New projections show that fast-growing Hamilton County in suburban Indianapolis could pass Fort Wayne’s Allen County to become Indiana’s third largest county within about a decade.

State population estimates prepared by the Indiana Business Research Center show Hamilton County has grown by 17 percent since 2010 to 323,000 people, while Allen County has grown 5 percent to 373,000.

Research center demographer Matt Kinghorn tells The (Fort Wayne) Journal Gazette that Hamilton County is expected to surpass Allen County around 2030.

Projections for 2030 show Marion County with just over 1 million residents and northwestern Indiana’s Lake County with 482,000 people remaining the state’s largest two counties.

Population growth is expected to be concentrated in central Indiana in the coming year, with 59 of Indiana’s 92 counties losing population by 2050.