Geographic areas:

Indianapolis. Indianapolis is the geographic area most often mentioned. For our purposes, Indianapolis includes all of Marion County, including the towns of Beech Grove, Lawrence, Southport and Speedway.

Marion County. In this report, Marion County is the same as Indianapolis.

Central Indiana. Central Indiana is an economic region, with a great deal of commercial connection between and among counties. Indianapolis is the hub, but there is synergy between the city and the surrounding counties. Central Indiana consists of these nine counties: Boone, Hamilton, Hancock, Hendricks, Johnson, Madison, Marion, Morgan and Shelby.

Economic Growth Region 5. EGR 5 is the designation for Central Indiana used by the Indiana Department of Workforce Development. It is identical to Central Indiana.

The Indianapolis MSA. The U.S. Census Bureau defines regions for its own purposes, and those designations don’t always coincide with the economic growth regions. In our case, the Indianapolis metropolitan statistical area varies from the Central Indiana region. The MSA includes Brown and Putnam counties, and excludes Madison County. We use the MSA region only when good data are provided that way and not by county.

Suburban counties. Occasionally, to dramatize the differences between the urban core of Indianapolis and the surrounding area, we separate the two. Rather than describing the nine-county region, we show data for Indianapolis (Marion County only) and contrast it with the combined data for the other eight counties (Boone, Hamilton, Hancock, Hendricks, Johnson, Madison, Morgan and Shelby).

Peer cities. Cities are apt to be more ethnically diverse than rural areas and small towns. They also are likely to have more well-educated people and higher incomes. So it means little to say Indianapolis is more diverse and more affluent than Indiana or the U.S. We can make more meaningful comparisons between Indianapolis and other large cities, and especially other large Midwestern cities. For this report, we’ve chosen 10 peer cities: Cincinnati, Cleveland, Columbus (Ohio), Detroit, Grand Rapids, Louisville, Milwaukee, Minneapolis, Pittsburgh and St. Louis. Peer city comparisons are sometimes urban core comparisons, meaning Marion County only is compared with the single county at the core of those other cities, and sometimes metropolitan comparisons, meaning the Indianapolis MSA is compared with the MSAs of which those other cities are a part. In each case, the type of comparison is clearly identified.

Other terms:

Percents and percentages. We admire writers who attempt to be succinct, but there are times when they get carried away in the name of brevity or simplicity. One way they do this is by understating the magnitude of change. If, for example, unemployment increases in a community from 4 percent to 5 percent, many writers would call that a 1 percent increase. But it actually is a 25 percent increase (5/4=1.25). Alternatively, one might say it is an increase of one percentage point. We will be sure in this report to present the numbers in as simple and straightforward a way as possible, but we likewise will be sure that we don’t vastly understate (or overstate) the magnitude of change.

Ethnicity. The U.S. Census Bureau does not consider Hispanic a racial category, but rather a linguistic and cultural one. Hispanics can be and often are classified as white, black or American Indian. Most Hispanics are white, but 5 percent to 10 percent are black. Therefore, discussions of ethnicity usually distinguish non-Hispanic whites; non-Hispanic blacks; and Hispanics (of either race).

The distinction between the terms “Hispanic” and “Latino” recognizes that not all people who come from Mexico, Puerto Rico and other Central and South American countries have a Spanish ancestry. Many trace their heritage to African or American Indian sources. “Hispanic” signifies a person whose first language is Spanish, while “Latino” describes any person who was born in Central or South America. Many advocates recommend use of the “Hispanic/Latino” combination, but we have used the Census Bureau’s simpler terminology. This goes as well for our use of “black” rather than “African American.”

In recent years, the Census Bureau has begun allowing people to identify themselves as being of two or more races. Some datasets, including the one used here, show “two or more” as a distinct category.

In this report, we have chosen to use Census Bureau terms for racial categories.

How many Hispanics? Throughout this report, you’ll find figures about Hispanics in Indianapolis. But the numbers are sometimes confusing and contradictory. The Census Bureau doesn’t count Hispanics the same as it counts other groups.

The Census Bureau requires people to identify their race in the decennial census and the annual American Community Survey. But the form itself causes confusion. (Find the forms at the links below). In the 2005 version of the ACS, Question 5 asks if the respondent is Hispanic or not. Question 6 asks his or her race and provides the following choices: white, black, American Indian or Alaskan native, Asian Indian, Chinese, Filipino, other Asian, Japanese, Korean, Vietnamese, native Hawaiian, Guamanian or Chamorro, Samoan or other Pacific islander. Each person is allowed to pick one race or more than one, and each year more and more people choose the latter option.

When the Census Bureau publishes the results, it infers the total for race only from Question 6, which, of course, did not give the option of choosing “Hispanic.” So there are no Hispanics at all in those tables. At other times, the census relies on Question 5 and distinguishes between Hispanic and non-Hispanic. But most of the people who check “Hispanic” in Question 5 also have checked “white” in Question 6. And it is perfectly reasonable for them to do this if their ancestry is Spanish or Portuguese. If their ancestors are African, they are Hispanic and black. Those with a Mayan heritage may choose Hispanic and American Indian or Alaskan native. And quite a few people check more than one option on Question 6.

Census Bureau methods of collecting data by surveying households contribute to uncertainty about the number of Hispanics in another way. Hispanics, like any immigrant group, are less settled than other residents and are apt to be missed when the census surveys any particular address, resulting in an underestimation of their numbers. Census Bureau methods are never perfectly accurate for any given group, and are likely to be even less so with the Hispanic population.

Over time, racial distinctions in America are becoming vaguer. Many people refuse to answer questions about race at all, either on principle or because none of the options on the form describe them accurately. Some people insist the only proper answer is “human.” The next decennial census, in 2010, probably will pose different questions than the current form does, and distinctions may become clearer. For now, the best information is a muddle.

Click here for the 2000 census form.
Click here for the 2005 American Community Survey form.

Two kinds of numbers; both correct. Attentive readers will notice that we often report more than one number when discussing employment, and that the numbers often will be quite far apart. This disparity results from the method(s) used to gather the raw data. Jobs can be counted two ways. Sometimes employers are contacted and asked to report how many people work for them. This method, called “establishment data,” is preferred by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. It also is common to contact people at their homes and ask them if they are employed and where they work. This collection of “household data” is the method most often used by the Census Bureau. It is possible that these two methods could produce similar numbers, but that does not happen in Indianapolis. Instead, establishment data for Marion County usually show about 150,000 more jobs than household data for the same time. The difference is explained two ways. Nearly 200,000 people commute to jobs in Indianapolis each day and are counted in establishment data but not household data. But about 50,000 people living in Indianapolis are self-employed and are not included in the establishment survey.