Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Lafayette is a solid, middle-of-the-road choice. It grades C+ overall, ranked 452nd of 585 in Indiana, with no subject far below average. Its best mark is schools: its schools rank ahead of 62% of Indiana towns. Its lowest everyday mark is in safety: its police reported 285 violent crimes reported to the FBI in 2025, a higher rate per resident than 83% of U.S. towns. A typical home there costs about $265K, 4.3 years of the Lafayette metro’s $62K median household income. History is its standout character grade: an A, better than 92% of U.S. towns, with 27 places on the National Register. 51% of working residents work locally in Lafayette, where Indiana’s towns sit at 11% and U.S. towns at 8%. On walkability, just 24 of Indiana’s 1,097 towns do better. Its National Register listings include Moses Fowler House and Tippecanoe County Courthouse.
Where Lafayette beats most towns.
Moses Fowler House
Its 27 National Register listings are more than in 97% of Indiana towns with a listing.
Census counts: 6,129 in 1850, 70,783 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1847 and a map from 1984 on.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Indiana), ordered by how far Lafayette is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Who provides power, water and the rest in Lafayette, 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 Lafayette.
Lafayette draws workers from Wea Township and beyond, is healthier than towns with similar incomes and has seen reported crime fall by a fifth or more.
59,682 jobs are based in Lafayette, 1.8 for every working resident, so most of the people who work here commute in. The average commute takes 16.4 minutes, against 24.1 across Indiana.
The average trip to work in Lafayette is 16 minutes. Since 2013, Lafayette has added 9,334 jobs, to 59,682 in 2023. 18% of residents live below the poverty line in Lafayette.
| Lafayette | Indiana towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 16 minutes | 24 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Below the poverty line | 18% | 10% | 9.6% |
| Median household income | $54,000 | $71,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
11 miles of trail in 20 parks and preserves. McAllister Park, at 258 acres with 5 miles of trail, is the biggest park or preserve.
| Lafayette | Indiana towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.4 miles per square mile | 0.2 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 3.7% | 1.9% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. McAllister Park | 5 mi | 258 |
| 2. Columbian Park | 0.7 mi | 37 |
| 3. Murdock Park | 0.6 mi | 39 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 90% of U.S. communities. Since 1981, 14 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Lafayette.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Reported crimes fell from 1,888 to 1,477 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
Lafayette’s violent crime rate is 4 per 1,000 residents. Lafayette reports more crime per resident than most U.S. towns we grade: about 83% report less. Lafayette’s property crime rate is 16.6 per 1,000 residents.
| Lafayette | Indiana towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 4 per 1,000 residents | 1.4 | 1.6 |
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 16.6 per 1,000 residents | 8.6 | 9.9 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Lafayette 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
Only 46.7% of households own their home, against 70.6% across Indiana.
Adults 18 to 34 are 30% of residents (23% statewide); adults 35 to 64 are 33% of residents (37% statewide). 14% of Lafayette residents are 65 or older. 28% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or more, vs 30% across Indiana.
| Lafayette | Indiana towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median age | 33 years | 39.5 years | 40.5 years |
| Aged 65 or older | 14% | 18% | 18% |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 28% | 22% | 29% |
| Under 18 | 23% | 23% | 22% |
51% women, 49% men
About 96 men for every 100 women (the survey’s margin: ±1.1 points). Across Indiana, 50.4% of residents are women. Median age: women 34.4, men 32.0.
| Lafayette | IN | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 13% | 12.4% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 10.4% | 10.9% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 11.4% | 9.6% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 18.3% | 13.1% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 13.3% | 12.7% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 10% | 12% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 9.8% | 12.5% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 8.7% | 10.1% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 5.1% | 6.7% | 7% |
| No diploma | 11.5% | 9.6% | 10.4% |
| High school | 34.8% | 32.5% | 26% |
| Some college | 17.6% | 19.3% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 8.2% | 9.1% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 18.9% | 18.7% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 9% | 10.8% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
Against the 7,024 U.S. towns with household incomes like Lafayette’s, it is healthier than 80%, so its B− isn’t only a matter of income. Within Indiana it is healthier than 68% of the 589 graded towns: much of Indiana scores lower on these measures.
Lafayette beats the Indiana average on 4 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 8.
| Lafayette | Indiana towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 32% | 39% | 35% |
| Food insecurity (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 14% | 14% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 18% | 17% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 34% | 39% | 35% |
| What stands out | Lafayette | IN |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults with obesity | 31.9% | 38.4% |
| Fewer adults who have had cancer | 7.1% | 8.3% |
| More adults facing housing insecurity | 14% | 11.2% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
The typical Lafayette home is worth about $265,000, up 2.9% in a year, close to the Indiana typical home.
| Lafayette | Indiana towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 47% | 76% | 73% |
| Renters paying 30%+ of income on rent | 53% | 44% | 48% |
| Median rent | $1,079 a month | $946 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 Lafayette. Close and well known come first.
4 mi Stadium & arenaRoss–Ade Stadium
7 mi State parkProphetstown State Park16 mi LandmarkWabash and Erie Canal27 mi Theme parkIndiana Beach
40 mi State parkTurkey Run State Park
4 mi MuseumSamaraRoss–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 · Turkey Run State Park: Daniel Schwen, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Samara: Tim Musson, CC BY-SA 2.0
2 within 15 miles of the center of Lafayette
About 7 of every 100 Lafayette residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Indiana.
Where Lafayette’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
27 places in Lafayette on the National Register of Historic Places.
City in Indiana, US
Lafayette ( LA(H)F-ee-ET) is a city in and the county seat of Tippecanoe County, Indiana, United States. The population was 70,783 at the 2020 census. It sits across the Wabash River from West Lafayette, home to Purdue University, which plays a major role in both communities. Together, Lafayette and West Lafayette make up the core of the Lafayette metropolitan area, home to 235,066 people in 2020. Lafayette was founded in 1825 on the southeast bank of the Wabash River near where the river becomes impassable for riverboats upstream, though a French fort and trading post had existed since 1717 on the opposite bank and three miles downstream. It was named for the French general Marquis de Lafa…
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
5 towns share a border with Lafayette.
| Town | IN rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lafayette | #452 | C+ | B− | C− | B | B− |
| Shadeland | — | — | B | — | B+ | A− |
| Union Township | — | — | B | — | B+ | B |
| Wea Township | #278 | B | C+ | — | B+ | B |
| Fairfield Township | #242 | B+ | B− | — | B | B− |
| Dayton | — | — | A | — | B+ | C+ |
Shadeland, Union Township and Dayton have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. Shadeland, Union Township, Wea Township, Fairfield Township and Dayton report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Lafayette with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Lafayette grades C+ overall, better than 38% of U.S. towns and #452 of 585 in Indiana. It grades B− for health, C− for safety and B for schools. Safety is its weak spot, with a C−.
Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades B−.
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