Indianapolis, the state capital · Photo: Carol M. Highsmith · Public domainHow Indiana stacks up
Crime in Indiana depends on the town: Lowell and St. John rank among the safest places in the country, while 47% of residents live in towns like Indianapolis, Evansville and South Bend at the other end. It is home to the country’s top-ranked town for cost of living: Wabash. Overall it ranks 2nd of 51, an A+.
Each subject puts the official state figure beside a measure built from our town grades. How this works
Safety
18th of 51B+66/100 Safe overall, with a sharp divide. Measured by the FBI, violent crime here comes to 300 per 100,000 residents, 9% below the national figure. The gap between towns is wide: 47% of residents live in bottom-quarter places like Indianapolis. County or state police cover much of it, so town crime figures reach only 42% of residents.
With property crime counted (property + 4 × violent), it places 21st lowest.
Source: FBI Crime Data Explorer, state estimate 2025.
Measure: reported crime per resident over the engine’s three crime years (property + 4 × violent), as in our Safety grades. 70 Indiana towns of 10,000+ against 3,410 nationally. Covers 42% of residents of Indiana’s 10,000+ towns.
Two very different kinds of town
Most states with towns this safe have few at the other end; New Hampshire and Rhode Island have almost none. Lowell leads its towns at #18 of 3,410 nationally, with St. John and Dyer close behind. Evansville, South Bend and Bloomington sit at the high-crime end of the national ranking.
| State | Safest quarter | Most-crime quarter | Split |
|---|---|---|---|
| New Hampshire | 42% | 0% | |
| Rhode Island | 37% | 0% | |
| New Jersey | 35% | 20% | |
| Pennsylvania | 29% | 37% | |
| Maine | 29% | 15% | |
| Indiana | 20% | 47% |
Read the town figures with care
Our town measure uses the crime each local police department reports to the FBI; towns without enough of the last three years are left out. In Indiana, 42% of residents of 10,000+ towns are covered. Eleven towns have too few years reported, among them Jeffersonville, Elkhart and Merrillville. Center Township, North Township and Wayne Township are among 133 places that report no crime of their own; county or state police patrol them, and their crimes aren’t counted by town. Among its neighbors, Kentucky counts the most (98%) and Illinois the least (55%).
Schools
5th of 51A92/100 Top-tier test results and graduation. On the Nation’s Report Card it ranks 7th highest, with 35% of students at Proficient or better. It spends $13,688 per pupil (39th) and scores 7th, more than the spending would predict. Brown Township is among the ten best towns in the country for schools (#7).
On-time graduation, 88.1% (15th highest), weighs equally with test results in the grade.
It spends $13,688 per pupil, 13th lowest (context only; spending isn’t graded).
Source: NCES, National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) 2024, public schools; EDFacts graduation rates; Census school finance.
Measure: graduation rate and test results, averaged; each district’s state-test proficiency is put on the NAEP yardstick (its result ÷ the state average × the state’s NAEP proficiency) so districts compare across states. 213 Indiana towns of 10,000+ against 5,230 nationally. Covers 89% of residents of Indiana’s 10,000+ towns.
Cost of living
4th of 51A94/100 Consistently affordable. Wabash ranks first of 5,235 U.S. towns for affordability. Property-tax bills run $1,614 a year, the 10th lowest of the 50 states and D.C. Only West Virginia and one other state put more residents in the nation’s most affordable quarter of towns.
Against income, home values rank 6th lowest: 3.0 times the median household’s.
Source: Census ACS 2020–24 5-year.
Measure: our cost-of-living score: home value, rent and tax bill against area income, plus the share paying 30%+ for housing. 214 Indiana towns of 10,000+ against 5,235 nationally.
Health
38th of 51C26/100 Health trails most states. Compared with 19% nationally, 21% of adults here report fair or poor health. Fort Wayne and Center Township weigh on the town measure; 50% of residents live in bottom-quarter places.
Source: CDC PLACES 2025 release (BRFSS model estimates).
Measure: our health score: seven CDC PLACES measures (general, physical and mental health, obesity, diabetes, smoking, inactivity). 213 Indiana towns of 10,000+ against 5,218 nationally. Covers 89% of residents of Indiana’s 10,000+ towns.
Housing
8th of 51A86/100 More homeowners than most states. Home ownership stands at 71%, the 12th highest rate of the 50 states and D.C. St. John ranks #10 of 5,235 U.S. towns for home ownership.
Source: Census ACS 2020–24 5-year.
Measure: share of occupied homes that are owner-occupied. 214 Indiana towns of 10,000+ against 5,235 nationally.
Natural hazards
15th of 51B+72/100 Low risk with few exceptions. FEMA puts 73% of the expected losses on inland flooding. Natural hazards are expected to cost $105 a year per $100,000 of buildings, the 13th lowest rate in the country. West Lafayette leads its towns at #117 nationally; 21% of residents live in top-quarter towns.
Federal major-disaster declarations, 2015–2025: 3, 3rd fewest.
Share of expected building damage: inland flooding 73%, tornado 13%, earthquake 8%.
Source: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (Dec. 2025): expected annual building loss over building value, all census tracts; FEMA disaster declarations.
Measure: FEMA National Risk Index: expected yearly building loss from 18 natural hazards, as a share of building value. 214 Indiana towns of 10,000+ against 5,239 nationally.
Commute
23rd of 51B56/100 Commutes a bit quicker than most. Its larger towns score well almost across the board, from Patoka Township to Vincennes. Workers spend 24.1 minutes getting to work, the 21st shortest commute among the states.
Source: Census ACS 2020–24 5-year.
Measure: average one-way commute of the town’s workers. 214 Indiana towns of 10,000+ against 5,235 nationally.
Growth
27th of 51B−48/100 Growing at about the national pace. Whitestown is among the ten best towns in the country for growth (#10). Between 2010 and 2020 it grew 4.7%, the 22nd slowest change among the states. No neighbor beats it on growth; Kentucky comes closest.
Builders took out permits for 6.0 homes per 1,000 residents in 2025, 17th most.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2010 and 2020 decennial counts; Census building permits.
Measure: population change between the 2010 and 2020 censuses. 213 Indiana towns of 10,000+ against 5,079 nationally.
How Indiana compares to its neighbors
Against Illinois, Michigan, Ohio and Kentucky, Indiana leads on schools, cost of living and growth.
| Indiana | Illinois | Michigan | Ohio | Kentucky | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | A+ 982nd of 51 | B 6220th of 51 | B 6419th of 51 | A 868th of 51 | A− 8210th of 51 |
| Safety | B+ 6625th official · 20% in top towns | A− 7821st official · 27% in top towns | B− 5442nd official · 17% in top towns | B+ 6823rd official · 19% in top towns | A− 809th official · 10% in top towns |
| Schools | A 927th official · 38% in top towns | A− 8416th official · 29% in top towns | B− 4641st official · 17% in top towns | A− 8210th official · 31% in top towns | A− 7829th official · 16% in top towns |
| Cost of living | A 9410th official · 69% in top towns | C 2846th official · 14% in top towns | B 6031st official · 41% in top towns | B 6429th official · 48% in top towns | A 908th official · 33% in top towns |
| Health | C 2639th official · 10% in top towns | B+ 6825th official · 30% in top towns | B− 4632nd official · 21% in top towns | C+ 3632nd official · 12% in top towns | D 1244th official · 3% in top towns |
| Housing | A 8612th official · 13% in top towns | B+ 7430th official · 23% in top towns | A+ 1003rd official · 28% in top towns | B 5628th official · 19% in top towns | C 3420th official · 4% in top towns |
| Natural hazards | B+ 7213th official · 21% in top towns | B 5819th official · 12% in top towns | A 923rd official · 59% in top towns | A 887th official · 50% in top towns | C+ 4039th official · 7% in top towns |
| Commute | B 5621st official · 35% in top towns | D 1443rd official · 13% in top towns | B− 4822nd official · 27% in top towns | B 6016th official · 29% in top towns | B+ 6820th official · 40% in top towns |
| Growth | B− 4830th official · 21% in top towns | D− 249th official · 2% in top towns | D 647th official · 10% in top towns | C 3046th official · 23% in top towns | C 3234th official · 15% in top towns |
Each cell: the subject’s grade and score, the state’s rank on the official figure (1st = the better end), and the share of residents of 10,000+ towns living in a nationally top-quarter town. Neighbor names open their report cards.
How this report card works
Two measures, side by side. The left card is the figure a state agency or federal survey publishes for the whole state, ranked against the other 49 states and D.C. The right card is built from our town grades: of everyone living in the state’s towns and cities of 10,000+, the share whose town falls in the national top quarter of 10,000+ towns. A state can do well on one and not the other; that difference is often the story.
Scores and grades. Each subject’s score (0–100) is the state’s standing among the 50 states and D.C.: the two measures’ percentiles averaged, then ranked again, the same method as our town grades. 100 is the best state, 0 the last. Letters use the town-grade scale (A+ from 95, A from 85, A− from 75 … D below 15). The overall score weighs safety 18, cost of living 18, schools 16, health 14, commute 10, housing 8, natural hazards 8, growth 8 (out of 100). D.C., a single city, is left out of the town measure and graded on official figures alone.
What it is not. A state figure averages everyone, so it cannot show whether a state is evenly good or a mix of very good and struggling places. The town measure shows the mix but leaves out towns under 10,000 and towns missing data. Neither says anything about any one neighborhood.
Schools use the Nation’s Report Card because each state’s own tests are set to different bars. Hazards use FEMA’s expected building damage, the same loss rate behind our town hazard grades. Sources are named under each figure. How grades work