General Indiana Information
 Indiana is one of the least expensive places to live in the nation with housing costs well below the national average. - The Indianapolis-Carmel MSA is tied for the title of the most affordable U.S. housing market. Indy had the top position alone for the 6 preceding quarters. (National Association of Home Builders, June 2007)
- Indianapolis is one of the 50 “hottest” cities in the U.S. (Expansion Management, February 2007)
- Indiana is home to the College Football Hall of Fame (South Bend), the largest Children’s Museum in the nation (Indianapolis), the Indianapolis Museum of Art, one the most renowned art museums in the country.
- Indianapolis ranks #23 in the nation in terms of arts destinations. (American Style, May 2007)
- Of the world’s top 100 theaters, based on ticket sales, three are in Indiana:
- Indiana is home of the NFL Super Bowl XLI Champion Indianapolis Colts.
- Indiana is home to the Greatest Spectacle in Racing®, the Indianapolis 500 Mile Race.
- Kokomo is one of the top 25 most affordable towns in the U.S. (CNN Money, July 2007)
- Indianapolis ranks #2 in the nation in patient satisfaction with emergency room treatment, among metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or higher. (2007 Emergency Department Pulse Report, June 2007)
- Of the 50 smartest cities in which to live, Indiana scored well:
- Indianapolis ranked #14
- Lafayette ranked #30
- Evansville ranked #33
- Bloomington ranked #44. (Kiplinger’s Personal Finance list, May 2006)
- Boone County, Indiana is #8 on the list of the 200 best places to live. (The Progressive Farmer, October 2006)
- The Conrad Hotel in Indianapolis is #27 on the list of the world’s best hotels. (Expedia Insider, June 2007)
- The One-America 500 Festival Mini-Marathon, held annually in Indianapolis, is the 2nd most favorite half marathon in the world. (Runner’s World, December 2006)
- In a list of the top 20 zoos in the United States, three are in Indiana:
- Central Indiana has one of the best “living history” museums in the U.S., Conner Prairie, where visitors are transported back to 1836.
- Victory Field, located in Indianapolis, is consistently voted as one of the best minor league baseball stadiums in America.
- The Indianapolis Arts Museum and the Eiteljorg Museum of American Indians and West Art have two of the finest collections of painting and sculpture in the Midwest.
- The rugged Knobstone Trail, a 58-mile trail often compared to the Appalachian Trail, follows the steep and picturesque Knobstone Escarpment landform in southeastern Indiana.
- The Indiana University School of Medicine has the second largest student body in the country.
Indiana's Geographic Area
- 36,291 square miles (38th in size among United States)
- Altitude: average 700 feet, ranging from 320 feet (in Posey County) to 1257 feet (in Wayne County)
Indiana Climate
- Four distinct seasons
- Average annual rainfall: 40 inches
- Average summer temperature: 70 to 80 degrees fahrenheit
- Average winter temperature: 25 to 35 degrees fahrenheit
Indiana Government
Indiana's form of government is closely modeled on the federal government with three branches: executive, legislative and judicial. The Governor, elected for a four-year term, heads the executive branch. The General Assembly, the legislative branch, consists of the Senate and the House of Representatives. Indiana's fifty State Senators are elected for four-year terms and one hundred State Representatives for two-year terms. In odd-numbered years, the General Assembly meets in a sixty-one day session. In even-numbered years, the Assembly meets for thirty session days. The judicial branch consists of the Indiana Supreme Court, Court of Appeals and local circuit courts. On the national level, Indiana is represented in Congress by two Senators and nine Representatives.
Indiana Education
In Indiana, public schools for K-12 are set up as consolidated school districts with local school boards, along with the state, responsible for meeting the educational needs of the local community. Indiana also has several nationally known private schools such as Howe and Culver military academies.
Public institutions of higher learning include Ball State University at Muncie, Indiana State University at Terre Haute, and Vincennes University at Vincennes. The two largest public universities are Purdue University at West Lafayette and Indiana University at Bloomington. Both have established regional campuses around the state. Purdue leads the nation in undergraduate engineering enrollment and IU graduates more medical doctors than any other school. The University of Notre Dame at South Bend is one of the most prestigious Catholic universities in the world. Butler University, Indianapolis; DePauw University, Greencastle; Wabash College, Crawfordsville; and Earlham College, Richmond are other notable private institutions. Click here for more information on Indiana Schools.
Indiana Recreation and Sports
Over 1.1 million acres of land are available for outdoor recreation in Indiana. The Department of Natural Resources operates parks, forests, nature preserves, fish and wildlife areas, museums and memorials across the state. Brown County State Park and the Indiana State Museum at Indianapolis are two of the more popular facilities.
Indianapolis has become a major center for sporting events. Besides being home of the Indiana Pacers professional basketball team and the Indianapolis Colts in pro football, Indianapolis is also host to the "Indy 500" in May and the "Brickyard 400" in August, run at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, and the RCA Championship tennis matches each summer.
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