Northern Indiana is a region of the U.S. State of

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th ...

, including 26 counties which border the states of

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rock ...

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and t ...

, and

Ohio Ohio () is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Of the List of states and territories of the United States, fifty U.S. states, it is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 34th-l ...

. Northern Indiana is also considered part of the Great Lakes Megalopolis. The area is generally classified into other sub-regions; Northwest Indiana (or the Calumet Region) is closely tied with

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

economically, culturally, and politically and is part of the

Chicago metropolitan area The Chicago metropolitan area, also colloquially referred to as Chicagoland, is a metropolitan area in the Midwestern United States. Encompassing 10,286 sq mi (28,120 km2), the metropolitan area includes the city of Chicago, its suburbs and hin ...

. The north central region (or Michiana) centers on South Bend metropolitan area, with economic connections to southwest Michigan. Northeast Indiana is centered on the Fort Wayne metropolitan area. The Northern Indiana landscape is physically characterized by very flat to very rolling terrain, ranging from 600 to 1,000 feet (180 to 300 m) above sea level. Glacial kettle lakes are found throughout Northeast Indiana, with

sand dunes A dune is a landform composed of wind- or water-driven sand. It typically takes the form of a mound, ridge, or hill. An area with dunes is called a dune system or a dune complex. A large dune complex is called a dune field, while broad, fl ...

sharing the

Lake Michigan Lake Michigan is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is the second-largest of the Great Lakes by volume () and the third-largest by surface area (), after Lake Superior and Lake Huron. To the east, its basin is conjoined with that o ...

shoreline with heavy industry in the northwest. Kosciusko County is home to the largest natural lake ( Wawasee) and deepest natural lake ( Tippecanoe) in the state of Indiana. The

Eastern Continental Divide The Eastern Continental Divide, Eastern Divide or Appalachian Divide is a hydrographic divide in eastern North America that separates the easterly Atlantic Seaboard watershed from the westerly Gulf of Mexico watershed. The divide nearly spans ...

runs through the region following the top of the Valparaiso Moraine. Besides a few urban areas, much of Northern Indiana lies in the agricultural Corn Belt. Northern Indiana is known for having the third-highest

Amish The Amish (; pdc, Amisch; german: link=no, Amische), formally the Old Order Amish, are a group of traditionalist Anabaptist Christian church fellowships with Swiss German and Alsatian origins. They are closely related to Mennonite churc ...

population in the U.S., especially in

Allen Allen, Allen's or Allens may refer to: Buildings * Allen Arena, an indoor arena at Lipscomb University in Nashville, Tennessee * Allen Center, a skyscraper complex in downtown Houston, Texas * Allen Fieldhouse, an indoor sports arena on the Univer ...

, Adams, Elkhart, and

LaGrange Joseph-Louis Lagrange (born Giuseppe Luigi LagrangiaNorthwest Indiana counties that are part of the Chicago metropolitan area. Much of this area in Indiana is known as the Calumet Region. * Lake County, Indiana * Porter County, Indiana *

La Porte County, Indiana LaPorte County is a county located in the U.S. state of Indiana. As of 2010, the population was 111,467. The county seat is the city of La Porte, and the largest city is Michigan City. This county is part of the Northwest Indiana and Michia ...

* Newton County, Indiana * Jasper County, Indiana

Michiana

The following counties are considered part of Michiana: * Elkhart County, Indiana * Fulton County, Indiana * Marshall County, Indiana *

Pulaski County, Indiana Pulaski County ( ) is a county located in the U.S. state of Indiana. According to the 2010 U.S. census, the population was 13,402. The county seat is Winamac. History Pulaski County was organized in 1835. Geography According to the 20 ...

* St. Joseph County, Indiana *

Starke County, Indiana Starke County is a county in the U.S. state of Indiana. As of the 2010 United States Census, the population was 23,363. The county seat is Knox. History The Indiana State Legislature passed an omnibus county bill on 7 February 1835 that auth ...

Northeast Indiana

The 11 counties of northeast Indiana formed a regional partnership anchored by the state's second-largest city, Fort Wayne. * Adams County, Indiana * Allen County, Indiana * DeKalb County, Indiana *

Huntington County, Indiana Huntington County is a county in the U.S. state of Indiana. According to the 2020 United States Census, the population was 36,662. The county seat (and only city) is Huntington. Huntington County comprises the Huntington, Indiana micropolita ...

* Kosciusko County, Indiana * LaGrange County, Indiana * Noble County, Indiana * Steuben County, Indiana * Wabash County, Indiana * Wells County, Indiana * Whitley County, Indiana

Other counties

* Benton County, Indiana *

Cass County, Indiana Cass County is a county located in the U.S. state of Indiana. As of the 2010 United States Census, its population was 38,966. The county seat is Logansport. Cass County comprises the Logansport, IN Micropolitan Statistical Area. History Cas ...

* Miami County, Indiana * White County, Indiana

Largest municipalities

The major cities of Northern Indiana are

Fort Wayne Fort Wayne is a city in and the county seat of Allen County, Indiana, United States. Located in northeastern Indiana, the city is west of the Ohio border and south of the Michigan border. The city's population was 263,886 as of the 2020 Cens ...

(in the northeast), South Bend (in the north central region), and Hammond and Gary located in the extreme northwest along

Demographics

Northern Indiana has seen a steady population growth over the past century with the exception of 1990. Between 1980 and 1990, Lake County (which includes the city of Gary) saw a population decline of 47,371 residents, and it was this drop in population that hid the population rise which continued to occur in the majority of the region's other counties. The 2015 Census Estimate has shown that the rural counties (i.e., Wabash and Wells) are seeing a gradual population decline when compared to the gradual increase (or steady) population trend in the more urban counties (i.e., St. Joseph). The trend of rural counties losing population has been observed in various counties in other regions, most notably the Great Plains. Roughly 10.7% of both Huntington and Wells County lives in poverty, as compared to only 15.5% in Pulaski County. At the same time, Northern Indiana, as is the case for much of the Midwest, is predominately made up of people of European heritage. According to the 2010 Census, almost 98% of Whitley County is white, as compared to Lake County (Gary), which is only 64.4% white and 25.9% African American. Lastly, the average family size per household is relatively constant around 3.00 persons per household. In 2010, the average family size per household was 3.66 in LaGrange County, 3.23 in Elkhart County, 3.19 in Lake County, 3.16 in Noble County, 3.15 in Marshall County and 3.12 in Allen County.

Dialect

The Inland North dialect of

American English American English, sometimes called United States English or U.S. English, is the set of varieties of the English language native to the United States. English is the most widely spoken language in the United States and in most circumstances ...

is mostly found in the Calumet region of Northern Indiana. The Northern cities vowel shift is recognizable in Northwest Indiana and the Michiana area. However, the rest of Northern Indiana tends to exhibit North Midland dialect, with little recognizable influences. Because of the city's transitional location between the Inland North, North Midland, and Central Midland dialects,

has been difficult for linguists to define, with some labeling speech here "virtually accent neutral," attributed to historical settlement patterns.

Time zones

The Calumet region observes

Central Time Central Time may refer to: * Central Time Zone, a time zone in North America * Central European Time, a time zone in Europe *Australian Central Time, a time zone in Australia (see Time in Australia Australia uses three main time zones: Austra ...

, including

Jasper Jasper, an aggregate of microgranular quartz and/or cryptocrystalline chalcedony and other mineral phases,Kostov, R. I. 2010. Review on the mineralogical systematics of jasper and related rocks. – Archaeometry Workshop, 7, 3, 209-213PDF/ref ...

Lake A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, although, like the much large ...

, La Porte, Newton, Porter, and Starke counties. The rest of Northern Indiana observes

Eastern Time The Eastern Time Zone (ET) is a time zone encompassing part or all of 23 states in the eastern part of the United States, parts of eastern Canada, the state of Quintana Roo in Mexico, Panama, Colombia, mainland Ecuador, Peru, and a small ...

Economy

Northern Indiana bases much of its economy around manufacturing, distribution and transportation, and medical devices. Outside the metropolitan areas, the region's agricultural sector is abundant, given its location within the Corn Belt. Despite the region's storied history in industry, Northern Indiana is also at the heart of the

Rust Belt The Rust Belt is a region of the United States that experienced industrial decline starting in the 1950s. The U.S. manufacturing sector as a percentage of the U.S. GDP peaked in 1953 and has been in decline since, impacting certain regions an ...

, an area of the U.S. that has suffered

deindustrialization Deindustrialization is a process of social and economic change caused by the removal or reduction of industrial capacity or activity in a country or region, especially of heavy industry or manufacturing industry. There are different interp ...

and some economic stagnation since the late-20th century. The Calumet region of Northwest Indiana is home to much heavy industry, notably

steel mill A steel mill or steelworks is an industrial plant for the manufacture of steel. It may be an integrated steel works carrying out all steps of steelmaking from smelting iron ore to rolled product, but may also be a plant where steel semi-fini ...

s. The Calumet region is the nation's second-largest steel producing area. U.S. Steel's Gary Works (in Gary) was once the largest steel mill in the world and employed 30,000. Gary Works remains the largest integrated steel mill in North America. Operated by BP, the

Whiting Refinery The Whiting Refinery is an oil refinery located on the southwestern shore of Lake Michigan and the Indiana Harbor and Ship Canal and operated by BP. The facility is primarily located in Whiting, Indiana, USA, though portions of the complex span ...

(in Whiting) is the fifth-largest

oil refinery An oil refinery or petroleum refinery is an industrial process plant where petroleum (crude oil) is transformed and refined into useful products such as gasoline (petrol), diesel fuel, asphalt base, fuel oils, heating oil, kerosene, liq ...

in the nation, processing of

crude oil Petroleum, also known as crude oil, or simply oil, is a naturally occurring yellowish-black liquid mixture of mainly hydrocarbons, and is found in geological formations. The name ''petroleum'' covers both naturally occurring unprocessed crude ...

daily. Northwest Indiana is also a vital trade and shipping center for the state. The Port of Indiana–Burns Harbor handles more ocean-going cargo than any other

Great Lakes The Great Lakes, also called the Great Lakes of North America, are a series of large interconnected freshwater lakes in the mid-east region of North America that connect to the Atlantic Ocean via the Saint Lawrence River. There are five lakes ...

port in the U.S.

Gambling Gambling (also known as betting or gaming) is the wagering of something of value ("the stakes") on a random event with the intent of winning something else of value, where instances of strategy are discounted. Gambling thus requires three ele ...

is another important component to the Calumet region's economy, with five riverboat casinos on Lake Michigan ( Ameristar, Blue Chip,

Horseshoe A horseshoe is a fabricated product designed to protect a horse hoof from wear. Shoes are attached on the palmar surface (ground side) of the hooves, usually nailed through the insensitive hoof wall that is anatomically akin to the human ...

, Majestic Star, and

Majestic Star II The Majestic Star II (formerly known as the Trump Casino) was a floating casino that operated from 1996 to 2021 in Gary, Indiana. Located in Gary's Buffington Harbor, it overlooked Lake Michigan. The casino was opened in 1996 by New York-based T ...

). The north central area of Northern Indiana, centered on

Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officiall ...

, is home to several companies specializing in the development and production of orthopaedic medical devices. Nearly one-third of the $38 billion global orthopaedic industry is concentrated in north central Indiana. Elkhart and surrounding municipalities in the Michiana region are home to the largest concentration of

recreational vehicle A recreational vehicle, often abbreviated as RV, is a motor vehicle or trailer that includes living quarters designed for accommodation. Types of RVs include motorhomes, campervans, coaches, caravans (also known as travel trailers and campe ...

and

mobile home A mobile home (also known as a house trailer, park home, trailer, or trailer home) is a prefabricated structure, built in a factory on a permanently attached chassis before being transported to site (either by being towed or on a trailer). U ...

manufacturers in the U.S., including Forest River,

Gulfstream Coach Gulf Stream Coach, Inc. is based in Nappanee, Indiana and has additional factories in Goshen and Etna Green, Indiana. The company is the largest privately held full-line recreational vehicle manufacturer in North America, offering 26 brands and ...

Heartland Recreational Vehicles Heartland RVs is an American manufacturer of recreational vehicles located in Elkhart, Indiana. Founded by former Damon Corp. CEO Brian Brady in 2003, it was purchased and became a subsidiary of Thor Industries in 2010. History Heartland RV was ...

, Jayco, and Monaco Coach, among several others. Some 83 percent of American RVs are produced in

Elkhart County Elkhart County is a county located in the U.S. state of Indiana. , the county's population was 207,047. The county seat is Goshen. Elkhart County is part of the Elkhart- Goshen Metropolitan Statistical Area, which in turn is part of the Sou ...

. Benton County is home to several wind farms, including the

Benton County Wind Farm The Benton County Wind Farm (also called Goodland I) consists of 87 model sl/sle Gen4 GE 1.5 MW wind turbines near Earl Park, Indiana in northern Benton County, Indiana. The farm's nameplate capacity is 130.5 MW. The farm was developed by Orion ...

, Hoosier Wind Farm,

Meadow Lake Wind Farm Meadow Lake Wind Farm is an 801.25 megawatt (MW) wind farm near Brookston and Chalmers, Indiana, spreading over portions of White, Jasper, and Benton Counties. It is owned and operated by EDP Renewables North America. The facilit ...

, and Fowler Ridge Wind Farm, the largest of its kind in the

American Midwest The Midwestern United States, also referred to as the Midwest or the American Midwest, is one of four census regions of the United States Census Bureau (also known as "Region 2"). It occupies the northern central part of the United States. I ...

and twelfth largest in the world. : Companies headquartered in Northern Indiana:

Nature areas

Colleges and universities

Main Building at the University of Notre Dame

Transportation

Interstates The Dwight D. Eisenhower National System of Interstate and Defense Highways, commonly known as the Interstate Highway System, is a network of controlled-access highways that forms part of the National Highway System in the United States. Th ...

* * * * * * US Highways * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Mass transit

Airports

*Primary ** Fort Wayne International Airport **

South Bend International Airport South Bend International Airport is a commercial and freight airport located three miles northwest of downtown South Bend, in St. Joseph County, Indiana, United States. It is the state's second busiest airport in terms of passenger traffic aft ...

*Reliever ** Griffith-Merrillville Airport *General aviation

Notable people

* Arnie Ball, volleyball coach and athletic administrator * Lloy Ball, Arnie's son; Olympic gold medalist with Team USA in volleyball *

Otis R. Bowen Otis Ray Bowen (February 26, 1918 – May 4, 2013) was an American politician and physician who served as the 44th Governor of Indiana from 1973 to 1981 and as Secretary of Health and Human Services in the Cabinet of President Ronald Reagan fro ...

, Governor of Indiana and U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services * Johnny Appleseed, missionary and American folk hero figure *

James R. Clapper James Robert Clapper Jr. (born March 14, 1941) is a retired lieutenant general in the United States Air Force and former Director of National Intelligence. Clapper has held several key positions within the United States Intelligence Community. H ...

, current

Director of National Intelligence The director of national intelligence (DNI) is a senior, cabinet-level United States government official, required by the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004 to serve as executive head of the United States Intelligence Co ...

* Schuyler Colfax,

Speaker of the United States House of Representatives The speaker of the United States House of Representatives, commonly known as the speaker of the House, is the presiding officer of the United States House of Representatives. The office was established in 1789 by Article I, Section 2 of the ...

and

U.S. Vice President The vice president of the United States (VPOTUS) is the second-highest officer in the executive branch of the U.S. federal government, after the president of the United States, and ranks first in the presidential line of succession. The vice pr ...

* Ward Cunningham, computer programmer who developed the first

wiki A wiki ( ) is an online hypertext publication collaboratively edited and managed by its own audience, using a web browser. A typical wiki contains multiple pages for the subjects or scope of the project, and could be either open to the pub ...

Skylar Diggins-Smith Skylar Kierra Diggins-Smith (born August 2, 1990) is an American professional basketball player for the Phoenix Mercury in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). Diggins was drafted third overall by the Tulsa Shock in the 2013 WNB ...

, current WNBA player * Philo T. Farnsworth, inventor of the modern television * Jim Gaffigan, stand-up comedian, actor, and author * Richard G. Hatcher, Mayor of Gary, first African American mayor of a U.S. city *

Heather Headley Heather Headley (born October 5, 1974) is a Trinidadian-born American singer, songwriter, record producer and actress. She won the 2000 Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical for the titular role of '' Aida''. She also won the 2010 Grammy ...

, Tony and

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pr ...

-winning Broadway actress and R&B singer *The Jackson family,

pop Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop!, a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Albums * ''Pop'' ( ...

recording artists *

Shawn Kemp Shawn may refer to: *Shawn (given name) *Shawn (surname) See also * Sean * Shaun Shaun is an anglicized spelling of the Irish name Seán. Alternative spellings include Shawn, Sean and Shawne. Notable persons with the given name include: Peo ...

, former NBA's player *

Carole Lombard Carole Lombard (born Jane Alice Peters; October 6, 1908 – January 16, 1942) was an American actress, particularly noted for her energetic, often off-beat roles in screwball comedies. In 1999, the American Film Institute ranked Lombard 2 ...

Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

-nominated actress *

Shelley Long Shelley Lee Long (born August 23, 1949) is an American actress, singer, and comedian. Long portrayed Diane Chambers on the hit sitcom ''Cheers'' and received five Emmy nominations, winning in 1983 for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Seri ...

Golden Globe The Golden Globe Awards are accolades bestowed by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association beginning in January 1944, recognizing excellence in both American and international film and television. Beginning in 2022, there are 105 members of ...

and

Emmy Award The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...

-winning actress * Karl Malden, Academy Award-winning actor * Thomas R. Marshall, U.S. Vice President *

Hugh McCulloch Hugh McCulloch (December 7, 1808 – May 24, 1895) was an American financier who played a central role in financing the American Civil War. He served two non-consecutive terms as U.S. Treasury Secretary under three presidents. He was originally ...

, U.S. Secretary of the Treasury * Gregg Popovich, head coach for NBA's

San Antonio Spurs The San Antonio Spurs are an American professional basketball team based in San Antonio. The Spurs compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Southwest Division. The team plays its home ...

, longest tenured coach in the Big Four sports leagues *

Cole Porter Cole Albert Porter (June 9, 1891 – October 15, 1964) was an American composer and songwriter. Many of his songs became standards noted for their witty, urbane lyrics, and many of his scores found success on Broadway and in film. Born to ...

, composer and songwriter * Dan Quayle, U.S. Senator and U.S. Vice President * Orville Redenbacher, businessman and popcorn mogul * John Roberts, current Chief Justice of the United States * Paul A. Samuelson, first American

Nobel Prize in Economics The Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences, officially the Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel ( sv, Sveriges riksbanks pris i ekonomisk vetenskap till Alfred Nobels minne), is an economics award administered ...

recipient *

Chris Schenkel Christopher Eugene Schenkel (August 21, 1923 – September 11, 2005) was an American sportscaster. Over the course of five decades he called play-by-play for numerous sports on television and radio, becoming known for his smooth delivery and ...

, former Sportscaster for ABC Sports *

Rod Woodson Roderick Kevin Woodson (born March 10, 1965) is an American former professional football defensive back in the National Football League (NFL) for 17 seasons. He is currently the Head Coach of the XFL's Vegas Vipers. Woodson was drafted in the ...

, former NFL player, analyst, and

Pro Football Hall of Fame The Pro Football Hall of Fame is the hall of fame for professional American football, located in Canton, Ohio. Opened on September 7, , the Hall of Fame enshrines exceptional figures in the sport of professional football, including players, coa ...

r * Belle Gunness