Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
North Manchester is one of the best-graded places in America: an A, 53rd of 585 graded towns in Indiana. A typical home costs about $200K, 3 years of the Wabash area’s $67K median household income, and it is more walkable than 88% of U.S. towns. Its lowest mark, a B−, is in incomes. History is its standout character grade: an A+, better than 96% of U.S. towns, with 7 places on the National Register. 32% of working residents work locally in North Manchester, against 11% in Indiana’s towns and 8% across U.S. towns. North Manchester is home to Manchester University. On history, just 66 of Indiana’s 1,098 towns do better.
Where North Manchester beats most towns.
Noftzger-Adams House
Census counts: 1,585 in 1880, 5,277 in 2020. The archive holds 12 old photos and papers going back to 1847.
7 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
North Manchester takes its name from Manchester in Greater Manchester, England, 3,780 miles across the Atlantic.
UKUK editionNorth Manchester, settled in 1838, takes its name from Manchester, a city in Greater Manchester, England.
9 more U.S. towns are named after Manchester:Manchester, CT59,773Manchester Township, NJ46,556Manchester, MO18,069Manchester, TN13,776Manchester, WA5,956+4 more
Named after: each U.S. town’s Wikipedia article. Grades compare each town with towns in its own country, so they aren’t a head-to-head.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Indiana), ordered by how far North Manchester is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Who provides power, water and the rest in North Manchester, 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 North Manchester.
North Manchester pairs an A overall with homes cheaper than the Indiana norm and is healthier than towns with similar incomes.
North Manchester grades A overall with a typical home of about $200K, below the Indiana typical value; only 18 of the 64 Indiana towns graded A− or better can say that. The median property tax bill is $796, against $1,614 across Indiana, another input to its cost-of-living grade.
The median rent in North Manchester is $660 a month. The typical North Manchester home is worth about $200,000, up 3.3% in a year, 22% below the Indiana typical home.
| North Manchester | Indiana towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $660 a month | $947 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 80% | 76% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
North Manchester has chilly, snowy winters and warm summers. July afternoons reach 84°, January nights drop to 18° and about 30 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 67% of U.S. communities. Since 1982, 3 flood insurance claims have been paid out in North Manchester.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Adults 35 to 64 are 30% of residents (37% statewide); people 65 and older are 24% of residents (17% statewide). 17% of residents are under 18 in North Manchester. 26% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or more, vs 30% across Indiana.
| North Manchester | Indiana towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 18 | 17% | 23% | 22% |
| Aged 65 or older | 24% | 18% | 18% |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 26% | 22% | 29% |
57% women, 43% men
About 77 men for every 100 women (the survey’s margin: ±3.4 points). Across Indiana, 50.4% of residents are women.
| North Manchester | IN | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 7.9% | 12.4% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 9.4% | 10.9% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 17.7% | 9.6% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 11.3% | 13.1% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 8.5% | 12.7% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 10% | 12% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 11.1% | 12.5% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 7.5% | 10.1% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 16.5% | 6.7% | 7% |
| No diploma | 5.7% | 9.6% | 10.4% |
| High school | 36.9% | 32.5% | 26% |
| Some college | 21.1% | 19.3% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 10.1% | 9.1% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 16% | 18.7% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 10.2% | 10.8% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
About one in 3 of North Manchester’s working residents works in town. Jobs based in North Manchester fell to 2,462 in 2023, 232 fewer than in 2013. North Manchester’s median household income is $61,000.
| North Manchester | Indiana towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $61,000 | $71,000 | $80,000 |
| Average trip to work | 23 minutes | 24 minutes | 25 minutes |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
0.6 miles of trail in 6 parks and preserves. The biggest park or preserve is Warvel Park, at 26 acres.
| North Manchester | Indiana towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 1% | 1.9% | 4.3% |
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.2 miles per square mile | 0.2 | 0.4 |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Warvel Park | 0.2 mi | 26 |
| 2. Ruppel Sports Complex | 0.2 mi | 19 |
| 3. Town Life Center Park | 0.1 mi | 6 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Against the 9,256 U.S. towns with household incomes like North Manchester’s, it is healthier than 75%, so its B− isn’t only a matter of income. Within Indiana it is healthier than 73% of the 589 graded towns: much of Indiana scores lower on these measures.
30% of North Manchester adults sleep under 7 hours. North Manchester beats the Indiana average on 7 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 3. 15% of North Manchester adults binge drink.
| North Manchester | Indiana towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 30% | 37% | 36% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 16% | 16% |
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 82% | 80% | 79% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 40% | 39% | 35% |
| What stands out | North Manchester | IN |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing a utility shut-off | 6% | 8.4% |
| Fewer adults facing housing insecurity | 8.3% | 11.2% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 11.6% | 8.3% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
1 within 15 miles of the center of North Manchester
College town 15 of every 100 North Manchester residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Indiana.
7 places in North Manchester on the National Register of Historic Places.
6 notable people were born in North Manchester.
Town in Indiana, United States
North Manchester is a town in Chester Township, Wabash County, in the U.S. state of Indiana. The population was 5,273 at the 2020 census.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
2 towns share a border with North Manchester.
| Town | IN rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| North Manchester | #53 | A | A | — | B+ | B− |
| Chester Township | #41 | A | A | — | B+ | B− |
| Pleasant Township | — | — | B− | — | B+ | C+ |
Pleasant Township has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. North Manchester, Chester Township and Pleasant Township report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare North Manchester with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Yes, by almost any measure. North Manchester grades A overall, better than 93% of U.S. towns and #53 of 585 in Indiana. It grades B− for health and B+ for schools.
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.
6 notable people were born here, including Thomas R. Marshall and Daniel Garber.
