Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Olive Township gives you more for your money than most places: a typical home costs about $232K, 3.5 years of the South Bend metro’s $67K median household income. It grades A overall, 75th among Indiana's 585 graded towns. On the plus side, its schools rank ahead of 89% of Indiana towns. History is its standout character grade: an A, better than 91% of U.S. towns, with 2 places on the National Register. On hazard risk, just 4 of Indiana’s 1,098 towns do better. Olive Township's civic life (library use, community groups, volunteering) is stronger than in 94% of U.S. towns. 3.5% of residents live below the poverty line in Olive Township, against 10% in Indiana’s towns and 9.6% across U.S. towns.
Where Olive Township beats most towns.
Studebaker Clubhouse and Tree SignEach subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Indiana), ordered by how far Olive Township is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
The archive holds 2 old photos and papers and 2 maps from 1958 on.
2 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Olive Township. Close and well known come first.
Big draw12 mi Stadium & arenaNotre Dame Stadium
20 mi National ParkIndiana Dunes National Park2.6M visitors a year
12 mi CaveGrotto of Our Lady of Lourdes, Notre Dame
17 mi State parkWarren Dunes State Park
14 mi Ancient siteFort St. Joseph
11 mi MuseumStudebaker National MuseumNotre Dame Stadium: Tysto, Public domain · Indiana Dunes National Park: J. Crocker, Attribution · Grotto of Our Lady of Lourdes, Notre Dame: Know1one1, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Warren Dunes State Park: hakkun, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Fort St. Joseph: Chris Light (talk), CC BY-SA 3.0 · Studebaker National Museum: Unknown, Public domain
Who provides power, water and the rest in Olive Township, 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 Olive Township.
Olive Township pairs an A for schools with modest home prices, carries less natural-hazard risk than nearly all of Indiana (mostly inland flooding) and trades workers with South Bend and other neighbors.
25 miles of trail in 3 parks and preserves. The biggest park or preserve is Spicer Lake Nature Preserve, at 319 acres.
| Olive Township | Indiana towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 0.9% | 1.9% | 4.3% |
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.4 miles per square mile | 0.2 | 0.4 |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Bendix Woods County Park | 10.5 mi | 189 |
| 2. New Carlisle Memorial Park | 0.3 mi | 3 |
| 3. Spicer Lake Nature Preserve | — | 319 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Its A for schools comes with a B for cost of living: the typical home is worth about $232K.
Its public schools are run by New Prairie United School Corp. Its one school is below.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Olive Township Elementary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades K–5 | Grades K–5 | 495 | A |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within IN on state tests and graduation
FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk lower than 99% of Indiana towns, with expected losses of about $276 per resident a year; that rating is what its A+ for hazard risk is built on.
Olive Township’s FEMA risk score is 4 of 100.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Olive Township has chilly, snowy winters and pleasant summers. The July high in Olive Township is 83°F.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Olive Township has about as many jobs (1,807) as working residents, but only 179 people both live and work here.
Most working residents leave Olive Township for work: only 11% work in town. Jobs based in Olive Township grew to 1,807 in 2023, 111 more than in 2013. The top destinations are South Bend (30%), Mishawaka (8%) and New Carlisle (7%).
| Olive Township | Indiana towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 27 minutes | 24 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Work from home | 11% | 7.8% | 11% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Adults 18 to 34 are 17% of residents (23% statewide). 26% of residents are under 18 in Olive Township. 30% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or more, vs 30% across Indiana.
| Olive Township | Indiana towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 18 | 26% | 23% | 22% |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 30% | 22% | 29% |
| Median age | 38.9 years | 39.5 years | 40.5 years |
52% women, 48% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±3.1 points. Across Indiana, 50.4% of residents are women.
| Olive Township | IN | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 14.5% | 12.4% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 11.3% | 10.9% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 7.2% | 9.6% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 10.1% | 13.1% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 13.9% | 12.7% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 13.4% | 12% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 11.4% | 12.5% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 8.5% | 10.1% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 9.7% | 6.7% | 7% |
| No diploma | 2.4% | 9.6% | 10.4% |
| High school | 32.4% | 32.5% | 26% |
| Some college | 23.2% | 19.3% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 12.1% | 9.1% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 21.5% | 18.7% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 8.3% | 10.8% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates · in a town of 4,300, single groups can be off by several points
Within Indiana it is healthier than 82% of the 589 graded towns: much of Indiana scores lower on these measures.
Olive Township beats the Indiana average on 8 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 1. 34% of Olive Township adults have obesity.
| Olive Township | Indiana towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 34% | 39% | 35% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 27% | 26% | 23% |
| Food insecurity (CDC PLACES) | 11% | 14% | 14% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 13% | 15% | 14% |
| What stands out | Olive Township | IN |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 10.6% | 14.7% |
| Fewer adults facing a utility shut-off | 6.4% | 8.4% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 9.8% | 8.3% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
6 within 15 miles of the center of Olive Township
About 2 of every 100 Olive Township residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Indiana.
2 places in Olive Township on the National Register of Historic Places.
Township in Indiana, United States
Olive Township is one of thirteen townships in St. Joseph County, in the U.S. state of Indiana. As of the 2020 census, its population was 4,364.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
7 towns share a border with Olive Township.
| Town | IN rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Olive Township | #75 | A | B | — | A | B |
| Greene Township | #431 | C+ | A− | — | C− | B |
| Warren Township | #576 | D | C+ | — | C− | C− |
| Wills Township | — | — | B+ | — | A | B− |
| Lincoln Township | — | — | B+ | — | B− | B− |
| Hudson Township | — | — | A | — | A | B |
Wills Township, Lincoln Township and Hudson Township have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. Olive Township, Greene Township, Warren Township, Wills Township, Lincoln Township and Hudson Township report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Olive Township with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
By most measures, yes. Olive Township grades A overall, better than 89% of U.S. towns and #75 of 585 in Indiana. It grades B for health and A for schools.
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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