Center TownshipHoward County, IN
A town of 46,120, laid out in 1852.
Is Center Township a good place to live?
Center Township gives you more for your money than most places: homes are within reach, about $124K for a typical one, or 1.9 years of the Kokomo metro’s $64K median household income. It grades C overall, ranked 492nd of 585 in Indiana. The low prices come with trade-offs. The median household income is $51K, and 19% of residents live below the poverty line, and residents are less healthy than 80% of U.S. towns on CDC estimates. On the plus side, natural-hazard risk is low. 41% of working residents work locally in Center Township, where Indiana’s towns sit at 11% and U.S. towns at 8%. The biggest park or preserve is Highland Park, at 81 acres.
What makes Center Township stand out
Where Center Township beats most towns.
How Center Township grades
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Indiana), ordered by how far Center Township is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Moving to Center Township: who provides what
Who provides power, water and the rest in Center 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.
The data
Ordered by what stands out in Center Township.
Conserved land covers 3.1% of Center Township
6.1 miles of trail in 18 parks and preserves.
| Center Township | Indiana towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.2 miles per square mile | 0.2 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 3.1% | 1.9% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Highland Park | 0.8 mi | 81 |
| 2. Huston Park | 0.5 mi | 14 |
| 3. Northwest Park | 0.2 mi | 32 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
On state tests, Center Township’s schools trail 68% of Indiana districts
Its public schools are run by Kokomo School Corporation. Three of its 17 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lafayette Park Elementary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–5 | Grades PK–5 | 527 | C− |
| Kokomo High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 1,393 | C+ |
| Wallace Elementary SchoolTop results in townGrades K–5 | Grades K–5 | 360 | A− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within IN on state tests and graduation
Center Township earns a C− for health
Against the 6,136 U.S. towns with household incomes like Center Township’s, it is less healthy than 54%, so its C− isn’t only a matter of income.
15% of adults have diabetes in Center Township. Center Township beats the Indiana average on 0 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 11. 24% of adults say their health is fair or poor in Center Township.
| Center Township | Indiana towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 13% | 12% |
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 24% | 21% | 19% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 29% | 26% | 25% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 16% | 15% | 14% |
| What stands out | Center Township | IN |
|---|---|---|
| More adults with COPD | 9.9% | 8.1% |
| More smokers | 19.1% | 15.7% |
| More adults who have had a stroke | 4.2% | 3.5% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Inland flooding leads a low hazard risk in Center Township
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 79% of U.S. communities. Since 1980, 288 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Center Township.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Four seasons and pleasant summers in Center Township
Center Township has chilly, snowy winters and pleasant summers. July afternoons reach 84°, January nights drop to 18° and about 34 inches of snow falls in a winter.
Typical low → high °F
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
About half of Center Township’s working residents commute to Kokomo
The average trip to work in Center Township is 19 minutes. Since 2013, Center Township has added 3,389 jobs, to 27,757 in 2023. 5.5% of Center Township workers work from home.
| Center Township | Indiana towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 19 minutes | 24 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $51,000 | $71,000 | $80,000 |
| Work from home | 5.5% | 7.8% | 11% |
Where working residents work
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Wabash and Erie Canal and 10 more within 40 miles
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Center Township. Close and well known come first.
37 mi State parkProphetstown State Park
35 mi MuseumConner Prairie39 mi Theme parkIndiana Beach
35 mi TheatreRuoff Music Center13 mi MuseumGrissom Air MuseumPhoto credits
Prophetstown State Park: Flickr user: Dan https://www.flickr.com/photos/dwmizell/, CC BY-SA 2.0 · Conner Prairie: Unknown, CC BY 2.5 · Ruoff Music Center: TownePost Network, CC BY 2.0
Everything we know about Center Township
Colleges nearby
1 within 15 miles of the center of Center Township
About 5 of every 100 Center Township residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Indiana.
About Center Township
Unincorporated community and Census-designated place in Indiana, United States
Center (originally called Tampico) is an unincorporated community in Taylor Township, Howard County, Indiana, United States. Center is a suburb of Kokomo and is a part of the Kokomo, Indiana Metropolitan Statistical Area.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
- Elevation
- 846 ft
Center Township’s neighbors
5 towns share a border with Center Township.
| Town | IN rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Center Township | #492 | C | A− | — | C | C− |
| Clay Township | #164 | A− | A | — | A− | C− |
| Howard Township | — | — | A− | — | A− | C− |
| Taylor Township | #485 | C | B+ | — | C− | C |
| Harrison Township | #175 | A− | B | — | A | C+ |
| Kokomo | #561 | C− | B+ | C− | C | C− |
Howard Township has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. Center Township, Clay Township, Howard Township, Taylor Township and Harrison Township report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Center Township with a neighbor →
Questions about Center Township
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Is Center Township, IN a good place to live?
Center Township grades C overall, better than 29% of U.S. towns and #492 of 585 in Indiana. It grades C− for health and C for schools. Jobs & income is its weak spot, with a C−.
Is Center Township, 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−.