Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Bloomington's standout: it is among the most walkable places in the country. Overall it grades B−, ranked 398th of 585 in Indiana. Its schools rank ahead of 84% of Indiana towns and it has 34 miles of trail. Its weakest subject is cost of living: homes are expensive, about $312K for a typical one and 4.8 times the Bloomington metro’s $66K median household income. 30% of residents live below the poverty line in Bloomington, against 10% in Indiana’s towns and 9.6% across U.S. towns. Its National Register listings include Vinegar Hill Historic District and Andrew Wylie House. Only 97 of Indiana’s 1,086 towns score higher on health.
Where Bloomington beats most towns.
Monroe County Courthouse
Its 32 National Register listings are more than in 98% of Indiana towns with a listing.
Census counts: 1,305 in 1850, a low of 1,032 in 1870, 79,168 in 2020. The archive holds 12 old photos and papers going back to 1886 and 6 maps from 1908 on.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Indiana), ordered by how far Bloomington is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Who provides power, water and the rest in Bloomington, and how to reach them.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Nov 18, 2024.
Ordered by what stands out in Bloomington.
Bloomington is shaped by its college students, draws workers from Perry Township and beyond and is healthier than towns with similar incomes.
Its A for the outdoors ranks #8 of 593 in Indiana.
The trail density in Bloomington is 1.5 miles per square mile. The biggest place to walk is Griffy Lake Nature Preserve, 841 acres with 11.8 miles of trail. 34 miles of trail in 27 parks and preserves.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Griffy Lake Nature Preserve | 11.8 mi | 841 |
| 2. Wapehani Mountain Bike Park | 5.2 mi | 83 |
| 3. RCA Community Park | 1.4 mi | 50 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
43,870 jobs are based in Bloomington, 1.8 for every working resident, so most of the people who work here commute in. The average commute takes 17.5 minutes, against 24.1 across Indiana.
49% of Bloomington working residents work locally. The top destinations are Indianapolis (12%), Richland Township (4%) and Bloomington Township (2%). Bloomington’s average trip to work is 18 minutes.
| Bloomington | Indiana towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 49% | 11% | 8% |
| Average trip to work | 18 minutes | 24 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Work from home | 18% | 7.8% | 11% |
| Median household income | $50,000 | $71,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Reported crimes fell from 2,285 to 1,754 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 77% of U.S. communities. Since 1979, 39 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Bloomington.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
64.4% of renter households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, against 48.1% across Indiana. The median property tax bill is $2,602, against $1,614 across Indiana, another input to its cost-of-living grade.
35% of households own their home in Bloomington. The typical Bloomington home is worth about $312,000, up 1.2% in a year, 21% above the Indiana typical home. 64% of renter households spend 30% or more of their income on rent in Bloomington.
| Bloomington | Indiana towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 35% | 76% | 73% |
| Renters paying 30%+ of income on rent | 64% | 44% | 48% |
| Median rent | $1,200 a month | $946 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Against the 5,946 U.S. towns with household incomes like Bloomington’s, it is healthier than 95%, so its B+ isn’t only a matter of income. Within Indiana it is healthier than 87% of the 589 graded towns: much of Indiana scores lower on these measures.
Bloomington beats the Indiana average on 10 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 10. Only 3 of the 589 Indiana towns we compare have a higher share of adults who feel lonely than Bloomington.
| Bloomington | Indiana towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 40% | 32% | 33% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 22% | 18% | 17% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 26% | 39% | 35% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 8% | 13% | 12% |
| What stands out | Bloomington | IN |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults who have had cancer | 5.1% | 8.3% |
| Fewer adults with diabetes | 8% | 13% |
| More adults without reliable transportation | 12.2% | 7.7% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Bloomington has chilly winters and warm summers. July afternoons reach 85°, January nights drop to 21° and about 18 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Bloomington. Close and well known come first.
in town Stadium & arenaMemorial Stadium
in town Stadium & arenaSimon Skjodt Assembly Hall
in town MuseumEskenazi Museum of Art
33 mi MuseumMiller House and Garden
in town TheatreIndiana University Auditorium32 mi GardenMill Race ParkMemorial Stadium: Durin at English Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall: Sean Benham from Chicago, CC BY 2.0 · Eskenazi Museum of Art: Kzollman (Kevin J.S. Zollman)., CC BY-SA 3.0 · Miller House and Garden: Nyttend, Public domain · Indiana University Auditorium: Gottscho-Schleisner Collection, Public domain
1 within 15 miles of the center of Bloomington
College town 40 of every 100 Bloomington residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Indiana.
12.7% of the town is conserved land, across 27 parks and preserves.
32 places in Bloomington on the National Register of Historic Places.
47 notable people were born in Bloomington.
City in Indiana, United States
Bloomington is a city in Monroe County, Indiana, United States, and its county seat. The population was 79,168 at the 2020 census. It is the seventh-most populous city in Indiana and the fourth-most populous outside the Indianapolis metropolitan area. It is the home of Indiana University Bloomington, the flagship campus of the Indiana University system. Established in 1820, IU Bloomington enrolls over 45,000 students. The city was established in 1818 by a group of settlers from Kentucky, Tennessee, the Carolinas, and Virginia who were so impressed with "a haven of blooms" that they called it Bloomington. It is the principal city of the Bloomington metropolitan area in south-central Indiana,…
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
2 towns share a border with Bloomington.
| Town | IN rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bloomington | #398 | B− | C− | C− | A− | B+ |
| Bloomington Township | – | B+ | C | — | A− | B |
| Richland Township | #217 | B+ | B | — | B+ | B |
Bloomington Township and Richland Township report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Bloomington with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Bloomington grades B− overall, better than 46% of U.S. towns and #398 of 585 in Indiana. It grades B+ for health, C− for safety and A− for schools. Cost of living is its weak spot, with a C−.
47 notable people were born here, including Dee Bradley Baker and David Lee Roth.
