By Joseph Knoop
Whitestown was recognized as the fastest-growing town in Indiana in 2014 and the fifth fastest growing town in America in a recent analysis by the Indiana Business Research Center at Indiana University.
The current population estimate for Whitestown is 5,258, according to STATS Indiana, Indiana’s statistical data utility maintained by the Indiana Business Research Center. The projected population rate for 2020 is 12,000 people.
“It’s not surprising,” Whitestown Town Manager Dax Norton said. “We’re one of the first communities when you’re coming out of Indianapolis. It’s being driven by location, and I think it’s being driven by good planning on the town’s part.”
Whitestown experienced 25.4 percent growth in 2014, following a very recent upward trend of growth in the state of Indiana since 2013, when decreasing population growth rates began to increase again at a significant pace. Despite this trend, numerous Indiana areas saw decreasing populations in 2013. Forty-five of the 92 counties in Indiana lost population in 2013.
Boone Co. tied Hamilton Co. in regional growth statewide at 2.5 percent. Indiana ranks 30th in population growth nationwide.
“I think Whitestown is just so excited about the opportunities they’re attracting, but I do expect they’ll reach a point – because they’ve said they want to keep the open fields and farms and preserve that small town feel, so I think there will come a point where they take more of a stance like Zionsville,” RE/MAX Ability Plus Director of Operations Jennie Franklin said.
Norton also credits major infrastructure projects, including streets and trails, for Whitestown’s growth. A primary source of growth is attributed to the Whitestown Amazon Fulfillment Center on Anson Boulevard near I-65. Six “livability nodes” factor into town planning, aiming to provide a majority of needs for Whitestown residents.
“Six little areas across the 15 square miles we have across town that’ll provide people the ability to live, work and play in those nodes,” Norton said. “They’ll have retail, commercial, industrial and neighborhoods connecting to a central location via pathways and trails.”
