Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Dayton’s best subject grades are an A for cost of living, history, and civic life; its weakest is a D− for walkability. Only 59 of Indiana’s 1,097 towns score lower on walkability. Dayton's schools outperform 72% of the state's. On hazard risk, just 102 of Indiana’s 1,098 towns do better. Dayton Historic District is on the National Register of Historic Places. Dayton has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
Where Dayton beats most towns.
Dayton Historic DistrictIn a town this size, neighbors are the best guide. Ask them anything.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Indiana), ordered by how far Dayton is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1827.
1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Dayton, 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 Dayton.
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 85% of U.S. communities.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
0.8% of working residents work locally in Dayton, below both the Indiana town median (11%) and the median of U.S. towns (8%). Jobs based in Dayton grew to 160 in 2023, 76 more than in 2013. The average trip to work in Dayton is 18 minutes.
| Dayton | Indiana towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 18 minutes | 24 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Working residents who work in town | 0.8% | 11% | 8% |
| Below the poverty line | 12% | 10% | 9.6% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Dayton has chilly winters and warm summers. July afternoons reach 84°, January nights drop to 18° and about 21 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Dayton beats the Indiana average on 0 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 1. 33% of adults have obesity in Dayton, against 39% in Indiana’s towns and 35% across U.S. towns. 19% of adults report frequent mental distress in Dayton.
| Dayton | Indiana towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 33% | 39% | 35% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 18% | 17% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 17% | 14% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 26% | 26% | 23% |
| What stands out | Dayton | IN |
|---|---|---|
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 20.1% | 15.4% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Dayton's reported crime rate is well below Indiana's. Most reported incidents are property crimes, mainly thefts. Violent crime is rare: 1 reported in 2024.
| Dayton | Indiana towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2024) | 0.7 per 1,000 residents | 1.4 | 1.7 |
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2024) | 8 per 1,000 residents | 10 | 11.5 |
FBI crime data, 2024 · crimes reported to police
The typical Dayton home is worth about $234,000, up 3% in a year, 9% below the Indiana typical home. 81% of Dayton households own their home.
| Dayton | Indiana towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 81% | 76% | 73% |
| Median rent | $947 a month | $947 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Dayton. Close and well known come first.
9 mi Stadium & arenaRoss–Ade Stadium
9 mi State parkProphetstown State Park16 mi LandmarkWabash and Erie Canal29 mi Theme parkIndiana Beach
9 mi MuseumSamara40 mi MuseumGrissom Air MuseumRoss–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
2 within 15 miles of the center of Dayton
About 4 of every 100 Dayton residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Indiana.
Where Dayton’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
Town in Indiana, United States
Dayton is a town in Sheffield Township, Tippecanoe County, in the U.S. state of Indiana. As of the 2020 census, Dayton had a population of 1,330. It is part of the Lafayette, Indiana Metropolitan Statistical Area.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
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.
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