MUNCIE — Decades ago, Muncie and Delaware County's top employers were heavy industries like auto parts makers.
Today the community's largest employers are health care, educational and service-driven with some echoes of Muncie's manufacturing past still in the mix.
Using top employer rankings from the Muncie-Delaware County Chamber of Commerce, Indiana Workforce Development and other sources, The Star Press took a look at the employers that drive the community — although in a different way than manufacturing once did.
The top employers in the city won't surprise anyone who sees the twin campuses, medical and educational, along University and McKinley avenues on the city's west side.
According to almost every ranking, IU Health Ball Memorial Hospital and Ball State University are close enough in number of employees to be virtually tied.
According to the chamber's list of top employers, the hospital has 3,000 employees while the university has 2,800.
If those numbers are no surprise, maybe the runners-up would be.
Rounding out the top 10
Education has a big presence on the chamber's list, as Ball State's high ranking indicates. The chamber's list says the third-ranking employer in terms of number of workers is Muncie Community Schools, with 843. Delaware Community Schools, Yorktown Community Schools and others rank below the city-based system.
It's worth noting that the HoosierData.in.gov website that uses Indiana Workforce Development numbers does not include any educational institutions other than Ball State in its ranking. That list says Ball State is the top employer, followed by the hospital, the Youth Opportunity Center (which mixes residential care, treatment and education for juveniles) and Meijer.