Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Pendleton gives you more for your money than most places: a typical home costs about $334K, 4.2 years of the Indianapolis metro’s $80K median household income. It grades A overall, 87th among Indiana's 585 graded towns. On the plus side, it is easier to get around on foot or by transit than 77% of U.S. towns. History is its standout character grade: an A, better than 93% of U.S. towns, with 2 places on the National Register. Only 72 of Indiana’s 1,086 towns score higher on health. Its National Register listings include Pendleton Historic District. No town among the 102 in Indiana we compare has a lower level of property crime than Pendleton.
Where Pendleton beats most towns.
Pendleton Historic District| Widest gap | Pendleton | IN |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 9.5% | 14.7% |
4,253 counted in 2010 and 4,717 in 2020; an estimated 5,930 in 2025.
Growth hasn’t slowed: 25.4% since 2020, after 10.9% in the decade before.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts · Census Bureau estimate, July 1, 2025
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Indiana), ordered by how far Pendleton is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 389 in 1850, 4,717 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1980 and 2 maps from 1953 on.
2 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Pendleton, 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 Pendleton.
Pendleton costs more than Lapel or any other town next door and has less food insecurity than most of Indiana.
The biggest place to walk is Falls Park, 73 acres with 1.3 miles of trail. 2.4 miles of trail wind through 1 park or preserve. Pendleton’s density of trails stands at 0.2 miles per square mile.
| Pendleton | Indiana towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.2 miles per square mile | 0.2 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 1.9% | 1.9% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Falls Park | 1.3 mi | 73 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Its typical home is the priciest on its borders; Lapel is next at $230K.
A home in Pendleton typically sold within 91 days of listing. Homes here are typically worth about $334,000, up 1.5% in a year, 30% above the Indiana typical home. The rent at the middle of the market for Pendleton comes to $1,209 a month, above Indiana’s towns ($946 a month) and close to U.S. towns ($1,185 a month).
| Pendleton | Indiana towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $1,209 a month | $946 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 74% | 76% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Its widest gap with Indiana is food insecurity: 9.5% of its 3,609 adults worry about having enough food, against 14.7% statewide.
Among adults in Pendleton, 11% have diabetes, below the Indiana town median (13%) and near the median of U.S. towns (12%). This Indiana town does better than the Indiana average on 10 of 32 CDC measures and worse on 1. Also worth knowing: the share of adults in Pendleton who had a checkup this year: 81%.
| Pendleton | Indiana towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 32% | 39% | 35% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 33% | 37% | 36% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 13% | 15% | 14% |
| Food insecurity (CDC PLACES) | 9.5% | 14% | 14% |
| What stands out | Pendleton | IN |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 9.5% | 14.7% |
| Fewer adults facing a utility shut-off | 5.7% | 8.4% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 10% | 8.3% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
July afternoons reach 84°, January nights drop to 20° and about 18 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Just 11% of Pendleton’s working residents have a job in town. Jobs based in Pendleton grew to 3,066 in 2023, 325 more than in 2013. Pendleton: 18% of workers do their job from home. The median commute is under 16 miles.
| Pendleton | Indiana towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Work from home | 18% | 7.8% | 11% |
| Median household income | $87,000 | $71,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Violent crime is rare: 2 reported in 2024. Pendleton's reported crime rate is well below Indiana's. Its rate of reported violence stands at 0.3 per 1,000 residents.
FBI crime data, 2024 · crimes reported to police
61% of Pendleton’s expected losses from natural hazards come from inland flooding, followed by tornadoes at 13%. Storm and flood damage is expected to run lower than in 60% of U.S. communities. Since 1979, Pendleton has seen 10 flood insurance claims paid out.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA disaster declarations and aid · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Population is up 25% in Pendleton since 2020, to 5,930 by the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate. Adults 18 to 34 are 19% of residents (23% statewide). Here, just over a third of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree, against 30% in Indiana as a whole.
| Pendleton | Indiana towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 34% | 22% | 29% |
| Under 18 | 25% | 23% | 22% |
| Aged 65 or older | 19% | 18% | 18% |
| Median age | 38.8 years | 39.5 years | 40.5 years |
51% women, 49% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±4.2 points. Across Indiana, 50.4% of residents are women.
| Pendleton | IN | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 12.6% | 12.4% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 12.6% | 10.9% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 10.9% | 9.6% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 7.8% | 13.1% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 18.1% | 12.7% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 8.9% | 12% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 10% | 12.5% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 9.9% | 10.1% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 9.2% | 6.7% | 7% |
| No diploma | 4.6% | 9.6% | 10.4% |
| High school | 22.5% | 32.5% | 26% |
| Some college | 26.9% | 19.3% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 12.4% | 9.1% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 21.6% | 18.7% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 11.9% | 10.8% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Pendleton. Close and well known come first.
Big draw27 mi Stadium & arenaLucas Oil Stadium
27 mi Stadium & arenaGainbridge Fieldhouse
14 mi MuseumConner Prairie
24 mi Stadium & arenaHinkle Fieldhouse
27 mi LandmarkSoldiers' and Sailors' Monument
9 mi TheatreRuoff Music CenterLucas 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 · Conner Prairie: Unknown, CC BY 2.5 · Hinkle Fieldhouse: Peetlesnumber1, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument: alexeatswhales, CC BY 2.0 · Ruoff Music Center: TownePost Network, CC BY 2.0
2 within 15 miles of the center of Pendleton
About 7 of every 100 Pendleton residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Indiana.
2 places in Pendleton on the National Register of Historic Places.
9 notable people were born in Pendleton.
Town in Indiana, United States
Pendleton is a town in Fall Creek Township, Madison County, Indiana, United States. The population was 4,717 at the 2020 census, up from 4,253 in 2010.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
6 towns share a border with Pendleton.
It grades higher overall than all 6 graded towns on its borders; Lapel (A) comes closest. Anderson next door grades lower for schools (C− to Pendleton’s B+) and higher for cost of living (A to B).
| Town | IN rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pendleton | #87 | A | B | — | B+ | B+ |
| Ingalls | #128 | A− | A− | — | B+ | B+ |
| Anderson | #563 | D | A | C− | C− | D |
| Green Township | #187 | A− | B | — | B+ | B+ |
| Fall Creek Township | #131 | A− | B+ | — | B+ | B− |
| Lapel | #99 | A | B+ | — | B+ | B |
| Stony Creek Township | #153 | A− | B+ | — | B+ | B− |
Pendleton, Ingalls, Green Township, Fall Creek Township, Lapel and Stony Creek Township report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Pendleton with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
By most measures, yes. Pendleton grades A overall, better than 87% of U.S. towns and #87 of 585 in Indiana. It grades B+ for health and B+ for schools.
9 notable people were born here, including Walter Dorwin Teague and Kellen Dunham.
