Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Kokomo gives you more for your money than most places: homes are within reach, about $182K for a typical one, or 2.8 years of the Kokomo metro’s $64K median household income. It grades C− overall, 561st among Indiana's 585 graded towns. The low prices come with trade-offs. Residents are less healthy than 84% of U.S. towns on CDC estimates, and its police reported 287 violent crimes reported to the FBI in 2025, a higher rate per resident than 79% of U.S. towns. On the plus side, natural-hazard risk is low. 44% of working residents work locally in Kokomo, against 11% in Indiana’s towns and 8% across U.S. towns. Its National Register listings include Seiberling Mansion and Elwood Haynes House. Among 107 Indiana towns, just 9 have a higher violent crime rate than Kokomo.
Where Kokomo beats most towns.
Seiberling Mansion
Census counts: 378 in 1850, 59,604 in 2020. The archive holds 9 old photos and papers going back to 1865 and 3 maps from 1960 on.
12 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Indiana), ordered by how far Kokomo is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Who provides power, water and the rest in Kokomo, 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 Kokomo.
Kokomo has seen reported crime fall by a fifth or more, but it has a long record of flood insurance claims.
13 miles of trail in 22 parks and preserves. The biggest park or preserve is Jackson Morrow Park, at 101 acres.
| Kokomo | Indiana towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.4 miles per square mile | 0.2 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 3.6% | 1.9% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Highland Park | 0.8 mi | 83 |
| 2. Huston Park | 0.5 mi | 13 |
| 3. Jackson Morrow Park | 0.1 mi | 101 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
20% of Kokomo adults smoke cigarettes. Kokomo beats the Indiana average on 0 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 15. 25% of Kokomo adults say their health is fair or poor.
| Kokomo | Indiana towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 20% | 17% | 14% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 13% | 12% |
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 25% | 21% | 19% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 30% | 26% | 25% |
| What stands out | Kokomo | IN |
|---|---|---|
| More adults with COPD | 10.3% | 8.1% |
| More smokers | 19.7% | 15.7% |
| More adults who have had a stroke | 4.3% | 3.5% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Reported crimes fell from 1,321 to 1,036 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
Kokomo reports more crime per resident than most U.S. towns we grade: about 79% report less. The property crime rate in Kokomo is 12.4 per 1,000 residents.
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
295 flood insurance claims have been filed here, and 58 properties have flooded more than once.
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 77% of U.S. communities. Since 1980, 295 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Kokomo.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
63% of households own their home in Kokomo. The typical Kokomo home is worth about $182,000, up 4.3% in a year, 29% below the Indiana typical home. 52% of renter households spend 30% or more of their income on rent in Kokomo.
| Kokomo | Indiana towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 63% | 76% | 73% |
| Renters paying 30%+ of income on rent | 52% | 44% | 48% |
| Median rent | $939 a month | $947 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Kokomo 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.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Kokomo’s average trip to work is 19 minutes. Jobs based in Kokomo grew to 30,455 in 2023, 3,984 more than in 2013. Kokomo’s median household income is $55,000.
| Kokomo | Indiana towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below the poverty line | 17% | 10% | 9.6% |
| Average trip to work | 19 minutes | 24 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $55,000 | $71,000 | $80,000 |
| Work from home | 5.5% | 7.8% | 11% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
1 within 15 miles of the center of Kokomo
About 5 of every 100 Kokomo residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Indiana.
45,468 counted in 2010 and 59,604 in 2020; an estimated 59,999 in 2025.
Growth has leveled off: within 1% of 2020, after 31.1% in the decade before.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts · Census Bureau estimate, July 1, 2025
12 places in Kokomo on the National Register of Historic Places.
43 notable people were born in Kokomo.
City in Indiana, United States
Kokomo ( KOH-kə-moh) is a city in and the county seat of Howard County, Indiana, United States. As of the 2020 census, Kokomo had a population of 59,604. It is the principal city of the Kokomo metropolitan area, which includes all of Howard County, and it is the largest city and regional center for the North Central Indiana region consisting of ~225,000 people across six counties anchored by the city of Kokomo. The city is located approximately 60 miles (97 km) north of Indianapolis and 85 miles (137 km) south of South Bend, Indiana. Named for the Miami Ma-Ko-Ko-Mo who was called "Chief Kokomo", Kokomo first benefited from the legal business associated with being the county seat. Before the…
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
2 towns share a border with Kokomo.
| Town | IN rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kokomo | #561 | C− | B+ | C− | C | C− |
| Center Township | #492 | C | A− | — | C | C− |
| Clay Township | #164 | A− | A | — | A− | C− |
Center Township and Clay Township report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Kokomo with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Kokomo grades C− overall, better than 15% of U.S. towns and #561 of 585 in Indiana. It grades C− for health, C− for safety and C for schools. Health is its weak spot, with a C−.
43 notable people were born here, including Ryan White and Strother Martin.
