STATE WIDE, (WOWO) — Indiana’s population is now close to seven million people. To be exact, that number is 6.92 million, which is an increase in 2024 of 44,144 people, according to a study from the Indiana Business Research Center at the IU Kelley School of Business.

That’s the largest year for population growth since 2008.

The data does not say that more than 44,000 people moved to Indiana, but rather combines the number of people moving here with births, subtracting deaths, to get that adjusted number.

Here’s how that breaks down: 30,852 people moved to Indiana in 2024, according to the data. That’s called intentional migration. There were also 9,160 more births than deaths in the state in ’24.

The Indianapolis metro area accounted for 60 percent of the growth, with Boone and Hancock counties having the largest population increases.

The research shows that 73 out of 92 counties grew.