Housing Data
Due to elevated prices and rising interest rates, the affordability of purchasing a home in Indianapolis is near its lowest point in more than 15 years. In 2022, on average, more than 920 evictions and 110 foreclosures were recorded in Indianapolis each month. Community members most often cited job loss and lack of income as the main cause of their homelessness. According to a Point-in-Time (PIT) Count, which provides a single-night snapshot of homelessness in the community, Marion County had 1,701 unhoused and unsheltered individuals on Jan. 24, 2024. Black residents continued to be overrepresented among neighbors experiencing homelessness, with 53% represented in the 2024 PIT count. Also, 37% of the total 2024 PIT count were women and girls.
Economic Data
As of July 2024, an estimated 257,449 Marion County households were below the Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed (ALICE) threshold. While ALICE households earn above the Federal Poverty Level (FPL), they cannot afford basic costs of living in their county, especially as the cost of basic necessities increases faster than the overall rate of inflation. Childcare costs also can present one of the highest ALICE Survival Budget costs, the bare minimum expenses of basic necessities, for households with youth.
More than one in three households within Marion County are ALICE households that earn below the Federal Poverty Level.
Prosperity Indiana estimates the living wage at $19/hour. However, 10 of Indiana’s top 20 largest occupations pay lower than this threshold. According to the Brookings Institution, the burden of the rising cost of everyday necessities falls much more heavily on Black and Latino/a/e/x families. At least one quarter of American households do not have a bank account or rely on costly payday lenders and check-cashing outlets to pay their expenses. According to Aulds (2022), unbanked individuals face several financial disadvantages, including an inability to build financial wealth.
In 2019, unbanked rates were higher among Black (13.8%) and Latino/a/e/x (12.2%) households. In Marion County, 19% of Black and 25% of Latino/a/e/x households are considered unbanked.
In Indianapolis, the lack of generational wealth significantly impacts the ability of business owners to secure loans based on current loan scoring models. While Black and Latino/a/e/x residents make up 29% and 11% of the population, they only own 4% and 2% of all businesses, respectively.
Health Data
Marion County, Indiana, ranks among the lowest in the state for health outcomes. In the 2023 County Health Rankings, it was placed 86th out of 92 counties in both overall health outcomes and health factors. This reflects significant challenges in areas such as length and quality of life, health behaviors, and physical environment. Estimates from the Marion County Community Mental Health Needs Assessment suggest that in 2022, nearly 26,000 adults were not able to receive treatment for serious mental illness. As a result, a majority (66%) of Marion County residents who needed treatment for a serious mental illness did not receive it. These rankings and statistics underscore the need for targeted public health interventions to address the county's health disparities.
Additionally, Marion County’s mental health provider ratio in 2022 was 290 to 1. To address the shortage of providers, Marion County offers evidence-based strategies that include crisis lines, employee assistance programs (EAP), mental health first aid, and social services integration. When mental health issues are left untreated, there is an economic burden at the societal level. These include indirect costs due to unemployment and workplace absenteeism.
Environmental Data
Indiana residents see excessive utility shut-offs at their home — the third highest rate of any state in the country — and long power outages. These energy burdens overwhelmingly impact communities of color and low-socioeconomic communities, and create additional health burdens.
In Indianapolis, Black households face energy burdens that are 64% higher than the national average. And in Marion County, communities of color have a higher energy burden than the city average of 6%
The historic practice of redlining has caused communities of color in Marion County to face disproportionate environmental burdens including air pollution, water pollution, lead in soil and water, and excessive heat while also having less access to environmental benefits such as parks, greenspace, and renewable energy. Additionally, environmental solutions are not always affordable nor equitably distributed, creating additional disparities. One such environmental injustice can be seen through energy burdens, where BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) pay a higher percentage of their income on electricity. In Indianapolis, the average energy burden is two times the national average with some BIPOC neighborhoods paying three and four times the national average to power their home.