Editing Muncie, Indiana

{{redirect|Muncie}}
{{Use American English|date=January 2023}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2023}}
{{Infobox settlement
| name               = Muncie
| settlement_type    = [[List of municipalities in Indiana|City]]
| nickname           = Middletown<ref>{{cite news|last=Huppke|first=Rex|date=April 27, 2003|title=Day of prayer turning into day of discord|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/2003/04/27/day-of-prayer-turning-into-day-of-discord/|newspaper=Chicago Tribune|location=Chicago|access-date=November 7, 2016}}</ref>
| image_skyline      = {{multiple image
| border                 = infobox
| total_width            = 280
| image_style            = border:1;
| perrow                 = 2|2
| image1                 = Downtown Muncie.jpg
| image2                 = Appeal to the Great Spirit, Muncie Replica.jpg
| image3                 = Bell Tower (6130369707).jpg
| image4                 = Minnetrista Center Building.jpg
}}
| imagesize          = 300px
| image_caption      = Clockwise from top: [[Walnut Street Historic District (Muncie, Indiana)|Walnut Street Historic District]], ''[[Appeal to the Great Spirit]]'', [[Minnetrista Museum & Gardens]], [[Ball State University]]
| image_flag         = Flag of Muncie, Indiana.png
| image_seal         = Official_Seal_of_the_City_of_Muncie,_Indiana.png
| image_blank_emblem = Logo of Muncie, Indiana.png
| blank_emblem_type  = Logo
| image_map          = File:Delaware County Indiana Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Muncie Highlighted 1851876.svg
| mapsize            = 250x200px
| map_caption        = Location of Muncie in [[Delaware County, Indiana]]
| pushpin_map        = USA Indiana#USA
| pushpin_relief     = yes
| pushpin_label      = Muncie
| mapsize1           = 
| map_caption1       = 
| subdivision_type   = [[List of sovereign states|Country]]
| subdivision_name   = {{USA}}
| subdivision_type1  = [[U.S. state|State]]
| subdivision_name1  = {{flag|Indiana}}
| subdivision_type2  = [[List of counties in Indiana|County]]
| subdivision_name2  = [[Delaware County, Indiana|Delaware]]
| subdivision_type3  = [[List of townships in Indiana|Townships]]
| subdivision_name3  = [[Center Township, Delaware County, Indiana|Center]], [[Hamilton Township, Delaware County, Indiana|Hamilton]], [[Harrison Township, Delaware County, Indiana|Harrison]], [[Liberty Township, Delaware County, Indiana|Liberty]], [[Mount Pleasant Township, Delaware County, Indiana|Mount Pleasant]]
| established_title  = Founded
| established_date   = 1827
| established_title2 = [[Municipal corporation|Incorporated (town)]]
| established_date2  = December 6, 1854
| established_title3 = [[Municipal corporation|Incorporated (city)]]
| established_date3  = 1865
| government_type    = [[Mayor–council government|Mayor-Council]]
| leader_title       = Mayor
| leader_name        = Dan Ridenour ([[Republican Party (United States)|R]])<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.muncie.in.gov/egov/apps/staff/directory.egov?path=pro&usr=38 | title=Details }}</ref>
| area_note          = 
| area_magnitude     = 
| area_land_km2      = 70.98
| area_water_km2     = 0.51
| area_footnotes     = <ref name="CenPopGazetteer2020">{{cite web|title=2020 U.S. Gazetteer Files|url=https://www2.census.gov/geo/docs/maps-data/data/gazetteer/2020_Gazetteer/2020_gaz_place_18.txt|publisher=United States Census Bureau|accessdate=March 16, 2022}}</ref>
| area_total_km2     = 71.49
| area_total_sq_mi   = 27.60
| area_land_sq_mi    = 27.40
| area_water_sq_mi   = 0.20
<!-- Population -->| population_as_of   = [[2020 United States census|2020]]
| population_est     = 64923<ref name="Indiana Demographics"/> {{decrease}}
| pop_est_as_of      = 2025
| population_footnotes = 
| population_total   = 65194<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/munciecityindiana/POP010220#POP010220 |title=Muncie, Indiana QuickFacts |access-date=May 22, 2023 |publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]]}}</ref>
| population_density_km2 = 918.54
| population_density_sq_mi = 2379.00
| population_blank1_title = [[Demonym]]
| population_blank1  = Munsonian
| population_note    = 
| population_metro   = 111903<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/delawarecountyindiana/POP010220#POP010220 |title=Delaware County, Indiana QuickFacts |access-date=May 22, 2023 |publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]]}}</ref>
| timezone           = [[Eastern Time Zone|EST]]
| utc_offset         = −5
| timezone_DST       = [[Eastern Time Zone|EDT]]
| utc_offset_DST     = −4
| elevation_footnotes = <ref name=gnis/>
| elevation_ft       = 935
| coordinates        = {{Coord|40|11|48|N|85|22|30|W|region:US-IN_type:city(65,000)|display=inline,title}}
| website            = {{URL|http://www.cityofmuncie.com}}
| postal_code_type   = [[ZIP Code]]s
| postal_code        = 47302–47308
| area_code          = [[Area code 765|765]]
| area_code_type     = [[North American Numbering Plan|Area code]]
| blank_name         = [[Federal Information Processing Standards|FIPS code]]
| blank_info         = 18-51876<ref name="GR2">{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov |publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]] |access-date=January 31, 2008 |title=U.S. Census website }}</ref>
| blank1_name        = [[Geographic Names Information System|GNIS]] feature ID
| blank1_info        = 2395138<ref name=gnis>{{GNIS|2395138}}</ref>
| blank2_name        = [[Interstate highway]]s
| blank2_info        = {{plainlist|1=
*{{jct|state=IN|I|69}} (just west of town) }}
| blank3_name        = [[U.S. Highway]]s
| blank3_info        = {{plainlist|1=
*{{jct|state=IN|US|35}}
}}
| blank4_name        = Major state roads
| blank4_info        = {{plainlist|1=
*{{jct|state=IN|IN|3}}
*{{jct|state=IN|IN|32}}
*{{jct|state=IN|IN|67}}
*{{jct|state=IN|IN|332}}
}}
| blank5_name        = Waterways
| blank5_info        = [[White River (Indiana)|West Fork of White River]]
| blank6_name        = Airports
| blank6_info        = [[Delaware County Regional Airport]]
| blank7_name        = Public transit
| blank7_info        = [[Muncie Indiana Transit System|MITS]]
| footnotes          = 
| unit_pref          = Imperial
}}

'''Muncie''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|m|ʌ|n|s|i}} {{respell|MUN|see}}) is a city in [[Delaware County, Indiana]], United States, and its [[county seat]]. It is located in [[East Central Indiana]] about {{convert|50|mi|km}} northeast of [[Indianapolis]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.google.com/maps/dir/Indianapolis,+IN/Muncie,+IN/@39.980968,-86.0594341,10z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m13!4m12!1m5!1m1!1s0x886b50ffa7796a03:0xd68e9df640b9ea7c!2m2!1d-86.158068!2d39.768403!1m5!1m1!1s0x88153da6b0f5aeaf:0xb88aff25ae2c1ba7!2m2!1d-85.3863599!2d40.1933767 |title=Indianapolis, Indiana to Muncie, Indiana|access-date=June 25, 2015 }}</ref> At the [[2020 United States census|2020 census]], the city's population was 65,195, down from 70,085 in the 2010 census. It is the [[principal city]] of the Muncie [[metropolitan statistical area]], which encompasses all of Delaware County. The city is also included in the [[Indianapolis metropolitan area|Indianapolis–Carmel–Muncie combined statistical area]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www2.census.gov/geo/maps/econ/ec2012/csa/EC2012_330M200US294M.pdf |title=Indianapolis-Carmel-Muncie, IN Combined Statistical Area |access-date=May 22, 2023 |publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]] |year=2012}}</ref>

The [[Lenape]] people, led by [[Buckongahelas]], arrived in the area in the 1790s.<ref name="delawarecountyhistory.org">{{Cite web |last=Flook |first=Chris |title=Lenape Villages of Delaware County |url=http://www.delawarecountyhistory.org/history/docs/lenape-villages.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230213101344/http://www.delawarecountyhistory.org/history/docs/lenape-villages.pdf |archive-date=Feb 13, 2023 |website=Delaware County PA History}}</ref> They founded several villages, including one known as Munsee Town, along the [[White River (Indiana)|White River]]. The [[trading post]], renamed Muncietown, was selected as the Delaware County seat and platted in 1827. Its name was officially shortened to Muncie in 1845 and incorporated as a city in 1865. Muncie developed as a manufacturing and industrial center, especially after the [[Indiana gas boom]] of the 1880s. It is home to [[Ball State University]]. Muncie was also the subject of the sociological [[Middletown studies]], sociological research that was first conducted in the 1920s.<ref name="MiddletownX">{{cite web |url=http://cms.bsu.edu/academics/centersandinstitutes/middletown |title=Center for Middletown Studies|publisher=Ball State University|access-date=July 17, 2013}}</ref>

== History ==
===Early settlement===
The area was first settled in the 1790s by the [[Lenape]] (Delaware) people, who were forced west from their tribal lands in the [[Mid-Atlantic states|Mid-Atlantic region]] (all of [[New Jersey]], southeastern [[New York (state)|New York]], eastern [[Pennsylvania]], and northern [[Delaware]]) to new lands in present-day [[Ohio]] and eastern [[Indiana]]. The Lenape founded several towns along the [[White River (Indiana)|White River]], including Munsee Town,<ref>According to an historical map of "The Indians" by Clark Ray.</ref> near the site of present-day Muncie.

Contrary to popular legend, the city's early name of Munsee Town is derived from the "Munsee" clan of Lenape people, the white settlers' name for a group of Native Americans whose village was once situated along the White River. There is no evidence that a mythological Chief Munsee ever existed.<ref>{{cite book | author= Richard A. Greene | title =Muncie and Delaware County: An Historical Sketch | publisher =Delaware County Historical Society | year =1965 | location =Muncie, Indiana | page =15 }}</ref> ("Munsee" means a member of or [[Munsee language|one of their languages]].{{citation needed|date=April 2016}})

In 1818, the area's native tribes ceded their lands to the federal government under the terms of the [[Treaty of St. Mary's]] and agreed to move farther west by 1821. New settlers began to arrive in what became [[Delaware County, Indiana]], {{Circa|1820}}, shortly before the area's public lands were formally opened for purchase. The small trading village of Munsee Town, renamed Muncietown, was selected as the Delaware County seat and platted in 1827.<ref name=Greene15-16>Greene, pp. 15–16.</ref> On January 13, 1845, Indiana's governor signed legislation passed by the [[Indiana General Assembly]] to shorten the town's name to Muncie. Soon, a network of roads connected Muncie to nearby towns, adjacent counties, and to other parts of Indiana. The [[Indianapolis and Bellefontaine Railroad]], the first to arrive in Muncie in 1852, provided the town and the surrounding area with access to larger markets for its agricultural production, as well as a faster means of transporting people and goods into and out of the area.<ref>Greene, pp. 7–8.</ref><ref name=Spurgeon23-24>{{cite book |author1=Wiley W. Spurgeon  |author2=H. Duane Harrison  |name-list-style=amp | title =Muncie and Delaware County: An Illustrated Retrospective | publisher =Windsor Publications | year =1984 | location =Woodland Hills, California | pages =23–24 | isbn =0897811046}}</ref>

Muncie incorporated as a town on December 6, 1854, and became an incorporated city in 1865.<ref>Greene, pp. 7–6 and 15–16.</ref><ref>{{cite book|author=William Harrison Kemper |title=A Twentieth Century History of Delaware County, Indiana|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Lx4VAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA113|year=1908|publisher=Lewis Publishing Company|page=113}}</ref> John Brady was elected as the city's first mayor. Muncie's early utility companies also date to the mid-1860s, including the city's [[Water supply|waterworks]], which was established in 1865.<ref>Greene, pp. 9, 13.</ref>

After the [[American Civil War]], two factors helped Muncie attract new commercial and industrial development: the arrival of additional railroads from the late 1890s to the early 1900s and the discovery of abundant supplies of [[natural gas]] in the area.<ref name=Spurgeon27>Spurgeon, p. 27.</ref> Prior to the discovery of nearby natural-gas wells and the beginning of the [[Indiana gas boom|gas boom]] in Muncie in 1886, the region was primarily an agricultural area, with Muncie serving as the commercial trading center for local farmers.<ref>{{cite book | title =Muncie of To-Day: Its Commerce, Trade and Industries, Descriptive and Historical | publisher =Windmill Publications | edition =reprint | year =1999 | location =Mt. Vernon, Indiana | page =5 | oclc=41400603}}</ref>

===Industrial and civic development===
[[File:Muncie, Indiana (2673830741).jpg|thumb|upright=1.1|Illustration of Muncie, looking southeast in 1884|alt=]]
[[File:Old Delaware County Courthouse. Razed 1960's - panoramio.jpg|thumb|The [[Beaux-Arts architecture|Beaux-Arts]] Delaware County Courthouse was completed in 1887. It was razed in 1966.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://dmr.bsu.edu/digital/collection/DlwrCtyCrtH/search/page/1|title = CONTENTdm}}</ref>]]
The [[Indiana gas boom]] of the 1880s ushered in a new era of prosperity to Muncie. Abundant supplies of natural gas attracted new businesses, industries, and additional residents to the city.<ref>Greene, p. 10.</ref><ref name="JG">{{cite book |last1=Glass |first1=James |last2=Kohrman |first2=David |title=The Gas Boom of East Central Indiana (Images of America) |date=2005 |publisher=Arcadia |location=Charleston |isbn=9780738539638 |pages=17–32}}</ref> Although agriculture continued to be an economic factor in the region, industry dominated the city's development for the next 100 years.<ref name=Spurgeon27/> One of the major manufacturers that arrived early in the city's gas-boom period was the Ball Brothers Glass Manufacturing Company, which was renamed the [[Ball Corporation]] in 1969. The [[Ball brothers]], who were searching for a new site for their glass manufacturing business that was closer to an abundant natural-gas supply, built a new glass-making foundry in Muncie, beginning its glass production on March 1, 1888. In 1889 the company relocated its metal manufacturing operations to Muncie.<ref>{{cite book|author=Dwight W. Hoover|title=A pictorial history of Indiana|publisher=Indiana University Press|year=1980|isbn=9780253146939|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/pictorialhistory0000hoov}}</ref><ref name=Quigley14>Barbara Quigley, "The Ball Brothers" in {{cite book |editor1=Gugin, Linda C. |editor2=James E. St. Clair |title=Indiana's 200: The People Who Shaped the Hoosier State |publisher=Indiana Historical Society Press |year=2015 |location=Indianapolis |page=14  |isbn=978-0-87195-387-2}}</ref>

In addition to several other glass factories, Muncie attracted iron and steel mills. Kitselman Steel & Wire Company was the largest employer in Indiana in 1900 with 11,000 employees; it later became Indiana Steel & Wire.<ref>A Book of Indiana, pg 420, published 1929 by the Indiana Biographical Association</ref> Others included [[Republic Steel|Republic Iron and Steel Company]] and the Midland Steel Company. (Midland became [[Inland Steel Company]] and later moved to [[Gary, Indiana]].) [[Indiana Bridge Company]] was also a major employer.<ref>Spurgeon, p. 38.</ref> By the time the natural gas supply from the [[Trenton Gas Field]] had significantly declined and the gas boom ended in Indiana {{Circa|1910|lk=no}}, Muncie was well established as an industrial town and a commercial center for east-central Indiana, especially with several railroad lines connecting it to larger cities and the arrival of automobile industry manufacturing after 1900.<ref>Spurgeon, p. 41.</ref><ref name=Greene11>Greene, p. 11.</ref>
  
Numerous civic developments also occurred as a result of the city's growth during the 1870s, 1880s, and 1890s, when Muncie citizens built a new city hall, a new public library, and a new high school. The city's [[gasworks]] also began operations in the late 1870s.<ref name=Spurgeon27/> The ''Muncie Star'' was founded in 1899 and the ''Muncie Evening Press'' was founded in 1905.<ref name=Greene15-16/><ref>By the mid-1940s the two newspapers were under common ownership. See Spurgeon, p. 47.</ref> A [[Carnegie Library (Muncie, Indiana)|new public library]], which was a [[Carnegie library]] project, was dedicated on January 1, 1904, and served as the main branch of the city's public library system.<ref>Spurgeon, p. 50.</ref>

The forerunner to [[Ball State University]] also arrived at the turn of the twentieth century. Eastern Indiana Normal School opened in 1899, but it closed after two years. Several subsequent efforts to establish a private college in Muncie during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries also failed, but one proved to be very successful. After the Ball brothers bought the school property and its vacant buildings and donated them to the State of Indiana, the Indiana State Normal School, Eastern Division, the forerunner to Ball State University, opened in 1918. It was named Ball Teachers College in 1922, Ball State Teachers College in 1929, and Ball State University in 1965.<ref name="Greene11" /><ref>{{cite web|title=Ball State University: History and Mission|url=http://cms.bsu.edu/About/HistoryAndMission.aspx|publisher=Ball State University|access-date=November 6, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110706063516/http://cms.bsu.edu/About/HistoryAndMission.aspx|archive-date=July 6, 2011|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|editor=Frank D. Haimbaugh|title=History of Delaware County Indiana | publisher =Historical Publishing Company | volume =1 | year =1924 | location =Indianapolis| pages=334–35 | oclc = 7224336}}</ref>

Beginning in the late nineteenth century, in tandem with the gas boom, Muncie developed an active cultural arts community, which included music and art clubs, women's clubs, self-improvements clubs, and other social clubs. Hoosier artist [[J. Ottis Adams]], who came to Muncie in 1876, later formed an art school in the city with fellow artist [[William Forsyth (artist)|William Forsyth]]. Although their school closed with a year or two, other art groups were established, most notably the Art Students' League (1892) and the Muncie Art Association (1905).<ref>{{cite book | author=Ned H. Griner | title =Side By Side With Coarser Plants: The Muncie Art Movement, 1885–1985 | publisher =Ball State University | year =1985 | location =Muncie, Indiana | pages =6–9, 13–14, 23, 37 | oclc=13211261}}</ref>

By the early twentieth century several railroads served Muncie, which helped to establish the city as a transportation hub. The Cincinnati, Richmond and Muncie Railroad (later known as the [[Chesapeake and Ohio Railway]]) reached Muncie in 1903. The Chicago, Indiana, and Eastern Railroad (acquired by a subsidiary of the [[Pennsylvania Railroad]] system) and the Chicago and Southeastern (sometimes called the Central Indiana Railroad) also served the city. In addition to the railroads, Muncie's roads connected to nearby towns and an electric [[interurban]] system, which arrived in the early 1900s, linked it to smaller towns and larger cities, including [[Indianapolis]] and [[Fort Wayne, Indiana]], and [[Dayton, Ohio]].<ref>Spurgeon, pp. 46–47.</ref>

With the arrival of the auto manufacturing and the related auto parts industry after the turn of the twentieth century, Muncie's industrial and commercial development increased as the population grew. During World War I, local manufacturers joined others around the county in converting their factories to production of war [[materiel]].<ref>Spurgeon, pp. 50, 55.</ref> In the 1920s Muncie continued its rise as an automobile-manufacturing center, primarily due to its heavy industry and skilled labor force. During this time, the community also became a center of [[Ku Klux Klan]] activity. Muncie's Klan membership was estimated at 3,500 in the early 1920s. Scandals within the Klan's leadership, divisions among its members, and some violent confrontations with their opponents damaged the organization's reputation. Increasing hostility toward the Klan's political activities, beliefs, and values also divided the Muncie community, before its popularity and membership significantly declined by the end of the decade.<ref>{{cite book | author =Dwight W. Hoover | title =Magic Middletown | publisher =Indiana University Press | year =1986 | location =Bloomington | pages =[https://archive.org/details/magicmiddletown0000hoov/page/96 96–100] | url =https://archive.org/details/magicmiddletown0000hoov/page/96 | isbn =9780253285904 }}</ref>

Muncie residents also made it through the challenges of the [[Great Depression in the United States|Great Depression]], with the Ball brothers continuing their role as major benefactors to the community by donating funds for construction of new facilities at Ball State and [[Ball Memorial Hospital]].<ref name=Spurgeon63>Spurgeon, p. 63.</ref> (The hospital, which opened in 1929, later affiliated with [[Indiana University Health]].<ref name=Quigley16>Quigley, p. 16.</ref>) The [[Works Progress Administration]] (WPA) also provided jobs such as road grading, city sewer improvements, and bridge construction.<ref name=Spurgeon63/>

===Middletown studies===
{{See also|Middletown studies}}
In the 1920s, [[Robert Staughton Lynd|Robert]] and [[Helen Lynd]] led a team of sociologists in a study of a typical middle-American community. The Lynds chose Muncie as the locale for their field research, although they never specifically identified it as "[[Middletown studies|Middletown]]" the fictional name of the town in their study. Muncie received national attention after the publication of their book, ''Middletown: A Study in Contemporary American Culture'' (1929). The Lynds returned to Muncie to re-observe the community during the [[Great Depression|Depression]], which resulted in a sequel, ''Middletown in Transition: A Study in Cultural Conflicts'' (1937).<ref>Spurgeon, p. 58.</ref> The Lynds' Middletown study, which was funded by the Rockefeller Institute of Social and Religious Research, was intended to study "the interwoven trends that are the life of a small American city."<ref>{{cite book |author1=Robert S. Lynd  |author2=Helen M. Lynd  |name-list-style=amp | title =Middletown, A Study in Contemporary American Culture | publisher =Harcourt, Brace and Company |year=1929 |page=3|url =https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.156473| oclc=885209}}</ref>

The Lynds were only the first to conduct a series of studies in Muncie. The [[National Science Foundation]] funded a third major study that resulted in two books by Theodore Caplow, ''Middletown Families'' (1982) and ''All Faithful People'' (1983). Caplow returned to Muncie in 1998 to begin another study, Middletown IV, which became part of a [[PBS|Public Broadcasting Service]] documentary titled "[[The First Measured Century]]", released in December 2000. The Ball State Center for Middletown Studies continues to survey and analyze social change in Muncie.<ref>{{cite web| title =Center for Middletown Studies | publisher =Ball State University  |url=http://www.bsu.edu/middletown/ | access-date =April 6, 2016}}</ref> A database of Middletown surveys conducted between 1978 and 1997 is available online from the [[Association of Religion Data Archives]] (ARDA).<ref>{{cite web| title =Online Tools | publisher =Association of Religious Data Archives | url=http://www.thearda.com/ | access-date =April 6, 2016}}</ref> Due to the extensive information collected from the Middletown studies during the twentieth century, Muncie is said to be one of the most studied cities of its size in the United States.<ref name="MiddletownX"/>

In addition to being called a "typical American city", as the result of the [[Middletown studies]], Muncie is known as Magic City or Magic Muncie, as well as the Friendly City.<ref>Greene, pp. 14–15.</ref>

===World War II to the present===
[[File:Muncie-indiana-downtown-from-above.jpg|thumb|Aerial view of Muncie in 2005]]
During World War II, the city's manufacturers once again turned their efforts to wartime production. Ball State and Muncie's airport also trained pilots for the [[United States Navy|U.S. Navy]].<ref name="Spurgeon63" /> The postwar era was another period of expansion for Muncie, with continued growth and development of industries, construction of new homes, schools, and businesses. A population boom brought further development, especially from 1946 to 1965.<ref name="Greene15-16" />

Since the 1950s and 1960s, Muncie has continued as an education center in the state and emerged as a regional health center. As enrollment at Ball State increased, new buildings were erected on the college's campus. Ball Memorial Hospital also expanded its facilities.<ref>Spurgeon, pp. 82, 92–94, 114–15.</ref> However, by the 1960s, industrial trends had shifted. Beginning in the 1970s several manufacturing plants closed or moved elsewhere, while others adapted to industrial changes and remained in Muncie. Ball Corporation, for example, closed its Muncie glass manufacturing facilities in 1962 and its corporate headquarters relocated to [[Broomfield, Colorado]] in 1998.<ref>Spurgeon, p. 71.</ref><ref name="Quigley14-15">Quigley, pp. 14–15.</ref> Muncie was also home to other manufacturing operations, including Warner Gear (a division of [[BorgWarner]]), [[Delco Electronics|Delco Remy]], [[General Motors]], Ontario Corporation, A. E. Boyce Company, and [[Westinghouse Electric (1886)|Westinghouse Electric]], among others.<ref name="Spurgeon-multi">Spurgeon, pp. 90–98, 103, 110–14, 128–29.</ref>

In 2017, the Muncie Community Schools system was declared a "distressed political subdivision", and put in direct control of the state government. In 2018, the school district was reformed and a new board was appointed by Ball State's Board of Trustees.<ref>[https://www.theatlantic.com/notes/2019/05/unusual-way-bridge-town-gown-divide/588256/ An Unusual Way to Bridge the Town-Gown Divide] - James Fallows, The Atlantic, May 1, 2019</ref>

In 2021, following the [[Fall of Kabul (2021)|Fall of Kabul]] and the U.S. withdrawal from the [[War in Afghanistan (1978-present)|War in Afghanistan]], several Afghan refugees arrived in [[Camp Atterbury]], near [[Edinburgh, Indiana]]. Munsonian members of the nationwide organization, Afghan Women's and Kids' Education and Necessities (AWAKEN) formed the Muncie Afghan Refugee Resettlement Committee (MARRC) to help Afghan refugees resettle in Muncie.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Stefanski |first1=Charlotte |title=Local organization AWAKEN working to bring Afghan refugees from Camp Atterbury to Muncie |url=https://www.thestarpress.com/story/news/local/2021/10/01/afghan-refugees-get-help-transition-thanks-new-awaken-effort/5897280001/ |access-date=November 24, 2021 |work=The Star Press |date=October 1, 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Neal |first1=Shayler |title=Afghan refugees to come to Muncie with MARRC |url=https://www.ballstatedaily.com/article/2021/10/afghan-refugees-to-come-to-muncie-with-marrc |access-date=November 24, 2021 |work=Ball State Daily |date=October 20, 2021}}</ref> Afghan refugees began arriving in Muncie soon after.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Spinelli |first1=Courtney |title=First Afghan refugee arrives to new home in Muncie, describes journey to the Hoosier State |url=https://fox59.com/news/first-afghan-refugee-arrives-to-new-home-in-muncie-describes-journey-to-the-hoosier-state/ |access-date=November 24, 2021 |work=FOX 59 |date=October 25, 2021}}</ref> As the AWAKEN organization wanted to continue work directly in Afghanistan, the temporary MARRC organization was closed. However, the presence of 130 Afghan refugees in Muncie in late 2022 compelled continued work in medical advocacy, employment, legal aid, and financial and reading education. A new organization, Refugee Alliance of Delaware County (RADC), was formed to welcome any refugees in Muncie and help them in establishing and building a new life.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Penticuff |first=David |date=November 9, 2022 |title=Afghan community grows as Refugee Alliance of Delaware County carries on resettlement work |url=https://www.thestarpress.com/story/news/local/2022/11/09/refugee-alliance-of-delaware-county-carries-on-afghan-resettlement/69624169007/ |access-date=March 28, 2023 |website=[[The Star Press]]}}</ref>

===African-American history===
[[File:Ku Klux Klan in Muncie.jpg|thumb|right|A [[Ku Klux Klan]] gathering in Muncie in 1922]]

The black population in Muncie grew from 3.7% in 1890 to 5.6% in 1920 to 13.2% in 2013. Muncie's Riverside and Normal City neighborhoods had imposed [[sundown town]] rules by 1904, meaning "that unknown negroes who are found on the streets after nightfall are liable to be severely dealt with."<ref>{{Cite news |date=June 30, 1904 |orig-date=Originally published June 28, 1904 |title=Race Feeling Running High |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-weekly-republican-race-feeling-runni/157597800/ |location=Muncie, Indiana |newspaper=[[The Plymouth Tribune]] |page=1 |via=[[Newspapers.com]]}}</ref> In 1920, the city had the fifth-largest black population in Indiana, with 2,054 black residents. Two major parades were held by the [[Ku Klux Klan]] in 1922 and 1924, with the mayor and police chief attending the 1924 parade.

The first black police officer in Muncie was hired in 1899, and the city's first black police chief took his position in 1995. The first black teacher in the city was hired in 1952, and the first black principal was appointed in 1956.<ref name="black">{{Cite news |date=March 22, 2015 |title=Black and White Muncie |page=F10 |work=[[The Star Press]] |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/91380070/muncie-black-history/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.today/20211229185945/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/91380070/muncie-black-history/ |archive-date=December 29, 2021 |via=[[Newspapers.com]]}}</ref>

According to [[Hurley Goodall]], the first serious black political candidate in Muncie was Wayne Brooks, who ran for the Republican nomination for mayor in 1934. Ray Armstrong was elected as the first black member of the city council in 1951, and Alice McIntosh was elected as the first black female member of the city council in 1983. Goodall was the first black person elected to the city's school board and later to represent the area in the state house. No other black person served on Muncie's school board after Goodall's election to the state house until Carl Kizer Jr.'s appointment to the board in 1993. The school board became majority black for the first time after the 2008 election.<ref name="black" /><ref>{{Cite news |date=June 16, 2002 |title=Some blacks say they feel shut out |page=5 |work=[[The Star Press]] |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/91380114/muncie-black-history/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.today/20211229190650/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/91380114/muncie-black-history/ |archive-date=December 29, 2021 |via=[[Newspapers.com]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=May 12, 2008 |title=Board to have first-ever black majority |page=1 |work=[[The Star Press]] |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/91380082/muncie-black-history/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.today/20211229191003/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/91380082/muncie-black-history/ |archive-date=December 29, 2021 |via=[[Newspapers.com]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=September 29, 1993 |title=Kizer chosen for Muncie school board |page=1 |work=[[The Star Press|Muncie Evening Press]] |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/91330751/muncie-evening-press/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.today/20211228212623/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/91330751/muncie-evening-press/ |archive-date=December 28, 2021 |via=[[Newspapers.com]]}}</ref>

==Geography==
According to the 2010 census, Muncie has a total area of {{convert|27.392|sqmi|sqkm|2}}, of which {{convert|27.2|sqmi|sqkm|2}},or 99.3%, is land and {{convert|0.192|sqmi|sqkm|2}},or 0.7%, is water.<ref name="census-g001">{{cite web
  |url=http://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/DEC/10_SF1/G001/1600000US1851876
  |title=G001 – Geographic Identifiers – 2010 Census Summary File 1
  |access-date=July 29, 2015
  |publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]]
  |archive-url=https://archive.today/20200213084951/http://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/DEC/10_SF1/G001/1600000US1851876
  |archive-date=February 13, 2020
  |url-status=dead
  }}</ref>

===Climate===
Muncie has a [[humid continental climate]] (Köppen climate classification: ''Dfa''), experiencing four distinct seasons.

{{Weather box
|location = Muncie, Indiana ([[Delaware County Airport]]), 1991–2020 normals, extremes 1962–present
|single line = Y
|Jan record high F = 67
|Feb record high F = 77
|Mar record high F = 84
|Apr record high F = 88
|May record high F = 98
|Jun record high F = 106
|Jul record high F = 101
|Aug record high F = 99
|Sep record high F = 96
|Oct record high F = 93
|Nov record high F = 81
|Dec record high F = 71
|year record high F = 106
|Jan avg record high F = 57.5
|Feb avg record high F = 61.6
|Mar avg record high F = 71.7
|Apr avg record high F = 81.0
|May avg record high F = 88.2
|Jun avg record high F = 92.6
|Jul avg record high F = 93.2
|Aug avg record high F = 91.8
|Sep avg record high F = 90.0
|Oct avg record high F = 83.4
|Nov avg record high F = 69.8
|Dec avg record high F = 60.2
|year avg record high F = 94.7
|Jan high F = 36.0
|Feb high F = 39.9
|Mar high F = 50.9
|Apr high F = 64.1
|May high F = 74.6
|Jun high F = 83.0
|Jul high F = 85.8
|Aug high F = 84.1
|Sep high F = 78.8
|Oct high F = 66.3
|Nov high F = 52.3
|Dec high F = 40.7
|year high F = 63.0
|Jan mean F = 28.6
|Feb mean F = 31.9
|Mar mean F = 41.7
|Apr mean F = 53.5
|May mean F = 64.4
|Jun mean F = 73.3
|Jul mean F = 76.0
|Aug mean F = 73.7
|Sep mean F = 67.2
|Oct mean F = 55.8
|Nov mean F = 43.9
|Dec mean F = 33.8
|year mean F = 53.6
|Jan low F = 21.3
|Feb low F = 23.9
|Mar low F = 32.5
|Apr low F = 43.0
|May low F = 54.2
|Jun low F = 63.6
|Jul low F = 66.3
|Aug low F = 63.4
|Sep low F = 55.7
|Oct low F = 45.4
|Nov low F = 35.6
|Dec low F = 26.9
|year low F = 44.3
|Jan avg record low F = -2.7
|Feb avg record low F = 2.1
|Mar avg record low F = 12.5
|Apr avg record low F = 24.7
|May avg record low F = 36.3
|Jun avg record low F = 47.2
|Jul avg record low F = 51.9
|Aug avg record low F = 49.5
|Sep avg record low F = 39.6
|Oct avg record low F = 28.2
|Nov avg record low F = 18.4
|Dec avg record low F = 6.2
|year avg record low F = -5.9
|Jan record low F = −29
|Feb record low F = −13
|Mar record low F = −7
|Apr record low F = 10
|May record low F = 25
|Jun record low F = 36
|Jul record low F = 44
|Aug record low F = 39
|Sep record low F = 27
|Oct record low F = 18
|Nov record low F = 3
|Dec record low F = −21
|year record low F = -29
|precipitation color = green
|Jan precipitation inch = 2.52
|Feb precipitation inch = 2.27
|Mar precipitation inch = 3.08
|Apr precipitation inch = 3.89
|May precipitation inch = 4.36
|Jun precipitation inch = 4.81
|Jul precipitation inch = 4.10
|Aug precipitation inch = 3.38
|Sep precipitation inch = 3.09
|Oct precipitation inch = 2.96
|Nov precipitation inch = 3.23
|Dec precipitation inch = 2.57
|year precipitation inch = 40.26
|Jan snow inch = 8.0
|Feb snow inch = 6.4
|Mar snow inch = 3.2
|Apr snow inch = 0.4
|May snow inch = 0.0
|Jun snow inch = 0.0
|Jul snow inch = 0.0
|Aug snow inch = 0.0
|Sep snow inch = 0.0
|Oct snow inch = 0.3
|Nov snow inch = 0.7
|Dec snow inch = 6.4
|year snow inch = 25.4
|unit precipitation days = 0.01 in
|Jan precipitation days = 9.8
|Feb precipitation days = 9.8
|Mar precipitation days = 11.5
|Apr precipitation days = 12.3
|May precipitation days = 13.4
|Jun precipitation days = 12.7
|Jul precipitation days = 10.8
|Aug precipitation days = 10.4
|Sep precipitation days = 9.9
|Oct precipitation days = 10.2
|Nov precipitation days = 10.1
|Dec precipitation days = 11.5
|year precipitation days = 132.4
|unit snow days = 0.1 in
|Jan snow days = 5.0
|Feb snow days = 4.4
|Mar snow days = 2.2
|Apr snow days = 0.4
|May snow days = 0.0
|Jun snow days = 0.0
|Jul snow days = 0.0
|Aug snow days = 0.0
|Sep snow days = 0.0
|Oct snow days = 0.1
|Nov snow days = 1.0
|Dec snow days = 5.3
|year snow days = 18.4
|source 1 = NOAA (snow 1981–2010)<ref>http://xmacis.rcc-acis.org/ <!--Quote: Enter 'KMIE' in Station Selection → ID option. --></ref><ref name=NOAA>
{{cite web
|url = https://w2.weather.gov/climate/xmacis.php?wfo=ind
|title = NowData – NOAA Online Weather Data
|publisher = National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
|access-date = May 29, 2021}}</ref><ref name = "NCDC TXT KMIE">
{{cite web
|url = https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/services/data/v1?dataset=normals-monthly-1991-2020&startDate=0001-01-01&endDate=9996-12-31&stations=USW00094895&format=pdf
|publisher = National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 
|title = Station: Muncie Delaware CO AP, IN
|work = U.S. Climate Normals 2020: U.S. Monthly Climate Normals (1991-2020)
|access-date = May 29, 2021
|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20231221035012/https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/services/data/v1?dataset=normals-monthly-1991-2020&startDate=0001-01-01&endDate=9996-12-31&stations=USW00094895&format=pdf
|archive-date = 2023-12-21}}</ref><ref>
{{cite web
|url = https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/services/data/v1?dataset=normals-monthly&startDate=0001-01-01&endDate=9996-12-31&stations=USW00094895&format=pdf
|publisher = National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 
|title = Station: Muncie Delaware CO Airport, IN
|work = U.S. Monthly Climate Normals (1981-2010)
|access-date = May 29, 2021
|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20231221034846/https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/services/data/v1?dataset=normals-monthly&startDate=0001-01-01&endDate=9996-12-31&stations=USW00094895&format=pdf
|archive-date = 2023-12-21}}</ref>
}}

==Demographics==
{{US Census population
|1850= 666
|1860= 1782
|1870= 2992
|1880= 5219
|1890= 11345
|1900= 20942
|1910= 24005
|1920= 36524
|1930= 46548
|1940= 49720
|1950= 58479
|1960= 68603
|1970= 69082
|1980= 76460
|1990= 71035
|2000= 67430
|2010= 70085
|2020= 65194
|estyear=2025
|estimate=64923
|estref=<ref name="IndianaDemographics">{{cite web|url=https://www.indiana-demographics.com/muncie-demographics|title=Muncie Demographic Statistics|publisher=Indiana Demographics by Cubit|accessdate=January 28, 2025}}</ref>
|footnote=U.S. Decennial Census<ref name="DecennialCensus">{{cite web|url=http://www.census.gov/prod/www/decennial.html|title=Census of Population and Housing|publisher=Census.gov|accessdate=June 4, 2016}}</ref>
}}

===2000 census===
As of the [[census]] of 2000,<ref name="GR2" /> there were 67,430 people, 27,322 households, and 14,589 families residing in the city. The population density was {{convert|2,788.2|PD/sqmi|PD/km2|adj=off}}. There were 30,205 housing units at an average density of {{convert|1,248.9|/sqmi|/km2|adj=off}}. The racial makeup of the city was 83.72% [[White (U.S. Census)|White]], 12.97% [[African American (U.S. Census)|African American]], 0.27% [[Native American (U.S. Census)|Native American]], 0.79% [[Asian (U.S. Census)|Asian]], 0.09% [[Pacific Islander (U.S. Census)|Pacific Islander]], 0.67% from [[Race (United States Census)|other races]], and 1.49% from two or more races. [[Hispanic (U.S. Census)|Hispanic]] or [[Latino (U.S. Census)|Latino]] of any race were 1.44% of the population.

There were 27,322 households, out of which 23.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 36.4% were married couples living together, 13.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 46.6% were non-families. 34.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.24 and the average family size was 2.86.

In the city, the age distribution of the population shows 19.8% under the age of 18, 24.6% from 18 to 24, 24.2% from 25 to 44, 18.3% from 45 to 64, and 13.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 29 years. For every 100 females, there were 89.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.5 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $26,613, and the median income for a family was $36,398. Males had a median income of $30,445 versus $21,872 for females. The [[per capita income]] for the city was $15,814. About 14.3% of families and 23.1% of the population were below the [[poverty line]], including 24.2% of those under age 18 and 9.7% of those age 65 or over.

===2010 census===
As of the [[census]]<ref name ="wwwcensusgov">{{cite web|title=U.S. Census website|url=https://www.census.gov|publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]]|access-date=December 11, 2012}}</ref> of 2010, there were 70,085 people, 27,722 households, and 13,928 families residing in the city. The population density was {{convert|2576.7|PD/sqmi|PD/km2|1}}. There were 31,958 housing units at an average density of {{convert|1174.9|/sqmi|/km2|1}}. The racial makeup of the city was 84.0% [[White (U.S. Census)|White]], 10.9% [[African American (U.S. Census)|African American]], 0.3% [[Native American (U.S. Census)|Native American]], 1.2% [[Asian (U.S. Census)|Asian]], 0.1% [[Race (U.S. Census)|Pacific Islander]], 0.8% from [[Race (U.S. Census)|other races]], and 2.8% from two or more races. [[Hispanic (U.S. Census)|Hispanic]] or [[Latino (U.S. Census)|Latino]] of any race were 2.3% of the population.

There were 27,722 households, of which 23.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 31.5% were married couples living together, 14.1% had a female householder with no husband present, 4.6% had a male householder with no wife present, and 49.8% were non-families. 35.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.22 and the average family size was 2.85.

The median age in the city was 28.1 years. 17.8% of residents were under the age of 18; 27.5% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 21.4% were from 25 to 44; 20.2% were from 45 to 64; and 13% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 47.5% male and 52.5% female.

===2020 census===
As of the [[census]]<ref name="QuickFacts">{{Cite web |title=U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts: Muncie city, Indiana |url=https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/munciecityindiana/PST045222 |access-date=2023-12-18 |website=www.census.gov |language=en}}</ref> of 2020, there were 65,194 people, 26,692 households and 6,179 families residing in the city. The population density was {{convert|2577.0|PD/sqmi|PD/km2|1}}. There were 31,183 housing units at an average density of {{convert|1129.8|/sqmi|/km2|1}}. The racial makeup of the city was 78.0% [[White (U.S. Census)|White]], 11.6% [[African American (U.S. Census)|African American]], 0.3% [[Native American (U.S. Census)|Native American]] or [[Race (U.S. Census)|Alaskan Native]], 1.5% [[Asian (U.S. Census)|Asian]], 0.1% [[Race (U.S. Census)|Native Hawaiian]] or [[Race (U.S. Census)|Pacific Islander]], 2.1% from [[Race (U.S. Census)|other races]] and 6.5% were from two or more races. [[Hispanic (U.S. Census)|Hispanic]] and [[Latino (U.S. Census)|Latino]] of any race were 4.2% of the population.

There were 26,692 households, of which 16.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 29.6% were [[Marriage|married]] couples living together, 35.7% had a female householder with no husband present, 26.2% had a male householder with no wife present, and 8.5% were non-families. 61.9% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.18 and the average family size was 3.09.

Just over half (50.1%) of the population had never been married, 29.6% were [[Marriage|married]] and not [[Marital separation|separated]], 5.7% were [[widowed]], 13.1% were [[divorce]]d, and 1.6% were separated.

The median age of the city was 28.8. 4.4% of residents were under the age of 5, 16.2% were under 18 years, 83.8% were age 18 or older, and 14.0% were age 65 or older. 5.8% of the population were [[veterans]].

The most common language spoken at home was [[English (language)|English]] with 95.5% speaking it at home, 1.7% spoke [[Spanish (language)|Spanish]] at home, 1.4% spoke an [[Asia]]n or [[Pacific Islander]] language at home, 1.3% spoke another [[Indo-European]] language at home, and 0.1% spoke some other language. 2.6% of the population were [[foreign born]].

The median household income in Muncie as of the 2019-2023 [[American Community Survey]] was $43,395 and the per capita income was $24,582, 38.1% and 33.9% less than the state respectively. 29.6% of the population were in poverty, including 32.6% of residents under the age of 18. The poverty rate for the town was 17.3% higher than that of the state. 18.6% of the population was [[disabled]] and 8.7% had no [[healthcare]] coverage. 89.0% of the population had attained a [[high school]] or equivalent degree, 19.7% had attended [[college]] but received no degree, 37.3% had attained an [[Associate's degree]] or higher, 25.7% had attained a [[Bachelor's degree]] or higher, and 11.6% had a [[Graduate degree|graduate]] or [[Professional degree|professional]] degree. 20.4% had no degree. 53.2% of Muncie residents were employed, working a mean of 34.0 hours per week. The median gross monthly rent in Muncie was $867 and the owner occupied housing unit rate was 51.5%. 4,491 housing units were vacant at an average density of {{convert|162.7|/sqmi|/km2|1}}. The median value of owner-occupied housing units was $92,000, over $109,000 less than that of the state as a whole. The median selected monthly owner costs with a mortgage was $987 versus $419 without a mortgage.

In the 2020 census, Muncie's economy received the most sales in retail, which accounted for 52.9% of all sales. 58.01% of the entire population was in the civilian labor force including 55.1% of females. The mean travel time to work was 19 minutes.

== Economy ==
[[Image:Ball Brothers 1.jpg|thumb|The [[Ball brothers]], industrialists and founders of [[Ball Corporation]], were influential in the city's civic and economic development.]]

From its early days as a regional trading center for the surrounding agricultural community to its first wave of industrial development brought on by the [[Indiana Gas Boom|Indiana gas boom]] in the mid-1880s, Muncie has retained its ties to an industrial economy, and to a lesser extent its agricultural roots. In addition, the arrival of the forerunner to Ball State in the early twentieth century contributed to Muncie's development as an educational center, while Ball Memorial Hospital, established in 1929, led to the city's reputation as a healthcare center for east-central Indiana.

Muncie's major industrial development included glass manufacturing, iron and steel mills, and automobile manufacturing and auto parts factories. Among its early major employers was the Ball Corporation, established by the [[Ball brothers]] of [[Buffalo, New York]], who opened a glass factory in Muncie in 1888.<ref name=Quigley14/> Other notable manufacturers in addition to the Ball Corporation with operations in Muncie have included [[BorgWarner]], The Broderick Company (aformer division of [[Harsco]]), Dayton-Walther Corporation, [[Delco Electronics|Delco Remy]], [[General Motors]], [[New Venture Gear]], [[Hemingray|Hemingray Glass Company]], Ontario Corporation, A. E. Boyce Company, Indiana Steel and Wire, and [[Westinghouse Electric]].<ref name=Spurgeon-multi/>

Changing industrial trends caused shifts in the city's economic development. As in many mid-sized cities in the [[Rust Belt]], [[deindustrialization]], which began in the 1960s, impacted Muncie's economy. Several manufacturing plants closed or moved elsewhere. From 2001 to 2011, Muncie lost thousands of jobs<ref name="Recovery">{{cite news|author=Paul Davidson| date=May 9, 2011 |url=http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/money/economy/2011-05-08-uneven-jobs-recovery_n.htm| title=Two Indiana cities symbolize both sides of uneven jobs recovery|work=USA Today| access-date=July 17, 2013}}</ref> as the city continued transitioning from a [[blue-collar worker|blue-collar]] workforce to a [[white-collar worker|white-collar]] [[service economy]] primarily based on health care, education, and retail.<ref name="Forbes">{{cite magazine|year=2012|url=https://www.forbes.com/places/in/muncie/|title=Muncie IN|magazine=Forbes|access-date=July 13, 2013}}</ref>

Muncie has attracted some new manufacturers, while older factories have been converted to other industrial uses. In 2009, Muncie became the U.S. headquarters for Brevini Wind, an Italian-based company that manufactures gearboxes for wind turbines.<ref name="Recovery"/><ref name="Unions">{{cite news|first=James |last=Hagerty |date=March 18, 2012 |url=http://tipstrategies.com/blog/2012/03/as-unions-lose-their-grip-indiana-lures-manufacturing-jobs/ |title=As Unions Lose Their Grip, Indiana Lures Manufacturing Jobs |work=The Wall Street Journal |access-date=July 17, 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140701160035/http://tipstrategies.com/blog/2012/03/as-unions-lose-their-grip-indiana-lures-manufacturing-jobs/ |archive-date=July 1, 2014 }}</ref> In 2011, locomotive maker [[Progress Rail]] (a subsidiary of [[Caterpillar Inc]]) opened in a former Westinghouse facility that had been vacant since 1998.<ref name="Unions"/><ref name="Progress">{{cite web|year=2011|url=http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/progress-rail-announces-grand-opening-of-muncie-indiana-locomotive-assembly-operation-132773508.html|title=Progress Rail Announces Grand Opening of Muncie, Indiana Locomotive Assembly Operation|publisher=PR Newswire|access-date=July 17, 2013}}</ref>

The local economy is a controversial topic among Munsonians. While many older unemployed or underemployed residents strongly identify with the manufacturing identity of the city, newer residents identify with the city's shift towards educational and health services.<ref>{{cite news|author=Robin Gibson|title=LOST MUNCIE: Current, former Muncie residents revisit the past online|url=http://www.thestarpress.com/article/20140504/NEWS01/305040045/|archive-url=https://archive.today/20140504211750/http://www.thestarpress.com/article/20140504/NEWS01/305040045/|url-status=dead|archive-date=May 4, 2014|access-date=May 4, 2014|newspaper=The Star Press|date=May 3, 2014}}</ref> Contention is greatest among residents living in the once-industrialized sections of the city's south side, as much of the economic growth over that last few decades has taken place on Muncie's north side.<ref>{{cite news|author=Mary Williams Walsh| date=April 19, 2000|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2000-apr-19-mn-21190-story.html| title='New economy' deepens the wealth divide| work=Los Angeles Times| access-date=June 25, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|date=November 6, 2011 |url=http://www.munciefreepress.com/node/24766 |title=Muncie Mayor Election: The final vote |work=Muncie Free Press |access-date=July 14, 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140504224555/http://www.munciefreepress.com/node/24766 |archive-date=May 4, 2014 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news|author=Ron Fournier| date=April 19, 2012|url=http://www.nationaljournal.com/features/restoration-calls/in-nothing-we-trust-20120419| title=In Nothing We Trust|work=National Journal| access-date=July 13, 2013}}</ref> The city also struggles to retain college graduates. Despite Ball State's presence, only 32.2 percent of Delaware County's working-age adults (ages 25–64) hold a two-year or four-year college degree, which is below the national average.<ref>{{cite news|author=Seth Slabaugh |title=Where have all the college grads gone?|url=http://www.thestarpress.com/article/20140503/NEWS01/305030012/|archive-url=https://archive.today/20140504211743/http://www.thestarpress.com/article/20140503/NEWS01/305030012/|url-status=dead|archive-date=May 4, 2014|access-date=May 4, 2014|newspaper=The Star Press|date=May 2, 2014}}</ref>

The first decade of the 21st century saw a cultural shift toward local businesses and economic empowerment, boosted by the Muncie Downtown Development Partnership<ref name="MDDP">{{cite news|year=2012|url=http://www.downtownmuncie.org/arts-entertainment-accomplishments-muncie-in.htm|title=MDDP Accomplishments & Awards|publisher=MDDP|access-date=May 4, 2014|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140504191204/http://www.downtownmuncie.org/arts-entertainment-accomplishments-muncie-in.htm|archive-date=May 4, 2014}}</ref> and the residents, patrons, and business owners of the downtown community. In 2007, Muncie was rated the most affordable college town in America by real estate company [[Coldwell Banker]].<ref>{{cite news| date=November 6, 2007| url=http://www.insideindianabusiness.com/newsitem.asp?ID=26301| title=Muncie Tops Most Affordable College Town List| work=Inside Indiana Business| access-date=July 17, 2013| url-status=dead| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140504223334/http://www.insideindianabusiness.com/newsitem.asp?ID=26301| archive-date=May 4, 2014}}</ref> In 2015, ''[[Forbes]]'' ranked Muncie 27th among small places for business and careers and 18th for cost of doing business.<ref>{{cite magazine|title=Best Small Places For Businesses and Careers List|url=https://www.forbes.com/best-places-for-business/list/small/|magazine=Forbes|access-date=April 17, 2016}}</ref> [[First Merchants Corporation]] is based in Muncie, and the first [[Scotty's Brewhouse]] location opened in the city in 1996.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Roysdon|first1=Keith|title=Scotty: 'Really excited' for Muncie restaurants|url=http://www.thestarpress.com/story/news/local/2015/08/02/muncie-scottys-brewhouse-remodeling-liquor-wise-men/31018141/|website=Dine and Dash|publisher=The Star Press|access-date=April 17, 2016}}</ref>

[[Image:Ball Memorial Hospital, Muncie, Indiana (17-04-2007).jpg|thumb|IU Health Ball Memorial Hospital, one of the city's largest employers]]
{{As of|July 2022}} (compare to October 2014), the largest employers in the city were:
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Employer
! 2022 Employees<ref>{{cite web|year=2022|url=http://www.muncie.com/Site-Selection-Data/Major-Employers.aspx|title=Major Employers|publisher=Muncie–Delaware County Economic Development Alliance|access-date=September 19, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220728142457/https://muncie.com/Site-Selection-Data/Major-Employers.aspx|archive-date=2022-07-28}}</ref>
! 2014 Employees<ref>{{cite web|year=2014|url=http://www.muncie.com/Site-Selection-Data/Major-Employers.aspx|archive-date=2014-10-04|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141004085102/https://muncie.com/Site-Selection-Data/Major-Employers.aspx|title=Major Employers|publisher=Muncie–Delaware County Economic Development Alliance|access-date=October 9, 2024}}</ref>
|-
| [[Ball State University]]
| 3,379
| 3,741
|-
| [[Ball Memorial Hospital|IU Health Ball Memorial Hospital]]
| 2,613
| 3,000
|-
| Muncie Community Schools
| 650
| 926
|-
| [[Navient]]
| 633
| 650
|-
| [[Magna Powertrain]]
| 571
| 325
|-
| Concentrix
| 555
| 675
|-
| [[First Merchants Corporation]]
| 551
| 526
|-
| Meridian Health Services
| 550
| 610
|-
| Youth Opportunity Center
| 516
| 276
|-
| [[Progress Rail]]
| 500
| 281
|-
| City of Muncie
| 465
| 465
|-
| Delaware County Government Offices
| 452
| 522
|-
| Muncie Sanitary District
| 143
| 531
|}

==Arts and culture==
[[File:CR&M Depot in Muncie.jpg|thumb|The visitor center for the [[Cardinal Greenway]] occupies the restored [[Cincinnati, Richmond, & Muncie Depot]].]]
The [[David Owsley Museum of Art Ball State University|David Owsley Museum of Art]] collection, which includes over 11,000 works, has been in the Fine Arts Building on the Ball State University campus since 1935. The Horizon Convention Center, located downtown, offers {{Convert|47000|sqft||abbr=}} of exhibition space and houses the Muncie Children's Museum.<ref>{{cite web|title=About Us|url=http://www.horizonconvention.com/main/about-us/|publisher=Horizon Convention Center|access-date=April 7, 2015|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150221080219/http://www.horizonconvention.com/main/about-us/|archive-date=February 21, 2015}}</ref> The city also has a large group of independent art galleries.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://visitmuncie.org/default.asp?PageIndex=35 |title=Muncie Indiana Center Visitors Bureau |publisher=Muncie Visitors Bureau |access-date=May 4, 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140505001300/http://visitmuncie.org/default.asp?PageIndex=35 |archive-date=May 5, 2014 }}</ref>

Three of the city's largest performing arts centers belong to Ball State University: the 3,581-seat [[Emens Auditorium, Ball State University|Emens Auditorium]], the 600-seat Sursa Performance Hall, and the 410-seat University Theatre.<ref name="Emens">{{cite web|url=http://cms.bsu.edu/Web/Emens/AboutEmens.aspx|title=About Emens|publisher=Ball State University|access-date=July 14, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120928231255/http://cms.bsu.edu/Web/Emens/AboutEmens.aspx|archive-date=September 28, 2012|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://cms.bsu.edu/academics/collegesanddepartments/music/servicesfacilities/sursahall|title=Sursa Performance Hall|publisher=Ball State University|access-date=July 14, 2013}}</ref> Downtown performing arts spaces include the Muncie Civic Theatre and Canan Commons, an outdoor amphitheater and greenspace that opened in 2011. In addition, the Muncie Ballet and the Muncie Symphony Orchestra are prominent in the city's arts community.

[[Minnetrista Museum & Gardens]], just north of downtown along the [[White River (Indiana)|White River]], is a cultural heritage museum featuring exhibits and programs focusing on nature, local history, and art. The {{convert|40|acre|hectare|abbr=|adj=on}} campus includes historic homes that were once owned by the Ball family, themed gardens, outdoor sculptures, and a portion of the White River Greenway. The [[Cardinal Greenway]], Indiana's longest [[rail trail]] project, stretches {{convert|60|mi|km}} from [[Richmond, Indiana|Richmond]] to [[Marion, Indiana]]. Designated a [[National Recreation Trail]] in 2003, it is part of the [[American Discovery Trail]]. The Ball State campus is home to [[Christy Woods]], an {{convert|18|acre|hectare|abbr=|adj=on}} [[arboretum]], three greenhouses, and the [[Wheeler Orchid Collection and Species Bank]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Campus map |url=https://www.bsu.edu/map/landmarks/christy-woods}}</ref>

''[[Passing of the Buffalo]]'' and ''[[Appeal to the Great Spirit]]'' are public sculptures in Muncie by [[Cyrus Edwin Dallin]].

Muncie's music scene has been home to such acts as [[Brazil (band)|Brazil]], Everything, Now!, and Archer Avenue (ex-[[Margot & the Nuclear So and So's]]). Muncie MusicFest.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.munciemusicfest.com|title=Muncie MusicFest|publisher=Muncie MusicFest|access-date=May 4, 2014}}</ref> Muncie also has a network of craft beer enthusiasts.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.thestarpress.com/article/20140406/DISH/304060040/TURNING-CORNER-Sean-Brady-s-brewery-up-running|archive-url=https://archive.today/20140504191447/http://www.thestarpress.com/article/20140406/DISH/304060040/TURNING-CORNER-Sean-Brady-s-brewery-up-running|url-status=dead|archive-date=May 4, 2014|title=TURNING A CORNER: Sean Brady's brewery up and running|publisher=The Star Press|access-date=May 4, 2014}}</ref>

===Libraries===
[[Image:Muncie Public Library.jpg|thumb|Muncie Public Library's [[Carnegie Library (Muncie, Indiana)|Carnegie Library]]|alt=]]
*[[Carnegie Library (Muncie, Indiana)|Carnegie Library]]
*Kennedy Library
*Maring–Hunt Library
*Connection Corner
*Shafer Library (Ivy Tech)
*[[Bracken Library]] (Ball State)

==Sports==
[[File:Congerville flyers 1915.jpg|thumb|[[Muncie Flyers|Congerville (Muncie) Flyers]] in 1915|alt=]]
Muncie is home to the [[NCAA Division I]] [[Ball State Cardinals]] which is a member of the [[Mid-American Conference]]. Notable sports include [[Ball State Cardinals football|football]] (played at [[Scheumann Stadium]]), [[Ball State Cardinals men's basketball|men's basketball]] (played at [[John E. Worthen Arena]]), and [[Ball State Cardinals baseball|baseball]] (played at [[Ball Diamond]]).

Muncie was once home to the [[Muncie Flyers]], also known as the Congerville Flyers, the city's professional football team from 1905 to 1925. The Muncie team was one of the eleven charter members of [[National Football League]] (NFL). It played in the league in 1920 and 1921.<ref>{{cite web  |url=http://www.oocities.org/krd4052/MuncieFlyers.htm |title=History of the Muncie Flyers Football team  |access-date=August 25, 2012}}</ref>

Muncie was also home to the [[Muncie Flyers (ice hockey)|Muncie Flyers]], a [[minor league]] hockey team. The team played in the [[International Hockey League (1945–2001)|International Hockey League]] for a single season in 1948–1949.<ref>{{cite web |title=Muncie Flyers hockey team statistics and history at hockeydb.com |url=https://www.hockeydb.com/stte/muncie-flyers-6983.html |website=www.hockeydb.com |access-date=31 July 2024}}</ref>

Muncie Central High School is home to the Muncie Fieldhouse, the fifth-[[Largest High School Gyms|largest high school gym]] in the United States.

==Government==
{{See also|Government of Indiana}}
[[File:Muncie-city-hall-2005.jpg|thumb|Muncie City Hall]]
[[File:Delaware County Courthouse, Muncie.jpg|thumb|Delaware County Courthouse]]
The county government is a constitutional body and is granted specific powers by the [[Constitution of Indiana]], and by the [[Indiana Code]].

As a second class city in Indiana (pop. 35,000 to 599,999), Muncie is governed by a Mayor and a nine-member city council as well as a city clerk and city judge.<ref name="inc3641">{{cite web|author=[[Indiana Code]]|url=http://iga.in.gov/legislative/laws/2018/ic/titles/036#36-4 |title=Title 36, Article 4, Section 1|access-date=February 2, 2019|publisher=IN.gov}}</ref> City elections for Mayor, city council, city judge, and city clerk are held in odd years immediately preceding presidential elections (2015, 2019, etc.). The current mayor is Dan Ridenour, a Republican first elected in 2019.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Office of the Mayor |title=Mayor |url=http://www.cityofmuncie.com/muncie-mayor-office.htm |website=City of Muncie |access-date=February 2, 2019}}</ref> The current city clerk is Belinda Munson and the current city judge is Amanda Dunnuck. The nine-members of the city council are divided into six members elected from districts and three members elected at-large. The current members of the city council are:<ref>{{cite web |last1=City of Muncie |title=Muncie City Council |url=http://www.cityofmuncie.com/muncie-city-council.htm |website=City of Muncie |access-date=February 10, 2021}}</ref>

*District 1: Jeff Green (R)
*District 2: Nora Evans Powell (D)
*District 3: Brandon Garrett (D)
*District 4: Sara Gullion (D)
*District 5: Jerry D. Dishman (D)
*District 6: Harold D. Mason Jr. (D)
*At-Large: Dale Basham (R)
*At-Large: Ro Selvey (R)
*At-Large: William (Billy Mac) McIntosh (D)

==Education==

===School district===
*[[Muncie Community Schools Corporation]] - 5,141 (2022)<ref name=District>"[https://nces.ed.gov/ccd/districtsearch/district_detail.asp?ID2=1807320 Muncie Community Schools]". [[National Center for Education Statistics]]. Retrieved on 1 Apr 2023."</ref>

===Higher education===
 
*[[Ball State University]] - 24,441 students (2022)<ref>{{cite web|url=https://nces.ed.gov/ipeds/dfr/2022/ReportPDF.aspx%3FunitId%3D150136&sa=U&ved=2ahUKEwjWw532uoz-AhXLjokEHf8VA04QFnoECAEQAQ&usg=AOvVaw2VmCH837n92mlhzZMX5XRZ|title=DFR 2022 Report - Ball State University|publisher=[[National Center for Education Statistics]]. Retrieved 2 Apr 2023.}}</ref>
*[[Ivy Tech Community College]] - 12,400 students (2021)<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.communitycollegereview.com/ivy-tech-community-college-east-central-region-profile#:~:text=Total%20Enrollment%2012%2C400,students%204%2C638%20students|title=Ivy Tech Community College - East Central Region - Muncie, IN|publisher=Community College Review. Retrieved 2 Apr 2023.}}</ref>
*[[Scuba Educators International]]

===Elementary schools===
*[[Burris Laboratory School]] - 228 elementary students (2022)<ref name=Burris>{{cite web|url=https://nces.ed.gov/ccd/schoolsearch/school_detail.asp?Search=1&DistrictID=1807320&ID=180732002153|title=Burris Laboratory School|publisher=[[National Center for Education Statistics]]|access-date=2 Apr 2023}}</ref>
*Cowan Elementary School - 435 elementary students (2022)<ref name=CowanElementary>{{cite web|url=https://nces.ed.gov/ccd/schoolsearch/school_detail.asp?Search=1&DistrictID=1802660&ID=180266000324|title=Cowan Elementary School|publisher=[[National Center for Education Statistics]]|access-date=2 Apr 2023}}</ref>
*East Washington Academy - 469 elementary students (2022)<ref name=EWA>{{cite web|url=https://nces.ed.gov/ccd/schoolsearch/school_detail.asp?Search=1&County=Delaware%20County&State=18&ID=180732002451|title=East Washington Academy|publisher=[[National Center for Education Statistics]]|access-date=2 Apr 2023}}</ref>
*Grissom Memorial Elementary School - 469 elementary students (2022)<ref name=Grissom>{{cite web|url=https://nces.ed.gov/ccd/schoolsearch/school_detail.asp?Search=1&County=Delaware%20County&State=18&ID=180732001235|title=Grissom Elementary School|publisher=[[National Center for Education Statistics]]|access-date=2 Apr 2023}}</ref>
*Heritage Hall Christian School - 112 elementary students (2022)<ref name=HeritageHall>{{cite web|url=https://nces.ed.gov/surveys/pss/privateschoolsearch/school_detail.asp?Search=1&Zip=47303&Miles=20&ID=00426275|title=Heritage Hall Christian School|publisher=[[National Center for Education Statistics]]|access-date=2 Apr 2023}}</ref>
*Inspire Academy - 113 elementary students (2022)<ref name=Inspire>{{cite web|url=https://nces.ed.gov/ccd/schoolsearch/school_detail.asp?Search=1&County=Delaware%20County&State=18&ID=180012302560|title=Inspire Academy - A Sch of Inquiry|publisher=[[National Center for Education Statistics]]|access-date=2 Apr 2023}}</ref>
*Longfellow Elementary School - 328 elementary students (2022)<ref name=Longfellow>{{cite web|url=https://nces.ed.gov/ccd/schoolsearch/school_detail.asp?Search=1&County=Delaware%20County&State=18&ID=180732001237|title=Longfellow Elementary School|publisher=[[National Center for Education Statistics]]|access-date=2 Apr 2023}}</ref>
*North View Elementary School - 315 elementary students (2022)<ref name=NorthView>{{cite web|url=https://nces.ed.gov/ccd/schoolsearch/school_detail.asp?Search=1&Miles=10&Zip=47342&ID=180732001243|title=North View Elementary School|publisher=[[National Center for Education Statistics]]|access-date=2 Apr 2023}}</ref>
*Royerton Elementary School - 575 elementary students (2022)<ref name=Royerton>{{cite web|url=https://nces.ed.gov/ccd/schoolsearch/school_detail.asp?Search=1&DistrictID=1802660&ID=180266000324|title=Royerton Elementary School|publisher=[[National Center for Education Statistics]]|access-date=2 Apr 2023}}</ref>
*South View Elementary School - 448 elementary students (2022)<ref name=SouthView>{{cite web|url=https://nces.ed.gov/ccd/schoolsearch/school_detail.asp?Search=1&DistrictID=1807320&ID=180732002153|title=South View Elementary School|publisher=[[National Center for Education Statistics]]|access-date=2 Apr 2023}}</ref>
*St. Lawrence Catholic School - 48 elementary students (2022)<ref name=StLawrence>{{cite web|url=https://nces.ed.gov/surveys/pss/privateschoolsearch/school_detail.asp?Search=1&Zip=47302&Miles=10&ID=00423853|title=St. Lawrence Catholic School|publisher=[[National Center for Education Statistics]]|access-date=2 Apr 2023}}</ref>
*West View Elementary School - 422 elementary students (2022)<ref name=WestView>{{cite web|url=https://nces.ed.gov/ccd/schoolsearch/school_detail.asp?Search=1&DistrictID=1807320&ID=180732001251|title=West View Elementary School|publisher=[[National Center for Education Statistics]]|access-date=2 Apr 2023}}</ref>

===Middle schools===
*[[Burris Laboratory School]] - 187 middle school students (2022)<ref name=Burris/>
*Heritage Hall Christian School - 41 middle school students (2022)<ref name=HeritageHall/>
*Delta Middle School - 656 middle school students (2022)<ref name=DeltaMiddle>{{cite web|url=https://nces.ed.gov/ccd/schoolsearch/school_detail.asp?Search=1&DistrictID=1802660&ID=180266000323|title=Delta Middle School|publisher=[[National Center for Education Statistics]]|access-date=2 Apr 2023}}</ref>
*Northside Middle School - 577 middle school students (2022)<ref name=Northside>{{cite web|url=https://nces.ed.gov/ccd/schoolsearch/school_detail.asp?Search=1&DistrictID=1807320&ID=180732002320|title=Northside Middle School|publisher=[[National Center for Education Statistics]]|access-date=2 Apr 2023}}</ref>
*Pope John Paul II Middle School
*Southside Middle School - 498 middle school students (2022)<ref name=Southside>{{cite web|url=https://nces.ed.gov/ccd/schoolsearch/school_detail.asp?Search=1&DistrictID=1807320&ID=180732001252|title=Southside Middle School|publisher=[[National Center for Education Statistics]]|access-date=2 Apr 2023}}</ref>

===High schools===
*[[Burris Laboratory School]] - 217 high school students (2022)<ref name=Burris/>
*Heritage Hall Christian School - 30 high school students (2022)<ref name=HeritageHall/>
*[[Cowan High School]] - 379 high school students (2022)<ref name=CowanHigh>{{cite web|url=https://nces.ed.gov/ccd/schoolsearch/school_detail.asp?ID=180702001200|title=Cowan High School|publisher=[[National Center for Education Statistics]]|access-date=2 Apr 2023}}</ref>
*[[Delta High School (Muncie, Indiana)|Delta High School]] - 783 high school students (2022)<ref name=DeltaHigh>{{cite web|url=https://nces.ed.gov/ccd/schoolsearch/school_detail.asp?Search=1&DistrictID=1802660&ID=180266000320|title=Delta High School|publisher=[[National Center for Education Statistics]]|access-date=2 Apr 2023}}</ref>
*[[Indiana Academy for Science, Mathematics, and Humanities]] - 206 high school students (2022)<ref name=IndianaAcademy>{{cite web|url=https://nces.ed.gov/ccd/schoolsearch/school_detail.asp?Search=1&DistrictID=1802660&ID=180266000323|title=Indiana Academy for Sci Math Hmn|publisher=[[National Center for Education Statistics]]|access-date=2 Apr 2023}}</ref>
*Muncie Area Career Center
*[[Muncie Central High School]] - 1,437 high school students (2022)<ref name=MuncieCentral>{{cite web|url=https://nces.ed.gov/ccd/schoolsearch/school_detail.asp?Search=1&DistrictID=1802660&ID=180266000323|title=Muncie Central High School|publisher=[[National Center for Education Statistics]]|access-date=2 Apr 2023}}</ref>

== Media ==
=== Newspapers ===
* ''[[The Star Press]]''

=== Television ===
As part of the Indianapolis market, Muncie receives Indianapolis' network affiliates. East Central Indiana's [[Public Broadcasting Station|PBS]] member station, [[WIPB]], is located in Muncie. ''[[The Joy of Painting]]'' was filmed at WIPB.

=== Radio stations ===
* [[WCRD]]
* [[WERK]]
* [[WMXQ]]
* [[WLBC-FM]]
* [[WMUN]]
* [[WNAP-FM]]
* [[WBST]]
* [[WXXC]]

==Infrastructure==
=== Transportation ===
==== Air ====
* [[Delaware County Regional Airport]] (not a commercial airport)
* [[Fort Wayne International Airport]] at {{convert|74.4|mi|km}} and [[Indianapolis International Airport]] at {{convert|75.4|mi|km}} are the nearest commercial airports.

==== Highways ====
* [[File:I-69.svg|20px]] [[Interstate 69 in Indiana|Interstate 69]]
* [[File:US 35.svg|20px]] [[U.S. Route 35 (Indiana)|U.S. Route 35]]
* [[File:Indiana 3.svg|20px]] [[Indiana State Road 3|State Road 3]]
* [[File:Indiana 32.svg|20px]] [[Indiana State Road 32|State Road 32]]
* [[File:Indiana 67.svg|20px]] [[Indiana State Road 67|State Road 67]]
* [[File:Indiana 332.svg|20px]] [[Indiana State Road 332|State Road 332]]

==== Rail ====

Until 1986, Muncie's [[Wysor Street Depot]] at 700 East Wysor Street was a passenger train stop on the Chicago-Cincinnati service of Amtrak's ''[[Cardinal (train)|Cardinal]]''.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/logansport-pharos-tribune/126187420/ |title=Peru Amtrak Stop Lost In Routing |newspaper=Logansport Pharos-Tribune |date=March 26, 1986 |page=1 |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> Until 1971, [[Muncie Union Station]] was a stop on the [[Penn Central]]'s Indianapolis-Cleveland on the route of the New York Central's former ''[[Southwestern Limited (New York Central train)|Southwestern Limited]]'' (St. Louis-New York City) and ''Cleveland Special'' (Indianapolis-Cleveland).<ref>Library of Congress, Union Station, 630 High Street, Muncie, Delaware County, IN https://www.loc.gov/item/in0193/</ref><ref>New York Central timetable, April 26, 1964, Table 6 https://streamlinermemories.info/NYC/NYC64TT.pdf</ref><ref>{{cite journal |title=Penn Central, Table 46 |journal=Official Guide of the Railways |publisher=National Railway Publication Company |volume=102 |issue=12 |date=May 1970}}</ref><ref>Classic Trains, "Passenger Trains on the Eve of Amtrak" https://ctr.trains.com/~/media/import/files/pdf/f/7/7/passenger_trains_operating_on_the_eve_of_amtrak.pdf</ref>

Freight service is provided by [[CSX]] and [[Norfolk Southern]].<ref>{{cite magazine|title=Hot spot: Muncie, Ind.|magazine=[[Trains (magazine)|Trains]]|pages=44–45|date=February 2023|publisher=[[Kalmbach Media]]}}</ref> Railroad equipment supplier Progress Rail opened a manufacturing facility in 2011.<ref name="Progress"/>

==== Mass transit ====
[[Muncie Indiana Transit System]] (MITS) provides 14 fixed bus routes daily, except Sundays.<ref>{{cite web |author=Muncie Indiana Transit System |url=http://www.mitsbus.org/mits_routes-and-schedules.cml |title=Routes & Schedules |publisher=MITS |access-date=June 25, 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150626141157/http://www.mitsbus.org/mits_routes-and-schedules.cml |archive-date=June 26, 2015 }}</ref>

== Notable people ==
{{See also|Category:People from Muncie, Indiana}}
<small>Note: This list does not include Ball State University graduates. Please see [[List of Ball State University alumni]] for notable alumni.</small>
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Before adding names, please note that this list should not attempt to be exhaustive.  The category serves that purpose.

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* {{annotated link|Ray Boltz}}<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.rayboltz.com/|title=HOME|website=mysite}}{{primary source inline|date=January 2025}}</ref>
* {{annotated link|George R. Dale}}<ref>{{cite web|url=http://cms.bsu.edu/Academics/Libraries/CollectionsAndDept/Archives/Collections/StoeckelArchives/Exhibits/TheLifeandTimesofGeorgeRDale.aspx|title=The Life and Times of George Dale, Muncie Mayor and Editor|publisher=Ball State University|access-date=August 25, 2012}}</ref>
* {{annotated link|Jim Davis (cartoonist)|Jim Davis}}<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.garfield.com/about/jim.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070320011101/http://www.garfield.com/about/jim.html|title=The Official Website of Garfield and Friends<!-- Bot generated title -->|archive-date=March 20, 2007}}{{primary source inline|date=January 2025}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://cms.bsu.edu/features/global/makinganimpact/manbehindthecat.aspx |title=Jim Davis :: Profile<!-- Bot generated title --> |access-date=March 5, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110814110338/http://cms.bsu.edu/Features/Global/MakinganImpact/ManBehindTheCat.aspx |archive-date=August 14, 2011 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
* {{annotated link|Dave Duerson}}<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.rotowire.com/?ilkid=DUERSDAV01|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060319162527/http://databasefootball.com/players/playerpage.htm?ilkid=DUERSDAV01|title=RotoWire Fantasy Football, Baseball, Basketball and More|archive-date=March 19, 2006|website=RotoWire}}</ref>
* {{annotated link|Bertha Fry}}<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.indianasnewscenter.com/news/local/11350051.html|title=Bertha Fry, World's 3rd Oldest Person, Dies in Muncie|access-date=August 25, 2012|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140701042900/http://www.indianasnewscenter.com/news/local/11350051.html|archive-date=July 1, 2014}}</ref>
* {{annotated link|Brandon Gorin}}<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://cbs.sportsline.com/nfl/players/playerpage/235067|title=Brandon Gorin &#124; NFL Football at CBSSports.com<!-- Bot generated title -->}}</ref>
* {{annotated link|Emily Kimbrough}}<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1989/02/11/obituaries/emily-kimbrough-90-magazine-editor-and-popular-author.html|title=Emily Kimbrough, 90, Magazine Editor And Popular Author|first=Constance L.|last=Hays|newspaper=The New York Times|date=February 11, 1989}}</ref>
* {{annotated link|F. William Lawvere}}<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mat.uc.pt/~picado/lawvere/interview.pdf|title=An Interview with F. William Lavere|access-date=July 24, 2019}}</ref>
* {{annotated link|Cheryl Anne Lorance}}<ref>{{cite web |title=Gallery Talk with Marc Dennis, Cheryl Anne Lorance |work=CorningFingerLakes.com |date=January 18, 2013 |url=http://www.corningfingerlakes.com/events/gallery-talk-marc-dennis-cheryl-anne-lorance |access-date=March 15, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402142833/http://www.corningfingerlakes.com/events/gallery-talk-marc-dennis-cheryl-anne-lorance |archive-date=April 2, 2015 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
* {{annotated link|Matt Painter}}<ref>[http://purduesports.cstv.com/sports/m-baskbl/mtt/painter_matt00.html Player Bio: Matt Painter :: Men's Basketball<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>
* {{annotated link|Bonzi Wells}}<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/w/wellsbo01.html|title=Bonzi Wells Stats|website=Basketball-Reference.com}}</ref>
* {{annotated link|Ryan Kerrigan}}<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/K/KerrRy00.htm|title=Ryan Kerrigan Stats|website=Football-Reference.com}}</ref>

== Sister cities ==
Muncie has five sister cities, as designated by [[Sister Cities International]]:<ref>{{cite web |title=Sister City Relationships|url=http://muncie.com/Local-Business/International-Trade-Assistance.aspx|website=muncie.com|publisher=Muncie-Delaware County, Indiana Economic Development Alliance|access-date=November 19, 2021}}</ref>
*{{flagicon|TWN}} [[Changhua County|Changhua]], Taiwan
*{{flagicon|CHN}} [[Deyang]], China
*{{flagicon|TUR}} [[Isparta]], Turkey
*{{flagicon|KAZ}} [[Taraz]], Kazakhstan
*{{flagicon|CHN}} [[Zhuji]], China

==See also==
{{Portal|Indiana|United States|North America|Cities|Geography}}
* {{annotated link|Academy of Model Aeronautics}}
* {{annotated link|Armed & Famous|''Armed & Famous''}}
* {{annotated link|List of public art in Muncie, Indiana}}
* {{annotated link|Muncie Mall}}
* {{annotated link|Muncie SM465 transmission}}

==References==
{{Reflist|2}}

==External links==
{{Commons category}}
{{Wikivoyage}}
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* [http://www.cityofmuncie.com/ City of Muncie, Indiana website]
* [http://www.muncie.com/ Muncie Chamber of Commerce]
* {{Cite EB1911|wstitle=Muncie}}
* [https://books.google.com/books?id=vEQEAAAAMBAJ ''LIFE'' magazine May 10, 1937], "Middletown-Muncie", pages 15–25, ("the Picture Essay"), at [[Google Books]].
* [http://dmr.bsu.edu/cdm4/BrowseResults.php?sortby=SUBJECT#Middletown%20Studies Digitized archival collections related to Muncie and its history] ([[Ball State University]] Digital Media Repository)

{{Delaware County, Indiana}}
{{County Seats of Indiana}}
{{Indiana}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Muncie, Indiana| ]]
[[Category:Cities in Indiana]]
[[Category:Cities in Delaware County, Indiana]]
[[Category:County seats in Indiana]]
[[Category:Populated places established in 1827]]
[[Category:1827 establishments in Indiana]]
[[Category:Sundown towns in Indiana]]