State food-access profile · 92 counties

Food access in Indiana

How far Indiana residents live from a supermarket, where the food deserts are, and the SNAP, poverty, and vehicle-access context, from the USDA Food Access Research Atlas (2019) and the Census ACS (2024).

Compiled by Plainfoodaccess, Food Access Editorial Process · June 23, 2026

28.7%
low-access pop.: 291
food-desert tracts: 9.0%
on SNAP: 92
counties

The statewide picture

About 1.9M Indiana residents - 28.7% - live in a low-access area, and 291 census tracts across the state are USDA-designated food deserts.

1.9M
low-access residents: 561K
food-desert residents: 6.2%
households, no vehicle: 12.4%
below poverty line

Shares are population-weighted across the state's tracts, not an average of county percentages. Low access = >1 mile (urban) / >10 miles (rural) from a supermarket.

Where Indiana stands nationally

Every state colored by its population-weighted low-access share, Indiana is ringed. Click any state to compare.

USDA Economic Research Service, Food Access Research Atlas (2019), population-weighted · Census ACS 2024 context

The USDA Food Access Research Atlas evaluates every census tract in Indiana against the same rule used nationwide: a tract is low-access when many residents live more than one mile from a supermarket in urban areas, or more than ten miles in rural areas. Across 92 counties and 6.9M residents, Indiana's population-weighted low-access share is 28.7%.

A tract becomes a food desert only when its low-access residents are also low-income. That applies to 291 tracts in Indiana, home to roughly 561K low-income, low-access residents. SNAP participation across the state averages 9.0% of households, and 6.2% of households have no vehicle, the transport gap that turns distance into a real barrier. The county table below is sorted with the highest low-access share first, so the top rows are where distance, income, and vehicle gaps most consistently overlap.

Counties

28.7%

Low-access (pop-weighted)

1.9M

Low-access residents

9.0%

Avg. SNAP

Hendricks

51.5
Hamilton

51.3
Porter

40.4
Tippecanoe

40.2
Vigo

38.8
Warrick

38.6
Vanderburgh

37.9
Allen

37.8

All counties in Indiana

County	Population	Low-access	SNAP	No vehicle	Poverty
Hendricks County	183K	51.5%	3.3%	3.3%	5.3%
Hamilton County	365K	51.3%	2.5%	2.4%	4.4%
Porter County	175K	40.4%	5.6%	3.4%	9.6%
Tippecanoe County	189K	40.2%	7.2%	9.7%	19.2%
Vigo County	106K	38.8%	13.5%	7.9%	19.2%
Warrick County	65K	38.6%	3.6%	3.0%	7.0%
Vanderburgh County	180K	37.9%	11.2%	8.0%	14.3%
Allen County	392K	37.8%	9.1%	6.8%	12.5%
Bartholomew County	84K	36.4%	7.4%	5.2%	10.5%
Hancock County	84K	36.1%	4.5%	3.0%	4.7%
Madison County	132K	35.4%	13.8%	6.1%	13.4%
Lake County	500K	34.4%	12.9%	7.2%	14.3%
Wayne County	66K	34.4%	15.1%	8.9%	17.9%
Dearborn County	51K	34.2%	7.7%	4.1%	7.6%
Delaware County	112K	34.0%	14.2%	7.2%	19.6%
Wells County	28K	33.2%	5.8%	4.1%	7.2%
Jackson County	47K	33.0%	8.7%	5.7%	12.3%
Marion County	976K	32.6%	12.5%	8.3%	15.3%
St. Joseph County	273K	31.8%	9.8%	6.7%	14.2%
Elkhart County	207K	31.7%	7.0%	7.8%	12.4%
Posey County	25K	31.6%	7.0%	3.1%	10.1%
Johnson County	166K	31.4%	6.5%	3.3%	7.4%
Steuben County	35K	30.9%	7.1%	5.4%	9.3%
DeKalb County	44K	29.0%	6.3%	5.8%	9.5%
Morgan County	73K	28.7%	7.8%	3.6%	9.3%
Perry County	19K	28.6%	10.3%	5.5%	15.0%
Huntington County	37K	27.3%	11.0%	4.7%	9.9%
Howard County	84K	27.0%	11.4%	7.3%	13.4%
Jennings County	28K	25.2%	8.0%	5.5%	12.6%
Jay County	20K	24.4%	9.7%	8.2%	14.4%
Floyd County	81K	24.0%	7.6%	5.8%	10.3%
LaPorte County	112K	24.0%	9.9%	4.8%	13.6%
Tipton County	15K	22.4%	6.7%	2.4%	11.2%
Clay County	26K	21.3%	7.8%	4.2%	11.7%
Dubois County	44K	19.8%	4.2%	4.2%	11.0%
Fayette County	23K	19.6%	14.1%	7.3%	17.9%
Kosciusko County	80K	19.5%	5.2%	5.5%	9.8%
Clark County	124K	19.3%	7.7%	5.0%	10.2%
Miami County	36K	19.0%	11.6%	5.1%	15.1%
Parke County	16K	18.9%	12.7%	8.5%	16.2%
Monroe County	141K	18.3%	6.0%	8.4%	19.7%
Henry County	49K	18.2%	10.1%	5.7%	13.6%
Wabash County	31K	18.2%	7.1%	4.5%	11.1%
Scott County	25K	18.0%	14.2%	3.5%	16.6%
Boone County	75K	17.9%	3.7%	2.4%	4.5%
Randolph County	24K	17.6%	15.0%	6.6%	15.8%
Adams County	36K	17.5%	6.6%	13.1%	11.2%
Grant County	66K	17.2%	13.8%	6.4%	19.8%
Shelby County	45K	16.6%	8.1%	5.4%	13.0%
Sullivan County	21K	15.9%	11.0%	4.9%	13.9%
Crawford County	10K	15.6%	11.7%	5.2%	22.9%
Blackford County	12K	15.2%	14.6%	9.5%	16.2%
Marshall County	46K	14.9%	6.4%	6.6%	11.7%
Newton County	14K	14.6%	8.5%	3.0%	14.0%
Greene County	31K	14.2%	10.7%	6.2%	12.8%
Decatur County	26K	13.9%	5.6%	3.2%	10.2%
Jasper County	33K	13.6%	5.4%	2.3%	8.4%
Rush County	17K	13.0%	10.0%	5.2%	11.9%
Putnam County	37K	11.9%	8.1%	3.5%	8.7%
Fulton County	20K	10.9%	12.4%	6.0%	15.3%
Martin County	10K	10.6%	7.3%	4.5%	16.3%
Montgomery County	38K	10.4%	9.2%	5.6%	10.5%
Pulaski County	12K	9.5%	8.1%	6.0%	12.1%
Washington County	28K	9.2%	11.0%	4.3%	14.4%
Noble County	47K	9.1%	5.1%	10.1%	9.2%
Knox County	36K	8.6%	12.9%	7.5%	13.7%
Fountain County	17K	8.4%	8.8%	3.2%	12.4%
Jefferson County	33K	8.3%	10.0%	3.4%	12.3%
Franklin County	23K	7.4%	4.6%	6.5%	6.9%
Lawrence County	45K	7.2%	8.3%	4.8%	12.2%
Daviess County	34K	6.4%	10.3%	13.6%	11.7%
Warren County	8K	6.4%	7.4%	2.1%	11.0%
Cass County	38K	6.3%	9.4%	5.0%	13.2%
LaGrange County	41K	5.2%	4.6%	29.2%	5.9%
Clinton County	33K	4.8%	6.9%	4.1%	9.8%
Vermillion County	15K	4.7%	11.5%	5.1%	15.3%
Gibson County	33K	4.6%	8.2%	4.0%	10.8%
Switzerland County	10K	4.6%	13.0%	6.5%	12.6%
Whitley County	35K	4.5%	6.5%	3.9%	9.9%
Ripley County	29K	4.3%	7.3%	4.4%	10.1%
Brown County	16K	3.0%	4.9%	3.5%	7.8%
Pike County	12K	2.6%	9.5%	4.2%	10.7%
Starke County	23K	2.0%	12.5%	6.6%	13.4%
White County	25K	2.0%	6.2%	3.2%	10.2%
Carroll County	21K	1.9%	5.2%	4.6%	8.8%
Benton County	9K	1.7%	11.7%	4.8%	13.9%
Orange County	20K	1.1%	11.5%	6.7%	13.4%
Owen County	22K	0.7%	9.7%	3.1%	12.3%
Spencer County	20K	0.1%	6.7%	2.7%	7.5%
Harrison County	40K	0.0%	6.0%	4.0%	7.2%
Ohio County	6K	0.0%	3.4%	5.3%	8.1%
Union County	7K	0.0%	6.2%	4.4%	8.5%

Source: USDA ERS Food Access Research Atlas (2019) + U.S. Census Bureau ACS (2024 5-year). Sorted by low-access share, highest first. USDA ERS Food Access Research Atlas (2019) + U.S. Census Bureau ACS (2024 5-year). Sorted by low-access share, highest first.

What this means for the state

28.7% of Indiana residents, about 1.9M people, live in a low-access area.
291 census tracts are USDA food deserts, home to roughly 561K low-income, low-access residents.
9.0% of households receive SNAP, and 6.2% have no vehicle.
Hendricks County has the state's highest low-access share at 51.5%.

USDA low-access figures reflect the 2019 Atlas (2010 tract populations); SNAP, poverty, and vehicle context is the Census ACS 2024 5-year estimates.

Frequently Asked Questions

What share of Indiana has low food access?▼

28.7% of Indiana residents live in low-access areas (population-weighted across the state's tracts), per the USDA Food Access Research Atlas (2019).

How many food deserts are in Indiana?▼

291 census tracts in Indiana are USDA-designated food deserts, both low-access and low-income, home to roughly 561K low-income residents.

What is the SNAP participation rate in Indiana?▼

Across Indiana counties, an average of 9.0% of households receive SNAP (Census ACS 2024), though rates vary between urban and rural areas.

Which county in Indiana has the worst food access?▼

Hendricks County has the highest low-access share in Indiana at 51.5%, with 3.3% SNAP participation.

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture Economic Research Service Food Access Research Atlas (2019 edition), 9,228 of roughly 71,700 U.S. census tracts meet the low-income, low-access food-desert threshold. The state and county figures on this page are aggregated from that tract-level data and joined to the U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 2024 5-Year Estimates, released in December 2025. See our methodology for how the population-weighted shares are computed.

Data current as of 2026-06-23 (most recent source-data vintage).

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