Indianapolis has often oriented itself around government and industry, especially manufacturing. However, the city also has a much more diverse economy that contributes to various fields of education, health care, and finance. The chief industries of the city are manufacturing, services, agriculture, government, wholesale and retail trade, transportation and public utilities.

Another major contributor to the Indianapolis economy is tourism. The city hosts a number of conventions and sporting events; the most well known of all of these is the Indianapolis 500 mile race. Other major sporting events include the Allstate 400 at the Brickyard, and the Men's and Women's NCAA Basketball tournaments.

The major crops that the area produces include corn, soybeans, nursery and green house products, vegetables, popcorn, fruit, hay, tobacco and mint. Some of the important livestock include cattle, sheep, pigs and chickens.

The Chief Manufacturing goods of the state are primary metals, transportation equipment, motor vehicles, industrial machinery, and electronic and electric equipment.

Business and leisurely tourists also assist the economy of Indianapolis. Tourism brings over 20 million visitors a year, resulting in almost 3.5 billion dollars. This generates almost 67,000 full-time employment positions in the hospitality industry, and a booming increase of sales in retail. Behind the scenes to help advance the tourism and economic growth is the Indianapolis Convention & Visitors Association. This non-profit organization works to increase the number of visitors, and helps to make Indianapolis an even more pleasant place to live and visit.

Indianapolis is also the international headquarters of the pharmaceutical corporation, Eli Lilly and Company; wireless distribution and logistics provider, Brightpoint; health insurance provider, Wellpoint, as well as many others.

In addition to having a very active economy, the National Association of Home Builders and Wells Fargo also ranked Indianapolis as the most affordable major housing market in the US in 2008. Forbes magazine ranked it as sixth-best city for jobs based on many factors including the small unemployment rate, the income growth, the cost of living, and job growth in 2008. And to add the icing on the cake, in 2009 the city ranked first on CNN/Money's list of the top 10 cities for recent graduates.

As you can see, there are many factors contributing to make Indianapolis such an attractive place to live, visit, or do business. Continue browsing ZipCodeIndianapolis.com to learn more about Indianapolis Indiana zip codes today!