county

Shelby County, IN

Demographic and economic profile of Shelby County, IN, sourced from the US Census Bureau (American Community Survey) via Data USA.

AI Overview

Shelby County is a small manufacturing-oriented county southeast of Indianapolis, with a population of 45,104 that grew 1.6% over five years and a median household income of $72,190 against modest housing costs—median home value of $188,300 and median rent of $956/month. The workforce of roughly 28,800 active participants (63.8% labor force participation rate) skews toward trade and production rather than credentialed roles, with only 19.4% holding a bachelor's degree or higher, though 90.4% hold at least a high school diploma and the unemployment rate stands at 4.0%. GDP per capita of $49,692 runs notably above median worker earnings of $41,733, and a 73.8% homeownership rate alongside a 24.9-minute mean commute reflect a largely resident, owner-occupant workforce.

Claude Sonnet 4.6 · generated Jul 6, 2026 · derived from cached Census, BEA & ACS data on this page

Population

45,104

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Household Income

$72,190

Data USA · as of 2024

Median Age

41.5 yrs

Data USA · as of 2024

Population Growth (5-year)

+1.6% since 2018

Shelby County added population at this rate over the prior 5-year ACS5 window.

Demographics

Race & Ethnicity

  • White Alone41,272 (91.2%)
  • Some Other Race Alone1,166 (2.6%)
  • Two Races Excluding Some Other Race, & Three or More Races860 (1.9%)
  • Two Races Including Some Other Race819 (1.8%)
  • Black or African American Alone626 (1.4%)
  • Asian Alone455 (1.0%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Languages Spoken at Home

  1. 1.Spanish1,649
  2. 2.German or other West Germanic223
  3. 3.Other Asian and Pacific Island163
  4. 4.Other Indo-European92
  5. 5.Tagalog (incl. Filipino)39

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population Under 18

22.6%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Working-Age (18–64)

59.5%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population 65 and Over

17.9%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Foreign-Born Population

3.4%

Data USA · as of 2024

Veterans

2,406

Data USA · as of 2024

Economy

GDP per Capita

$49,692

Data USA · as of 2023

Cost of Living Index

—

Not yet cached

Per Capita Income

$35,637

Census ACS · as of 2023

Unemployment Rate

4.0%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Poverty Rate

11.5%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Top Industries

  1. 1.Manufacturing (Group)5,055
  2. 2.Educational Services, & Health Care & Social Assistance4,455
  3. 3.Arts, Entertainment, & Recreation, & Accommodation & Food Services2,336
  4. 4.Professional, Scientific, & Management, & Administrative & Waste Management Services1,819
  5. 5.Retail Trade (Group)1,675

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Occupations

  1. 1.Management, Business, Science, & Arts Occupations7,704
  2. 2.Production, Transportation, & Material Moving Occupations4,584
  3. 3.Service Occupations4,015
  4. 4.Sales & Office Occupations3,795
  5. 5.Natural Resources, Construction, & Maintenance Occupations2,042

Data USA · as of 2024

Specialized Industries (Location Quotient)

  1. 1.Manufacturing (LQ 2.27×)4,980
  2. 2.Other Services (LQ 1.33×)1,384
  3. 3.Construction (LQ 1.24×)1,895
  4. 4.Arts, Entertainment, Recreation, & Accommodation (LQ 1.12×)2,163
  5. 5.Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing & Hunting, & Mining (LQ 0.99×)348

Census ACS · as of 2023

Housing

Median Home Value

$188,300

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Gross Rent

$956/mo

Census ACS · as of 2023

Homeownership Rate

72.5%

Data USA · as of 2024

Home Value Distribution

  • $200,000 to $249,9992,014 (15.1%)
  • $300,000 to $399,9991,782 (13.3%)
  • $250,000 to $299,9991,403 (10.5%)
  • $150,000 to $174,9991,147 (8.6%)
  • $175,000 to $199,9991,088 (8.1%)
  • $100,000 to $124,999965 (7.2%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Education

Bachelor's Degree or Higher

19.4%

Census ACS · as of 2023

High School Diploma or Higher

90.4%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Workforce

Labor Force Participation

63.8%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Worker Earnings

$41,733

Census ACS · as of 2023

Mean Commute Time

23.9 min

Data USA · as of 2024

Households Without a Vehicle

5.5%

Census ACS · as of 2023

How People Get to Work

  • Drove Alone17,401 (80.3%)
  • Worked At Home1,949 (9.0%)
  • Carpooled1,609 (7.4%)
  • Walked435 (2.0%)
  • Other146 (0.7%)
  • Bicycle130 (0.6%)

Data USA · as of 2024

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Data: US Census Bureau American Community Survey, served via Data USA and the Census Bureau API. See each metric tile for the specific dataset.