Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 46,702, settled in 1818.
Bloomington Township's standout: few places in the country are easier to get around without a car. Overall it grades B+, better than 71% of U.S. towns. Its public schools beat 84% of Indiana towns on state tests and graduation and it has 23 miles of trail. Bloomington Township is a college campus (most residents are students), so it isn’t ranked among Indiana’s towns. 34% of residents live below the poverty line in Bloomington Township, against 10% in Indiana’s towns and 9.6% across U.S. towns. On cost of living, just 27 of Indiana’s 1,096 towns do worse. Bloomington Township's civic life (library use, community groups, volunteering) is stronger than in 96% of U.S. towns.
Where Bloomington Township beats most towns.
8.1% of the town is conserved land, across 9 parks and preserves.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Indiana), ordered by how far Bloomington Township is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 1,305 in 1850, a low of 1,032 in 1870, 79,168 in 2020. The archive holds 11 old photos and papers going back to 1886 and 6 maps from 1908 on.
3 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Bloomington Township, 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 Township.
Bloomington Township is shaped by its college students, draws workers from Bloomington and beyond and is healthier than towns with similar incomes.
Its public schools are run by Monroe County Community School Corp. Three of its 10 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tri-North Middle SchoolLargest public middle schoolGrades 7–8 | Grades 7–8 | 569 | B+ |
| Bloomington High School NorthLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 1,528 | A |
| University Elementary SchoolTop results in townGrades PK–6 | Grades PK–6 | 536 | A |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within IN on state tests and graduation
23 miles of trail in 9 parks and preserves. The biggest place to walk is Griffy Lake Nature Preserve, 1,199 acres with 13 miles of trail. Bloomington Township’s trail density is 0.6 miles per square mile.
| Bloomington Township | Indiana towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 8.1% | 1.9% | 4.3% |
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.6 miles per square mile | 0.2 | 0.4 |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Griffy Lake Nature Preserve | 13 mi | 1,199 |
| 2. Lower Cascades Park | 0.8 mi | 82 |
| 3. Upper Cascades Park | — | 42 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
28,632 jobs are based in Bloomington Township, 2.6 for every working resident, so most of the people who work here commute in. The average commute takes 17.1 minutes, against 24.1 across Indiana.
About one in 3 of Bloomington Township’s working residents works in town. The average trip to work in Bloomington Township is 17 minutes. The top destinations are Bloomington (44%), Indianapolis (14%) and Richland Township (3%).
| Bloomington Township | Indiana towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 32% | 11% | 8% |
| Average trip to work | 17 minutes | 24 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $45,000 | $71,000 | $80,000 |
| Work from home | 15% | 7.8% | 11% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 80% of U.S. communities. Since 2019, 5 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Bloomington Township.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Bloomington Township 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
Against the 3,905 U.S. towns with household incomes like Bloomington Township’s, it is healthier than 96%, so its B isn’t only a matter of income. Within Indiana it is healthier than 83% of the 589 graded towns: much of Indiana scores lower on these measures.
29% of Bloomington Township adults have high blood pressure. Bloomington Township beats the Indiana average on 9 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 9. 39% of Bloomington Township adults feel lonely.
| Bloomington Township | Indiana towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 39% | 32% | 33% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 21% | 18% | 17% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 29% | 39% | 35% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 9% | 13% | 12% |
| What stands out | Bloomington Township | IN |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults with diabetes | 9% | 13% |
| Fewer adults who have had a stroke | 2.5% | 3.5% |
| More adults without reliable transportation | 11.5% | 7.7% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Bloomington Township. Close and well known come first.
in town Stadium & arenaMemorial Stadium
in town Stadium & arenaSimon Skjodt Assembly Hall
in town MuseumEskenazi Museum of Art
32 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 Township
College town 54 of every 100 Bloomington Township residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Indiana.
Where Bloomington Township’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
3 places in Bloomington Township on the National Register of Historic Places.
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)
5 towns share a border with Bloomington Township.
| Town | IN rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bloomington Township | – | B+ | C | — | A− | B |
| Washington Township | — | — | B− | — | A− | B− |
| Benton Township | #213 | B+ | B | — | A− | B |
| Richland Township | #217 | B+ | B | — | B+ | B |
| Perry Township | #228 | B+ | D | — | A− | B+ |
| Bloomington | #398 | B− | C− | C− | A− | B+ |
Washington Township has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. Bloomington Township, Washington Township, Benton Township, Richland Township and Perry Township report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Bloomington Township with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
By most measures, yes. Bloomington Township grades B+ overall, better than 71% of U.S. towns. Bloomington Township is a college campus (most residents are students), so it isn’t ranked among Indiana’s towns. It grades B for health and A− for schools.
Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C.
