Local investment and economic expansion are encouraging signs to citizens everywhere, because of the inherent quality of life improvements they signal. So, New York-based financial technology company SmartAsset completed a study on counties receiving the greatest amount of investment in their local economies to uncover the places poised to grow.
Boone and Hamilton counties ranked among the top places in Indiana due to a high showing in each of the factors considered by the company including: business establishment growth, GDP growth, new building permits, and municipal bond investment.
| Rank | County | Business Growth | GDP Growth ($ in millions) | New Building Permits (per 1,000 homes) | Municipal Bonds (per capita) | Incoming Investment Index |
| 1 | Boone, IN | 4.5% | $134 | 20.9 | $80 | 0.55 |
| 2 | Hamilton, IN | 8.1% | $768 | 18.8 | $174 | 0.54 |
| 3 | Hendricks, IN | 3.0% | $282 | 12.3 | $799 | 0.41 |
| 4 | Johnson, IN | 3.3% | $291 | 11.3 | $94 | 0.39 |
| 5 | Hancock, IN | -2.8% | $128 | 9.6 | $7,491 | 0.36 |
| 6 | Lagrange, IN | 0.1% | $75 | 9.1 | $92 | 0.34 |
| 7 | Brown, IN | -5.0% | $33 | 4.9 | $24,689 | 0.33 |
| 8 | Clark, IN | 0.1% | $230 | 7.8 | $292 | 0.32 |
| 9 | Bartholomew, IN | 1.2% | $180 | 7.3 | $85 | 0.32 |
| 10 | Decatur, IN | -1.6% | $60 | 3.2 | $23,792 | 0.32 |
Source: SmartAsset
