Indiana Industrial Property Assessments Surged 25.8%: The Methodology Change Most Coverage Missed

This story is statewide and hits every Indiana manufacturer regardless of utility provider. Indiana's statewide assessed value of industrial property surged 25.8% in 2026 compared to 2025, per DLGF assessment data.

A major structural driver of this increase has nothing to do with what your plant is worth on the open market. The state Department of Local Government Finance updated its cost-of-construction data for the first time in four years and eliminated a long-standing cost-localization adjustment that had suppressed Indiana's industrial appraisal base relative to national construction cost tables. Your facility may not be worth 25.8% more. The state's accounting methodology changed, and you are carrying the result on your tax bill.

The data center buildout compounds the problem in specific counties. Boone County recorded a 956% surge in industrial vacant property values tied to hyperscale players including AWS. That concentration is how dramatically hyperscale demand is reshaping the industrial property category, particularly for facilities in or near data center corridors. Indiana Manufacturers Association President and CEO Andrew Berger has noted that more than 80% of the $1.5 billion in property tax cuts from 2025 legislation flows to homeowners, meaning the commercial and industrial base absorbs the offset as local governments hold spending steady.

The Legislative Council has directed a Fiscal Policy Committee study ahead of the 2027 session. That is a narrow window. Pull your 2026 Notice of Assessment now, verify your specific increase, and get engaged with the IMA on the assessment reform study before that window closes.