Hancock County is a county in the U.S. state of Indiana. The 2020 United States census recorded a population of 79,840. The county seat is Greenfield.

Hancock County is included in the Indianapolis-Carmel-Anderson, IN Metropolitan Statistical Area.

Geography The terrain of Hancock County is low rolling hills, sloping to the south and southwest, carved by drainages. All available area is devoted to agriculture or urban development."Hancock County IN" (Google Maps - accessed 27 December 2019) The highest point is a small prominence in NW Shirley, at ASL."Hancock County IN" (peakbagger.com - accessed 27 December 2019) According to the 2010 census, the county has a total area of , of which (or 99.67%) is land and (or 0.33%) is water.

Adjacent counties

Madison County - north Henry County - east Rush County - southeast Shelby County - south Marion County - west Hamilton County - northwest

Major highways

Interstate 70 U.S. Route 36 U.S. Route 40 U.S. Route 52 State Road 9 State Road 13 State Road 67 State Road 109 State Road 234 State Road 238

Airport KMQJ - Indianapolis Regional Airport

History Indiana was admitted as a state to the United States on December 11, 1816, although much of its territory was still disputed or held by native peoples at that time. These indigenous claims were quickly reduced and removed by various treaties. The 1818 Treaty with the Delaware Indians brought most of central Indiana into state control, and Madison County was organized on a portion of that area. The lower portion of Madison County was quickly settled, and by the late 1820s the inhabitants were petitioning for a separate county government. Accordingly, a portion of the county was partitioned on March 1, 1828, to form Hancock County. Greenfield was named as the county seat on April 11. The county name recognized John Hancock, president of the Continental Congress, who had signed his name prominently to the Declaration of Independence in 1776. The county has retained its original borders since its 1828 creation.

Climate and weather

In recent years, average temperatures in Greenfield have ranged from a low of in January to a high of in July, although a record low of was recorded in January 1985 and a record high of was recorded in June 1988. Average monthly precipitation ranged from in February to in July.

Government

The county government is a constitutional body, and is granted specific powers by the Constitution of Indiana, and by the Indiana Code.

County Council: The legislative branch of the county government; controls the county's spending and revenue collection. Representatives are elected from county districts. The council members serve staggered four-year terms. They are responsible for setting salaries, the annual budget, and special spending. The council also has limited authority to impose local taxes, in the form of an income and property tax that is subject to state level approval, excise taxes, and service taxes.

Board of Commissioners: The executive body of the county. The commissioners are elected county-wide, in staggered four-year terms. One commissioner serves as president. The commissioners carry out the acts legislated by the council, collecting revenue, and managing the day-to-day functions of the county government.

Court: The county maintains a small claims court that can handle some civil cases. The judge on the court is elected to a term of four years and must be a member of the Indiana Bar Association. The judge is assisted by a constable who is also elected to a four-year term. In some cases, court decisions can be appealed to the state level circuit court.

County Officials: The county has several other elected offices, including sheriff, coroner, auditor, treasurer, recorder, surveyor, and circuit court clerk. They are elected to four-year terms. Members elected to county government positions are required to declare party affiliations and to be residents of the county.

Hancock County is part of Indiana's 5th congressional district; Indiana Senate district 28; and Indiana House of Representatives districts 29 and 53.

Education Hancock County is served by two library systems, the Fortville-Vernon Township Public Library and Hancock County Public Library.

The county's school districts include:

Eastern Hancock County Community School Corporation Greenfield-Central Community Schools Mount Vernon Community School Corporation Community School Corporation of Southern Hancock County

Demographics

Racial and ethnic composition +Hancock County, Indiana – Racial and ethnic compositionRace / Ethnicity (NH = Non-Hispanic)Pop 1980Pop 1990Pop 2000Pop 2010 Pop 2020% 1980% 1990% 2000% 2010% 2020White alone (NH)43,42544,93354,15565,85971,10698.83%98.70%97.77%94.08%89.06%Black or African American alone (NH)4341741,4202,3460.10%0.09%0.13%2.03%2.94%Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)3650851361210.08%0.11%0.15%0.19%0.15%Asian alone (NH)1081642035547340.25%0.36%0.37%0.79%0.92%Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander alone (NH)x included in the Asian category in the 1980 Censusx included in the Asian category in the 1990 Census101442xx0.02%0.02%0.05%Other race alone (NH)56615572190.13%0.01%0.03%0.08%0.27%Mixed race or Multiracial (NH)x not an option in the 1980 Censusx not an option in the 1990 Census3237463,070xx0.58%1.07%3.85%Hispanic or Latino (any race)2713335261,2162,2020.62%0.73%0.95%1.74%2.76%Total43,93945,52755,39170,00279,840 100.00%100.00%100.00%100.00%100.00%

2020 census As of the 2020 census, the county had a population of 79,840. The median age was 40.6 years. 23.8% of residents were under the age of 18 and 17.3% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 96.4 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 93.5 males age 18 and over.

The racial makeup of the county was 89.8% White, 3.0% Black or African American, 0.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.9% Asian, 0.1% Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander, 1.0% from some other race, and 5.0% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino residents of any race comprised 2.8% of the population.

72.3% of residents lived in urban areas, while 27.7% lived in rural areas.

There were 30,837 households in the county, of which 32.9% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 57.4% were married-couple households, 14.3% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 22.0% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 22.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.

There were 32,125 housing units, of which 4.0% were vacant. Among occupied housing units, 78.5% were owner-occupied and 21.5% were renter-occupied. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.1% and the rental vacancy rate was 5.8%.

2010 census As of the 2010 United States census, there were 70,002 people, 26,304 households, and 19,792 families in the county. The population density was . There were 28,125 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 95.2% white, 2.1% black or African American, 0.8% Asian, 0.2% American Indian, 0.4% from other races, and 1.2% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 1.7% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 26.2% were German, 13.9% were Irish, 11.8% were English, and 11.8% were American.

Of the 26,304 households, 37.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 61.0% were married couples living together, 9.8% had a female householder with no husband present, 24.8% were non-families, and 20.3% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.64 and the average family size was 3.03. The median age was 39.1 years.

The median income for a household in the county was $47,697 and the median income for a family was $69,734. Males had a median income of $53,565 versus $38,042 for females. The per capita income for the county was $28,017. About 5.9% of families and 7.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 8.0% of those under age 18 and 5.2% of those age 65 or over.

Cities and towns

Cumberland (extends into Marion County) Fortville Greenfield McCordsville New Palestine Shirley (extends into Henry County) Spring Lake Wilkinson

Townships

Blue River Brandywine Brown Buck Creek Center Green Jackson Sugar Creek Vernon

Unincorporated communities

Carrollton Charlottesville (extends into Rush County) Cleveland Eden Finly (also known as Carrollton) Gem Maxwell Milners Corner Mohawk Mount Comfort Nashville Philadelphia Pleasant Acres Riley Stringtown Warrington Westland Willow Branch Woodbury

See also Daily Reporter, daily newspaper covering Hancock County (published in Greenfield) Edward E. Moore, Indiana state senator and Los Angeles City Council member National Register of Historic Places listings in Hancock County, Indiana

References

External links Hancock County Official Website