Brookston Indiana 69, 2002
Brookston’s story
173 years in pictures
Census counts: 406 in 1870, 1,631 in 2020. The archive holds 18 old photos and papers going back to 2002 and a map from 1986 on.
- 1853Brookston is settled
BrookstonIN
Population
1,659
2025 Census estimate · +1.5% since 2020
Typical home
$246K
+5.8% in a year
Household income
$63K
median
Median age
40.0
years
Jobs based here
165
A commuter town
Is Brookston a good place to live?
The best of Brookston’s subject grades are an A for cost of living and schools and an A− for civic life. 16% of adults 25 and older hold a bachelor’s degree or more in Brookston, against 22% in Indiana’s towns and 29% across U.S. towns. Brookston’s trail density is 1.4 miles per square mile, above both the Indiana town median (0.2) and the median of U.S. towns (0.4). Only 38 of Indiana’s 1,098 towns score higher on the outdoors. Brookston has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
What makes Brookston stand out
Where Brookston beats most towns.
Typical home value
Brookston$246K
Indiana$257K
Cost of livingA
3.7 years of income buys a home
More affordable than 89% of U.S. towns
Zillow Home Value Index; area median household income, Census ACS.
OutdoorsA−
1.0 miles of trail in 2 parks and preserves
Biggest place to walk: Heart Park, 1 mi of trail.
0historic places
History
Settled in 1853
A long history
A history going back 173 years.
A commuter town
96% of working residents leave Brookston for work
Where Brookston’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
165jobs based in Brookston
4%of working residents work in town
14 mimedian commute distance
Census LEHD 2023
How Brookston grades
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Indiana), ordered by how far Brookston is from typical.
Cost of livingAOpen →SchoolsBeat 87% of Indiana districts on tests and graduationAOpen →Hazard riskFEMA risk higher than 34% of U.S. communities; inland flooding tops the listB+Open →WalkabilityEPA walkability 5.7 of 20; 1.6% of households have no car; 2.9% of workers walk, bike or ride transitC+Open →Jobs & incomeB−Open →HealthIndiana University Health White Memorial Hospital 11 miles awayB−Open →
Character Graded, but not part of the overall grade.
Outdoors1 mile of trail; 2% conserved landA−Open →History1 notable person born hereB−Open →Civic life3.9 community nonprofits per 1,000 residentsA−Open →
Described, not graded Taste, not quality: snow or an older crowd is neither good nor bad.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Getting set up
The full setup list →Moving to Brookston: who provides what
Who provides power, water and the rest in Brookston, and how to reach them.
PowerTown of BrookstonEIAHIFLD · EIA
WaterBrookston Water DepartmentNo health-based violations in 5 years · EPAEPA
Internet6 providers100% of addresses get 100/20 MbpsFCC
Trash & dumpNot on file yetWe don’t have Brookston’s trash rules yet
Register to voteOnlineIn Indiana you can register online until 29 days before Election Day, in person until 29 days before Election Day, or by mail (postmarked 29 days before).vote.govWho runs elections hereWhite County Circuit Court ClerkWhite County; contacts on the Handbook page.FVAP, Sep 2025
ZIP code4792347923 100%Census 2020
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Nov 18, 2024.
The data
Ordered by what stands out in Brookston.
Work & commuteJobs & income grade B−
With 0.2 jobs for every working resident, most of Brookston’s workers commute out
Most working residents leave Brookston for work: only 4% work in town. Since 2013, Brookston has lost 111 jobs, to 165 in 2023. Brookston’s median household income is $63,000.
4%work in town
| Brookston | Indiana towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 3.6% | 11% | 8% |
| Median household income | $63,000 | $71,000 | $80,000 |
| Below the poverty line | 8.4% | 10% | 9.6% |
| Average trip to work | 25 minutes | 24 minutes | 25 minutes |
Where working residents work
In Brookston4%
Lafayette33%
West Lafayette12%
Indianapolis6%
Chalmers4%
14 mi
median commute distance
165
jobs based in Brookston
A commuter town
jobs vs. working residents
C+
Walkability grade: more walkable than 45% of U.S. towns
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Climate
In Brookston, expect four seasons and pleasant summers
Brookston has chilly winters and warm summers. July afternoons reach 84°, January nights drop to 18° and about 20 inches of snow falls in a winter.
20″snow a winter
Typical low → high °F
Winter21–36°
Spring40–62°
Summer61–83°
Fall42–64°
Oct 17
typical first frost
Apr 25
typical last frost
+1.1°
vs. the 20th-century average
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Natural hazardsHazard risk grade B+
Low risk in Brookston, with inland flooding at the top
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 66% of U.S. communities.
34risk score of 100
FEMA risk score
Inland floodingCold wavesTornadoes
10
federal disasters paid out here
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
HousingCost of living grade A
The typical home in Brookston is valued at about $246K
The typical Brookston home is worth about $246,000, up 5.8% in a year, close to the Indiana typical home.
$246KZillow home value
| Brookston | Indiana towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $969 a month | $947 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 73% | 76% | 73% |
Typical home value
Brookston$246K
Indiana$257K
+5.8%
value change, 1 year
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
OutdoorsA−
Brookston has set aside 2.2% of its land for conservation
1.0 miles of trail in 2 parks and preserves.
2.2%conserved
2.2%
conserved · 9 of 421 acres
1.0 mi
of trails · 1.4 per sq mi
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Heart Park | 1 mi | 18 |
| 2. Argel Field | — | 5 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
HealthB−
Brookston ranks healthier than 50% of the country’s towns
Brookston beats the Indiana average on 5 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 0. 44% of Brookston adults have obesity.
50%healthier than U.S. townsB−Health Grade
| Brookston | Indiana towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 44% | 39% | 35% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 16% | 16% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 27% | 26% | 23% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 13% | 15% | 14% |
32 measures vs. Indiana
5 better27 too close to call0 worse
| What stands out | Brookston | IN |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth | 9.4% | 15.4% |
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 11.1% | 14.7% |
Indiana University Health White Memorial Hospital
11 mi away · emergency room
3 of 3
care shortages: primary care, dental, mental health
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Nearby attractions
All 19 attractions →Ross–Ade Stadium and 12 more within 40 miles
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Brookston. Close and well known come first.
12 mi Stadium & arenaRoss–Ade Stadium
7 mi State parkProphetstown State Park10 mi LandmarkWabash and Erie Canal14 mi Theme parkIndiana Beach
12 mi MuseumSamara39 mi MuseumGrissom Air MuseumSources: National Park Service · ski areas © OpenSkiMap / OpenStreetMap contributors · Wikidata · Wikipedia readership · photos via Wikimedia Commons
Photo credits
Ross–Ade Stadium: Tstuddud at English Wikipedia, Public domain · Prophetstown State Park: Flickr user: Dan https://www.flickr.com/photos/dwmizell/, CC BY-SA 2.0 · Samara: Tim Musson, CC BY-SA 2.0
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Keep exploring
Everything we know about Brookston
19pages on Brookston
The big questions
Out and about
The story
Day to day
After high school
Colleges nearby
2 within 15 miles of the center of Brookston
Purdue University GlobalUniversity or college · Public · West Lafayette10.5 mi$10,101 in-state tuitionPurdue UniversityUniversity or college · Public · West Lafayette12.2 mi$9,992 in-state tuition
About 4 of every 100 Brookston residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Indiana.
Questions about Brookston
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Is Brookston, IN expensive?
Not for the area. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades A.