 males.

The median income for a household in the balance is $40,051, and the median income for a family is $48,755. Males have a median income of $36,302 versus $27,738 for females. The per capita income for the balance is $21,640. 11.9% of the population and 9.1% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total people living in poverty, 16.2% are under the age of 18 and 8.1% are 65 or older.

Indianapolis today

Notable natives

• Jim Davis, comic strip writer of Garfield
• Michael Graves, architect
• David Letterman, talk show host
• Jane Pauley, television personality
• Oscar Robertson, Basketball Hall of Famer (not born in Indianapolis, but grew up there)
• Kurt Vonnegut, novelist

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