Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 10,190, platted in 1834.
Wabash gives you more for your money than most places: homes are within reach, about $183K for a typical one, or 2.7 years of the Wabash area’s $67K median household income. It grades B− overall, 380th of 585 graded towns in Indiana. The low prices come with trade-offs. Residents are less healthy than 80% of U.S. towns on CDC estimates. History is its standout character grade: an A+, better than 98% of U.S. towns, with 11 places on the National Register. 38% of working residents work locally in Wabash, above both the Indiana town median (11%) and the median of U.S. towns (8%). Only 36 of Indiana’s 1,098 towns score higher on history. The biggest park or preserve is Field of Dreams Ball Park, at 44 acres.
Where Wabash beats most towns.
First Christian Church
Census counts: 966 in 1850, 10,440 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1879 and 3 maps from 1952 on.
11 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Indiana), ordered by how far Wabash is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Who provides power, water and the rest in Wabash, 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 Wabash.
Wabash is healthier than towns with similar incomes, has commutes shorter than most of Indiana and has property taxes about half the Indiana norm.
Against the 6,923 U.S. towns with household incomes like Wabash’s, it is less healthy than 59%, so its C− isn’t only a matter of income.
41% of Wabash adults have high blood pressure. Wabash beats the Indiana average on 1 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 7. 15% of Wabash adults have diabetes.
| Wabash | Indiana towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 41% | 39% | 35% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 13% | 12% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 33% | 37% | 36% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 17% | 14% |
| What stands out | Wabash | IN |
|---|---|---|
| More adults treating high blood pressure | 80.4% | 77.4% |
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 21.6% | 15.4% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
1.9 miles of trail in 12 parks and preserves.
| Wabash | Indiana towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 1.8% | 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. Paradise Spring Historical Park | 0.4 mi | 19 |
| 2. Field of Dreams Ball Park | 0.3 mi | 44 |
| 3. Wabash City Park | 0.2 mi | 41 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
The median property tax bill is $764, against $1,614 across Indiana, another input to its cost-of-living grade.
Wabash’s median rent is $739 a month. Typical home values rose 4.9% in the year to September 2026.
| Wabash | Indiana towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $739 a month | $947 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 71% | 76% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Wabash has chilly winters and warm summers. July afternoons reach 84°, January nights drop to 19° and about 20 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
The average commute for its 4,503 working residents takes 16.5 minutes, against 24.1 across Indiana.
About one in 3 of Wabash’s working residents works in town. The average trip to work in Wabash is 17 minutes. Jobs based in Wabash fell to 6,180 in 2023, 466 fewer than in 2013.
| Wabash | Indiana towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 17 minutes | 24 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $53,000 | $71,000 | $80,000 |
| Below the poverty line | 14% | 10% | 9.6% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
People 65 and older are 22% of residents (17% statewide). Wabash has lost 2.4% of its people since 2020, down to 10,190 in the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate. 23% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or more, vs 30% across Indiana.
| Wabash | Indiana towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aged 65 or older | 22% | 18% | 18% |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 23% | 22% | 29% |
51% women, 49% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±2.2 points. Across Indiana, 50.4% of residents are women.
| Wabash | IN | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 13.2% | 12.4% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 10.1% | 10.9% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 5.6% | 9.6% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 14.3% | 13.1% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 13.5% | 12.7% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 7% | 12% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 14.4% | 12.5% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 11.4% | 10.1% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 10.6% | 6.7% | 7% |
| No diploma | 10.4% | 9.6% | 10.4% |
| High school | 41.9% | 32.5% | 26% |
| Some college | 16% | 19.3% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 8.3% | 9.1% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 16.6% | 18.7% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 6.8% | 10.8% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 55% of U.S. communities. Since 1998, 18 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Wabash.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Wabash. Close and well known come first.
11 mi MuseumInternational Circus Hall of Fame
16 mi MuseumForks of the Wabash
18 mi MuseumUnited States Vice Presidential Museum
29 mi MuseumElwood Haynes MuseumInternational Circus Hall of Fame: Nyttend, Public domain · Forks of the Wabash: Chris Light (talk), CC BY-SA 3.0 · United States Vice Presidential Museum: Pilcrow, Public domain · Elwood Haynes Museum: Nyttend, Public domain
1 within 15 miles of the center of Wabash
About 4 of every 100 Wabash residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Indiana.
11 places in Wabash on the National Register of Historic Places.
16 notable people were born in Wabash.
City in Indiana, United States
Wabash is a city in Noble Township, Wabash County, Indiana, United States. As of the 2020 census, Wabash had a population of 10,440. The city is situated along the Wabash River and is the county seat of Wabash County. Wabash is notable as claiming to be the first electrically lighted city in the world, which was inaugurated on March 31, 1880. However, closer inspection of the reference shows only the court house grounds were lighted. It is also home to the historic Eagles Theatre, Paradise Spring Treaty Grounds (1826), the Wabash and Erie Canal, Presbyterian Church (1880), and Disciples of Christ Christian Church (1865).
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Wabash grades B− overall, better than 48% of U.S. towns and #380 of 585 in Indiana. It grades C− for health and C+ for schools. Health is its weak spot, with a C−.
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+.
16 notable people were born here, including Charles Dingle and Jimmy Daywalt.
