Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
The data are hard on it. With a C− overall, Vernon Township is better than a fifth of U.S. towns and ranks 548th of 585 in Indiana. Where it falls short is health: CDC estimates put its residents' health behind 87% of the country. It lags on walkability as well. Most errands need a car: it is less walkable than 93% of U.S. towns. Its best grade is for cost of living — a typical home costs about $146K, 2.1 years of the county’s $69K median household income. Just over a fifth of the land in the town is conserved, where Indiana’s towns sit at 1.9% and U.S. towns at 4.3%. The biggest park or preserve is Crosley Fish and Wildlife Area, at 4,315 acres.
Figures: home values, Zillow · incomes, Census ACS, 2020–24 · health, CDC PLACES · USGS PAD-US · OpenStreetMap.
Where Vernon Township beats most towns.
Where Vernon Township’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Indiana), ordered by how far Vernon Township is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 690 in 1850, 236 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1886 and 2 maps from 1959 on.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Vernon 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 Vernon Township.
Vernon Township has homes that are cheap against local pay, but it carries more natural-hazard risk than most of Indiana (mostly inland flooding).
Vernon Township: 16% of adults worry about having enough food. Two figures for adults locally: 20% report frequent mental distress, 28% have been diagnosed with depression.
| Vernon Township | Indiana towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 20% | 17% | 14% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 20% | 18% | 17% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 28% | 26% | 23% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 16% | 15% | 14% |
| What stands out | Vernon Township | IN |
|---|---|---|
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 19.9% | 15.4% |
| More smokers | 20.1% | 15.7% |
| More adults with COPD | 10.1% | 8.1% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
9.7 miles of trail wind through 6 parks and preserves. Parks and preserves in Vernon Township: 6, covering 4,602 acres. Its concentration of trails is 0.3 miles per square mile.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Muscatatuck County Park | 8 mi | 216 |
| 2. Calli Nature Preserve | 0.5 mi | 58 |
| 3. The Commons | 0.4 mi | 4 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
At 2.1 years of the county’s $69K median household income, the typical home (about $146K) costs less against local pay than in 88% of Indiana towns; that ratio is one input to that grade.
Over the 12 months to September 2026, the typical home gained 6% in value. Among households in Vernon Township, 93% live in a home they own. Its rent at the middle of the market stands at $1,116 a month.
| Vernon Township | Indiana towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 93% | 76% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,116 a month | $946 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Only 4% of working residents stay in Vernon Township for work; the rest commute out. Jobs based in Vernon Township grew to 504 in 2023, 211 more than in 2013. Its typical journey to work comes in at 30 minutes. Half the trips to work are shorter than 19 miles.
| Vernon Township | Indiana towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 30 minutes | 24 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Working residents who work in town | 3.7% | 11% | 8% |
| Below the poverty line | 11% | 10% | 9.6% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 95% of Indiana towns; that rating is what its C− for hazard risk is built on.
Expected losses in Vernon Township break down as 59% from inland flooding and 19% from tornadoes. In Vernon Township, the FEMA hazard score is 69 of 100.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
The range runs from 23° on a January night to 86° on a July afternoon, with about 17 inches of snow a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
The midpoint age for Vernon Township comes to 37.2 years. No age group stands out against Indiana: all are within 4 points. Here, 31% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree, against 30% in Indiana as a whole.
| Vernon Township | Indiana towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median age | 37.2 years | 39.5 years | 40.5 years |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 31% | 22% | 29% |
| Aged 65 or older | 17% | 18% | 18% |
53% women, 47% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±4.5 points. Across Indiana, 50.4% of residents are women.
| Vernon Township | IN | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 12.5% | 12.4% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 10.6% | 10.9% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 8.9% | 9.6% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 14.1% | 13.1% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 15% | 12.7% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 10.4% | 12% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 11.4% | 12.5% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 8.7% | 10.1% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 8.1% | 6.7% | 7% |
| No diploma | 9.5% | 9.6% | 10.4% |
| High school | 30.8% | 32.5% | 26% |
| Some college | 20.7% | 19.3% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 7.9% | 9.1% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 20.3% | 18.7% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 10.8% | 10.8% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates · in a town of 2,900, single groups can be off by several points
None within 15 miles of Vernon Township; the nearest are
About 7 of every 100 Vernon Township residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Indiana.
Town in Indiana, United States
Vernon is a town within Vernon Township and the county seat of Jennings County, Indiana, United States. With a population of just 236 in the 2020 census, it is the smallest county seat by population in the state of Indiana, lying just south of the much larger North Vernon. It sits on a peninsula as it is nearly surrounded by the Muscatatuck River. Vernon is the only Indiana town with an elected mayor and an elected town marshal. As of 2025, Bradley Bender is the mayor and Britt Burgmeier is the marshal. The Vernon Historic District is on the National Register of Historic Places and is the site of many firsts in the state. The first area set aside for use as a public playground in Indiana, T…
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
5 towns share a border with Vernon Township.
| Town | IN rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vernon Township | #548 | C− | A− | — | C | D |
| Lovett Township | — | — | A | — | C | C− |
| Spencer Township | — | — | A− | — | C | C− |
| Center Township | #543 | C− | A− | — | C | D |
| Bigger Township | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| North Vernon | #540 | C− | A− | C+ | C | C− |
Lovett Township and Spencer Township have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. Vernon Township, Lovett Township, Spencer Township and Center Township report no FBI crime data of their own. Bigger Township isn’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Vernon Township with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Vernon Township grades C− overall, better than 20% of U.S. towns and #548 of 585 in Indiana. It grades D for health and C for schools. Walkability is its weak spot, with a D.
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−.