In Stranger Things, what U.S. state is Hawkins located in?

In Stranger Things, the fictional town of Hawkins is located in Indiana.

Hawkins is the primary setting for the series and is presented as a small Midwestern community. The town’s ordinary appearance contrasts with the secret experiments conducted at Hawkins National Laboratory and the supernatural events connected to the Upside Down. Although Hawkins itself is fictional, the show consistently identifies it as an Indiana town.

The Indiana setting also reflects the series’ broader 1980s American atmosphere. The characters attend Hawkins schools, visit local stores and arcades, and travel through a landscape of woods, roads, and suburban neighborhoods. These familiar locations make the supernatural story feel rooted in an ordinary place.

Viewers sometimes confuse Hawkins with the real Indiana locations used for filming, or with the Georgia communities that stand in for it on screen. Hawkins is not a real town; it is a fictional Indiana setting created for the series.