Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
The best of Hope’s subject grades are an A for cost of living, an A+ for history, and an A− for civic life; the weakest is a C− for health. Hope’s median age is 31.2 years, below both the Indiana town median (39.4 years) and the median of U.S. towns (40.5 years). Hope's schools rank ahead of 74% of Indiana towns. Only 83 of Indiana’s 1,098 towns score higher on history. Hope has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
Where Hope beats most towns.
Hope Historic DistrictWhere Hope’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Indiana), ordered by how far Hope is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 527 in 1860, 2,099 in 2020. The archive holds 1 old photo or paper and 4 maps from 1947 on.
1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Hope, 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 Hope.
Hope beats the Indiana average on 1 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 1. 20% of adults report frequent mental distress in Hope, where Indiana’s towns sit at 18% and U.S. towns at 17%. 28% of Hope adults have been diagnosed with depression.
| Hope | Indiana towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 20% | 18% | 17% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 28% | 26% | 23% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 17% | 14% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 42% | 39% | 35% |
| What stands out | Hope | IN |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth | 12% | 15.4% |
| More adults in frequent mental distress | 20.3% | 17.6% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Most working residents leave Hope for work: only 8% work in town. The top destinations are Columbus (38%), Indianapolis (8%) and Shelbyville (3%). Half commute less than 12 miles.
| Hope | Indiana towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 24 minutes | 24 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Below the poverty line | 8.9% | 10% | 9.6% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Hope has chilly winters and warm summers. July afternoons reach 85°, January nights drop to 22° and about 16 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 53% of U.S. communities.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
The typical Hope home is worth about $251,000, up 3.2% in a year, close to the Indiana typical home.
| Hope | Indiana towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 80% | 76% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,156 a month | $947 a month | $1,185 a month |
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Hope. Close and well known come first.
Big draw38 mi Stadium & arenaLucas Oil Stadium
38 mi Stadium & arenaGainbridge Fieldhouse
10 mi MuseumMiller House and Garden
39 mi LandmarkSoldiers' and Sailors' Monument
39 mi Zoo & aquariumIndianapolis Zoo
39 mi TheatreOld National CentreLucas Oil Stadium: Josh Hallett from Winter Haven, FL, USA, CC BY-SA 2.0 · Gainbridge Fieldhouse: Durin at English Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Miller House and Garden: Nyttend, Public domain · Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument: alexeatswhales, CC BY 2.0 · Indianapolis Zoo: User:Durin-en, CC BY-SA 2.5 · Old National Centre: C. Bedford Crenshaw, aka Bedford at en.wikipedia, Attribution
None within 15 miles of Hope; the nearest are
About 6 of every 100 Hope residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Indiana.
Town in Indiana, United States
Hope is a town in Haw Creek Township, Bartholomew County, Indiana, United States, known for its historic character. The population was 2,099 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Columbus, 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.
