Economy of Indianapolis

The economy of Indianapolis is centered on the City of Indianapolis and Marion County within the larger Indianapolis metropolitan area. In 2015, the area had a large economy with a gross domestic product (GDP) of $134 billion.

The most important industries included finance, insurance, real estate, manufacturing, professional services, health care, and wholesale trade. If government jobs were counted as a private industry, they would have been among the top employers as well.

Downtown Indianapolis, the city's central business district, is the largest employment cluster in Indiana, with nearly 43,000 jobs per square mile (17,000/km2).

Compared to the rest of Indiana, Indianapolis has fewer manufacturing jobs and more jobs in areas like wholesale trade, professional services, and transportation. The city is known for exporting pharmaceuticals, motor vehicle parts, medical equipment, engine equipment, and airplane parts.

By 2021, the Indianapolis area was home to three Fortune 500 companies and six Fortune 1000 companies. Some of the largest public companies included Elevance Health, Eli Lilly, Corteva, Simon Property Group, Elanco, CNO Financial Group, Calumet, Inc., Allison Transmission, and OpenLane. Important private companies in the area included OneAmerica Financial, CountryMark, and Republic Airways Holdings.

History

Notable bids

In 1991, United Airlines picked Indianapolis International Airport for a large maintenance center. They chose it over many other cities. The state and local officials helped United with money and tax breaks, which created many jobs. However, United faced financial problems and closed the center in 2003.

In 2017, Indianapolis tried to attract Amazon’s new headquarters, known as HQ2. In 2018, Indianapolis was one of the final 20 cities chosen.

Dominant industries

Transportation and logistics

Indianapolis is an important center for transportation and logistics because of its central location and many roads, railways, and airports. The area has many companies that help move goods and people.

Amazon has a big office in the area and employs many people. FedEx also has many workers at its facilities, including a big hub at Indianapolis International Airport. Other companies that help with moving goods include DHL Group, Dollar General, Express Scripts, FullBeauty Brands, Ingram Micro, J. B. Hunt, Kroger, Pearson plc, Republic Airways Holdings, Total Quality Logistics, United Airlines, UPS, Walmart, Wheaton World Wide Moving, XPO, Inc., and Cummins.

Indianapolis is also a center for CSX Transportation, with important offices and a big train station in Avon. Amtrak has a main repair place in Beech Grove and a big supply center in the city. The Senate Avenue Terminal is a place where different kinds of transport meet, owned by the Indiana Rail Road and run by CN.

Interstate 70 passes a large warehouse district near Indianapolis International Airport.

Financial services

In 2020, many people in Indianapolis worked in banking and insurance. Elevance Health is one of three big companies in the city and employs many people. It helps provide health care to many people.

OneAmerica Financial also has many workers at its main office in downtown Indianapolis. CNO Financial Group gives life insurance and other health products to many people.

JPMorgan Chase has many employees in Indianapolis. Other banks in the city include Fifth Third Bank, Huntington Bancshares, Bank of America, First Merchants Corporation, BMO Bank, KeyBank, Old National Bank, Regions Financial Corporation, First Internet Bank, and First Financial Bank. Indianapolis is home to one of 11 Federal Home Loan Banks.

Life sciences and healthcare

Indiana Rail Road locomotive transporting intermodal containers on Indianapolis's south side

Indianapolis is a big place for medicines and health care. Many companies here make drugs and work with health care. These companies employ many people and help create new medicines.

Corteva is one of the big companies here. Eli Lilly and Company is another big company that makes medicines. Elanco is planning to build a big office in downtown Indianapolis.

Beckman Coulter has an office in Indianapolis. Cook Regentec, part of Cook Group, works on new ways to help people with health problems. Roche Diagnostics Corporation has many workers at its main office here.

Many people in Central Indiana work in health care. Indiana University Health is the biggest health care system, with many hospitals. Community Health Network and Eskenazi Health also have many hospitals and clinics.

Retail trade

OneAmerica Tower

Two big stores started in Indianapolis: Finish Line, which sells sports clothes, and Lids, which sells sports hats. Simon Property Group and Kite Realty Group are big companies that own many shopping places.

Castleton Square is a big shopping place. Fashion Mall at Keystone is a place for fancy shops. Glendale Town Center was changed into a newer style in the 2000s. Washington Square is another big shopping place. Other shopping places include Clay Terrace, Hamilton Town Center, Greenwood Park, and The Shops at Perry Crossing.

Leisure and hospitality

Indianapolis has many places to visit and things to do, which brings many tourists to the city. The city has big meeting places, sports stadiums, and many hotels. Big events happen here, like the FDIC International, National FFA Organization Convention, Gen Con, and the Performance Racing Industry Trade Show.

Indianapolis is a good place for sports. Many sports events happen here. Indianapolis Motor Speedway is famous for the Indianapolis 500. Visitors can enjoy places like White River State Park, Horseshoe Indianapolis, Eagle Creek Park, Harrah’s Hoosier Park Racing & Casino, the Children’s Museum of Indianapolis, Fort Harrison State Park, the Indianapolis Zoo, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, the Indiana State Fair, Newfields, and Ruoff Music Center.

Eli Lilly and Company is the city's largest non-government employer.

Manufacturing

Allison Transmission makes parts for trucks and other vehicles and has many workers in Indianapolis. Rolls-Royce North America makes airplane engines and has many employees here. Other companies that make things include Allegion, SMC Corporation, Nestlé, Knauf Insulation, and Linde plc.

Indianapolis used to be a big place for making cars, with companies like Duesenberg, Marmon, and Stutz Motor Company. Big car companies like Ford, Chrysler, and General Motors also had places here until the 2000s.

Information technology

Indianapolis is growing fast in technology jobs. The area has many technology companies and employees. Big technology companies here include Angi, Genesys, Infosys, Salesforce, and Tangoe.

ExactTarget, a company that helps with online marketing, started in 2000 and was bought by Salesforce in 2013. Salesforce has many workers in Indianapolis and owns the tallest building in Indiana.