ANDERSON — In the past seven years, Anderson has lost 2,451 residents.

The Indiana Business Research Center of Indiana University released a statewide trend report on Friday, highlighting those communities that had grown the most, and in Anderson’s case, the least.

The data saw Anderson’s estimated population drop 4.1 percent from 59,762 in 2000 to 57,311 in 2007.

Ingalls, on the other hand, skyrocketed over the past seven years with a 41.34 percent increase.

It only represents 487 people, but the change is significant for the town, now populated by 1,665 residents.

Ingalls Town Council President Doug Dowden attributes the growth to the recent annexation of the Prairie Hollow housing addition and the annexation of a 250-acre industrial park at Interstate 69 and Indiana 13.

Overall, the county saw a population loss of just 1.53 percent, or 2,046 people.

According to Matt Kinghorn of the IBRC, only incorporated areas of the county saw population declines.

Unincorporated parts of the county increased 3.18 percent. “If you pluck Anderson out of Madison County, you actually have growth for the rest of the county,” Kinghorn said.

Why it’s happening

Population loss in the county is being blamed on the continuous loss of manufacturing jobs in the area.

Rob Sparks, director of the Madison County Corporation for Economic Development, attributed the loss to General Motors jobs that have been relocated to Marion and Kokomo. “With that last wave of those jobs being eliminated, people are relocating to find better opportunities to find better jobs.”

Though the county has fought to attract new industrial and manufacturing businesses to town, they’ve been unable to compensate for the loss.

“We bring Nestlé into town with 300 jobs but lose well over 1,000 with Delphi,” Sparks said.

Elwood is no stranger to job loss.