Report: Indy metro area accounts for 40 percent of state economy

Data from a new report highlights the economic importance of metro Indianapolis to the state, showing it accounts for nearly 40 percent of Indiana’s gross state product.

That percentage is likely to grow as urbanization continues to increase the importance of metro areas as drivers of the nation’s economy, according to findings from a new report from IHS Global Insight released in advance of the U.S. Conference of Mayors, which begins Friday in Indianapolis.
 

The report said the gross metropolitan product for Indianapolis in 2015 was $130.8 billion, which represented 39.8 percent of Indiana’s gross state product. The next–biggest economy in the state was the Gary region, which accounted for 8.7 percent of gross state product.
 

The Indianapolis area has the nation’s 26th-largest gross metropolitan product. The report said the Indianapolis gross metropolitan product rose 3.8 percent in 2015 and is forecast to increase 3.6 percent this year and 4.8 percent in 2017, reaching $142 billion.

The Indianapolis area’s economic punch already is greater than 16 states, the report found.
 

Metro areas now are home to 87.5 percent of the U.S. population, and their share of economic growth in 2015 was even higher, contributing 96.5 percent of new jobs and 98.9 percent of the increase in gross domestic product, the report found.
 

More than 200 mayors from around the country have registered to attend the U.S. Conference of Mayors' annual meeting, which runs through Monday and features an agenda jam-packed with discussions on ways to further bolster urban economies.

Highlights of the event will include appearances by Hillary Clinton, the Dalai Lama and Lady Gaga.

The U.S. Conference of Mayors is made up of the top elected officials from cities with populations of at least 30,000.