Bloomington is a city in Monroe County, Indiana, United States, and its county seat. The population was 79,168 at the 2020 census. It is the seventh-most populous city in Indiana and the fourth-most populous outside the Indianapolis metropolitan area. It is the home of Indiana University Bloomington, the flagship campus of the Indiana University system. Established in 1820, IU Bloomington enrolls over 45,000 students.

The city was established in 1818 by a group of settlers from Kentucky, Tennessee, the Carolinas, and Virginia who were so impressed with "a haven of blooms" that they called it Bloomington. It is the principal city of the Bloomington metropolitan area in south-central Indiana, which had 161,039 residents in 2020. Bloomington has been designated a Tree City USA since 1984. The city was also the location of the Academy Award–winning 1979 movie Breaking Away, featuring a reenactment of Indiana University's annual Little 500 bicycle race.

History The area in which Bloomington is situated was previously inhabited by the Delaware, Potawatomi, Miami, and Eel River Miami peoples.

Bloomington was platted in 1818. A post office has been in operation at Bloomington since 1825. Bloomington was incorporated in 1827.

The current city logo was adopted on January 6, 1986, by the Bloomington Common Council.To Approve and Adopt a New Logo for the City of Bloomington, Bloomington Common Comm. Res. 86-02. (Ind. 1986). It was a combination of peony and trout lily, inspired by both quilt patterns used by regional folk artists in 19th century and the shape of Downtown Square.

The following locations and buildings are listed on the National Register of Historic Places:

Elias Abel House Blair-Dunning House Bloomington City Hall Bloomington West Side Historic District Cantol Wax Company Building Coca-Cola Bottling Plant Cochran-Helton-Lindley House Courthouse Square Historic District Hinkle-Garton Farmstead Home Laundry Company Illinois Central Railroad Freight Depot Johnson's Creamery Legg House Millen House Millen-Chase-McCalla House Monroe Carnegie Library Monroe County Courthouse Morgan House, J.L. Nichols House and Studio North Washington Street Historic District The Old Crescent Princess Theatre Prospect Hill Historic District Second Baptist Church Seminary Square Park Steele Dunning Historic District University Courts Historic District, Vinegar Hill Historic District Wicks Building Woolery Stone Company Andrew Wylie House

Many African Americans moved to Bloomington from Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Ohio, Tennessee and Kentucky during the 1860s through the 1880s. Bloomington also attracted Scotch-Irish Presbyterians from South Carolina.

Geography According to the 2010 census, Bloomington has a total area of , of which (or 99.15%) is land and (or 0.85%) is water.

Bloomington is an area of irregular limestone terrain characterized by sinks, ravines, fissures, underground streams, sinking streams, springs and caves. It is in the rolling hills of south Central Indiana, resting on the intersection of the Norman Upland and the Mitchell Plain. The city's relatively varied topography is a sharp contrast to the flatter terrain more typical of central to northern portions of Indiana.

PCB pollution, associated with Westinghouse's operations, long was a concern in the area. A number of sites, in particular, Bennett's Dump and Lemon Lane Landfill at the northwestern edge of the city and Neal's Landfill in the county, were listed as Superfund sites. Clean-up operations at the Bennett Quarry site, started in 1983, were largely completed by 2000, while cleanups at the other sites were completed in 2012.

Water

Bloomington is on comparatively high ground, the summit of the divide between the basins of the West Fork and East Fork of Indiana's White River. Accordingly, there are no major watercourses within the city, nor is much groundwater available for wells. The largest stream within the city is Clear Creek, with its eastern branch known on the Indiana University campus as the Campus River, formerly the Jordan River.

Because natural lakes or rivers or groundwater are absent from the city and its environs, a number of dams have been constructed on nearby creeks over the last 100 years to provide for the water needs of Bloomington and Monroe County. Early 20th-century damming projects occurred at locations southwest of the city, the most notable being the Leonard Springs Dam. Because of the limestone formations underlying the reservoirs and the dams, water kept seeping from the reservoirs through naturally developing underground channels. Despite all efforts, the city was never able to fully stop the leakage and had to resort to pumping leaking water back to the reservoir.

By the 1920s, a more radical solution was needed to deal with the water crisis. A new reservoir, known as Griffy Lake, was constructed in a more geologically suitable area north of the city. (It is now within Bloomington's official city limits.) Later, in the 1950s, two much larger reservoirs, Lake Lemon and Monroe Lake were created in the northeastern and southeastern parts of Monroe County. Monroe Lake was created by the US Army Corps of Engineers for flood control but has since been used to supply the city and the county with water. The water pumping station at Griffy Lake was mothballed until May 2020.Water Basics: Stream (City of Bloomington)

Presently, the city is supplied with drinking water from Monroe Lake, via the Monroe Water Treatment Plant on S. Shields Ridge Rd. Originally opened in 1967, it was expanded in 2014, and now is capable of producing 30 million gallons of water per day. The sewer water from the northern part of the city is treated at the Blucher Poole Wastewater Treatment Plant (constructed 1968) and discharged into the Bean Blossom Creek. The sewer water from the southern half of the city goes to Dillman Road Wastewater Treatment Plant (constructed 1982) and is then discharged into the Clear Creek.

Climate Bloomington has a hot-summer humid continental climate (Köppen Dfa). South Central Indiana receives an abundance of rain, with a yearly average of nearly 50 inches.

Demographics

Metropolitan area Bloomington is the principal city of the Bloomington metropolitan area, Indiana, a metropolitan statistical area that covers Greene, Monroe, and Owen countiesMetropolitan statistical areas and components , Office of Management and Budget, May 11, 2007. Accessed July 30, 2008. and had a combined population of 160,874 according to the 2023 American Community Survey.

Racial and ethnic composition +Bloomington city, Indiana – racial and ethnic compositionRace / ethnicity (NH = Non-Hispanic)Pop 2000Pop 2010Pop 2020% 2000% 2010% 2020White alone (NH)59,39865,18959,08285.72%81.08%74.63%Black or African American alone (NH)2,8973,5624,0054.18%4.43%5.06%Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)1821761260.26%0.22%0.16%Asian alone (NH)3,6346,3787,1105.24%7.93%8.98%Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander alone (NH)3937230.06%0.05%0.03%Other race alone (NH)1801583340.26%0.20%0.42%Mixed-race or multiracial (NH)1,2392,0823,9181.79%2.59%4.95%Hispanic or Latino (any race)1,7222,8234,5702.49%3.51%5.77%Total69,29180,40579,168 100.00%100.00%100.00%

2020 census As of the 2020 census, Bloomington had a population of 79,168. The median age was 25.1 years. 13.0% of residents were under the age of 18 and 11.1% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 100.7 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 99.3 males age 18 and over.

This count, a 1.5% decrease from 2010, has been called into question since the timing of the count corresponded with the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown period when many Indiana University students had left the city to complete the Spring 2020 academic semester with their families at home.

99.9% of residents lived in urban areas, while 0.1% lived in rural areas.

There were 33,204 households in Bloomington, of which 16.9% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 24.6% were married-couple households, 32.8% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 35.1% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 42.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.

There were 36,454 housing units, of which 8.9% were vacant. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.2% and the rental vacancy rate was 5.9%.

+ Racial composition as of the 2020 census Race Number Percent White 60,573 76.5% Black or African American 4,089 5.2% American Indian and Alaska Native 210 0.3% Asian 7,134 9.0% Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander 29 0.0% Some other race 1,606 2.0% Two or more races 5,527 7.0%

American Community Survey According to the 2023 American Community Survey estimates, the racial and ethnic makeup of the city was 77.8% White alone, 4.8% Black alone, 0.2% American Indian and Alaska Native alone, 10.5% Asian alone, 5.3% two or more races, and 5.6% Hispanic or Latino.

2010 census As of the 2010 census, there were 80,405 people, 31,425 households, and 11,267 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 33,239 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 83.0% White, 4.6% African American, 0.3% Native American, 8.0% Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, 1.2% from other races, and 3.0% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino residents of any race were 3.5% of the population.

There were 31,425 households, of which 16.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 25.3% were married couples living together, 7.5% had a female householder with no husband present, 3.1% had a male householder with no wife present, and 64.1% were non-families. 38.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 7.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.09 and the average family size was 2.76.

The median age in the city was 23.3 years. 11.4% of residents were under the age of 18; 44.5% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 23% were from 25 to 44; 13.3% were from 45 to 64; and 7.9% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 50.3% male and 49.7% female.

2000 census As of the census of 2000, there were 69,291 people, 26,468 households, and 10,454 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 28,400 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 87.03% White, 4.24% African American, 0.29% Native American, 5.26% Asian, 0.07% Pacific Islander, 1.10% from other races, and 2.01% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino residents of any race were 2.49% of the population. 22.9% were of German, 10.2% Irish, 9.1% English and 8.4% American ancestry according to Census 2000. 89.3% spoke only English at home, while 2.9% spoke Spanish, 1.3% Korean, 1.1% German and 1.0% Chinese or Mandarin.

There were 26,468 households, out of which 17.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 29.2% were married couples living together, 7.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 60.5% were non-families. 39.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 7.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.09 and the average family size was 2.76.

In the city, 12.7% of the population was under the age of 18, 42.3% was from 18 to 24, 24.6% from 25 to 44, 12.6% from 45 to 64, and 7.9% was 65 years of age or older. The median age was 23 years. For every 100 females, there were 94.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.8 males.