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.

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. In May 2019, the unemployment rate in the region was very low at 2.8 percent.

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 chose Indianapolis International Airport for a big maintenance center after competing with over 90 cities. The state and local officials helped United with money and tax breaks to create many jobs. But in 2002, United had financial troubles and closed the center in 2003.

Later, in 2017, Indianapolis tried to attract Amazon’s new headquarters, called HQ2. In 2018, Indianapolis was one of the final 20 cities chosen from many applicants.

Dominant industries

Transportation and logistics

Indianapolis is an important center for the transportation and logistics industry due to its central location and extensive air, rail, and highway infrastructure. In 2022, the Indianapolis metropolitan area was home to about 5,280 logistics companies employing around 126,000 people. Park 100 in Pike Township is the largest industrial park in the region, covering 1,800 acres and more than 20 million square feet of space.

Amazon has a major presence in the area, employing 9,000 people across eight fulfillment centers in Indianapolis, Plainfield, Whitestown, Greenfield, and Greenwood. FedEx employs 7,000 workers across 35 facilities, including its National Hub at Indianapolis International Airport, which employs 5,800 people in sorting, distribution, and shipping. Other major employers include DHL Group, Dollar General, Express Scripts, Finish Line, 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 remains a regional hub for CSX Transportation, with division headquarters and a classification yard in Avon. Amtrak’s primary maintenance facility is in Beech Grove, and the city has Amtrak’s largest material and supply terminal. The Senate Avenue Terminal is an intermodal freight transport facility owned by the Indiana Rail Road and operated by CN.

Financial services

In 2020, Indianapolis’s finance sector employed about 70,800 workers, mainly in banking and insurance. Elevance Health, one of three Fortune 500 companies based in the city, employs more than 2,600 people at the L. Ben Lytle Center. It is the largest for-profit managed care company in the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association, providing healthcare coverage to over 42 million policyholders. Elevance is also the largest publicly traded company in Indiana, with $122 billion in revenue in 2020.

OneAmerica Financial employs roughly 2,500 people at its downtown Indianapolis headquarters. Founded in 1877, it is the second-largest privately held company in Indiana, with $2.7 billion in revenue in 2020. Carmel-based CNO Financial Group provides life insurance, annuity, and supplemental health insurance products to over 4 million U.S. customers, employing 1,200 people at its headquarters.

JPMorgan Chase has a large presence in Indianapolis, with about 1,400 employees and local FDIC deposits totaling $14.4 billion. Other notable banks 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

Indianapolis is one of the largest life sciences clusters in the U.S., especially in drugs and pharmaceuticals and agricultural feedstock and chemicals. Life sciences employ between 21,200 and 28,700 people among nearly 350 companies in the region. The sector generates nearly $84 billion in economic output and supports over 331,000 jobs.

Corteva, one of three Fortune 500 companies based in Indianapolis, is the region’s largest employer in the agricultural feedstock and chemicals sector, with about 1,500 jobs at its Indianapolis Global Business Center. Eli Lilly and Company, founded in 1876, is the city’s largest non-governmental employer, with nearly 11,000 workers in research, development, manufacturing, and administration. Elanco, a pharmaceutical company spun off from Eli Lilly, plans to invest $300 million to establish its global headquarters in downtown Indianapolis.

Beckman Coulter’s Life Sciences division is based in Indianapolis, employing over 500 people. Cook Regentec, a subsidiary of Cook Group, develops tools and technology for regenerative medicine, immunotherapy, and 3D bioprinting. Roche Diagnostics Corporation employs 4,500 people at its North American headquarters.

In 2021, nearly 130,000 people in Central Indiana worked in healthcare. Indiana University Health is the state’s largest healthcare system, with 36,000 employees across 16 hospitals. Community Health Network employs 16,000 people across nine hospitals and 15 urgent care clinics. Eskenazi Health employs over 4,500 people at Sidney & Lois Eskenazi Hospital and 30 outpatient sites.

Retail trade

Two national retailers are based in Indianapolis: Finish Line, which operates over 500 athletic apparel stores, and Lids, specializing in athletic headwear with over 1,100 stores in the U.S. and Canada. Simon Property Group and Kite Realty Group are two of the largest commercial real estate investment trusts in the U.S., with Simon’s portfolio including over 200 shopping malls.

Castleton Square is a large mall on the city’s northeast side, opened in 1972 with 130 stores. Fashion Mall at Keystone, opened in 1973, is an upscale shopping destination. Glendale Town Center, opened in 1958, was redesigned into an open-air power center in the mid-2000s. Washington Square, opened in 1974, covers 965,000 square feet. Other major malls include Clay Terrace, Hamilton Town Center, Greenwood Park, and The Shops at Perry Crossing.

Leisure and hospitality

Indianapolis’s hospitality industry has grown due to an expanding convention business. The city welcomes 29.2 million visitors annually, generating $5.6 billion and supporting 82,900 jobs. Key facilities include the Indiana Convention Center, Lucas Oil Stadium, and about 8,500 hotel rooms downtown. Major events include the FDIC International, National FFA Organization Convention, Gen Con, and the Performance Racing Industry Trade Show.

Indianapolis has developed as a sports tourism destination. The Indiana Sports Corp has hosted over 450 national and international sporting events since 1979. Indianapolis Motor Speedway hosts the Indianapolis 500, among other motorsports events. Popular attractions include 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.

Manufacturing

Allison Transmission designs and produces commercial automatic transmissions and hybrid propulsion systems, employing 3,100 people at its Indianapolis headquarters. Rolls-Royce North America, a subsidiary of Rolls-Royce Holdings, has 4,000 employees at its Indianapolis Operations Center in aircraft engine development and manufacturing. Other major manufacturers include Allegion, SMC Corporation, Nestlé, Knauf Insulation, and Linde plc.

Indianapolis was once a major center for automobile manufacturing, home to luxury car companies like Duesenberg, Marmon, and Stutz Motor Company. The Big Three automakers—Ford, Chrysler, and General Motors—had presences in the city until the 2000s.

Information technology

Indianapolis is among the fastest-growing high-tech job areas in the U.S. In 2022, the metropolitan area had about 2,275 information technology firms employing around 24,000 people. Major employers include Angi, Genesys, Infosys, Salesforce, and Tangoe.

ExactTarget, a digital marketing automation company, was co-founded in 2000 and acquired by Salesforce for $2.5 billion in 2013. Salesforce employs about 2,100 people in Indianapolis and purchased the naming rights to Salesforce Tower, the tallest building in Indiana.