Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 5,238. 2.3 times the nonprofits per person than the typical Indiana town.
Washington Township gives you more for your money than most places: a typical home costs about $305K, 3.8 years of the Indianapolis metro’s $80K median household income. It grades B overall, 303rd of 585 graded towns in Indiana. The low prices come with trade-offs. FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 66% of U.S. communities, with inland flooding at the top. On the plus side, it has 138 miles of trail and 50% conserved land. 50% of the land in Washington Township is conserved, above both the Indiana town median (1.9%) and the median of U.S. towns (4.3%). Yellowwood State Forest, at 14,678 acres with 47.4 miles of trail, is the biggest park or preserve. Only 4 of Indiana’s 1,043 towns score higher on civic life.
Where Washington Township beats most towns.
Theodore Clement Steele House and Studio49.8% of the town is conserved land, across 9 parks and preserves.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Indiana), ordered by how far Washington Township is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 2,975 in 1890, a low of 1,581 in 1930, 5,164 in 2020. The archive holds 4 maps from 1946 on.
3 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Explore the history →Who provides power, water and the rest in Washington 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 Washington Township.
Washington Township keeps more of its land conserved than most of Indiana and is healthier than towns with similar incomes, but it has commutes longer than most of Indiana.
Its 32,291 conserved acres are a larger share of the town than in any other Indiana town. Its A for the outdoors ranks #10 of 593 in Indiana.
138 miles of trail in 9 parks and preserves. At 1.4 miles per square mile, Washington Township’s trail density is above both Indiana’s towns (0.2) and U.S. towns (0.4).
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Brown County State Park | 59.1 mi | 6,665 |
| 2. Yellowwood State Forest | 47.4 mi | 14,678 |
| 3. Laura Hare Nature Preserve at Downey Hill | 6.6 mi | 516 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Its public schools are run by Brown County School Corporation. Its two schools are below. The largest public high school is Brown County High School, with 455 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brown County Middle SchoolLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 396 | B− |
| Brown County High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 455 | B+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within IN on state tests and graduation
30% of Washington Township residents are 65 or older. 28% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or more, vs 30% across Indiana. The median age in Washington Township is 50.8 years.
| Washington Township | Indiana towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aged 65 or older | 30% | 18% | 18% |
| Median age | 50.8 years | 39.4 years | 40.5 years |
| Under 18 | 18% | 23% | 22% |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 28% | 22% | 29% |
53% women, 47% men
About 88 men for every 100 women (the survey’s margin: ±2.4 points). Across Indiana, 50.4% of residents are women.
| Washington Township | IN | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 7.5% | 12.4% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 10.8% | 10.9% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 2.4% | 9.6% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 9.5% | 13.1% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 11% | 12.7% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 15.1% | 12% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 13.3% | 12.5% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 17.7% | 10.1% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 12.7% | 6.7% | 7% |
| No diploma | 6.2% | 9.6% | 10.4% |
| High school | 34.3% | 32.5% | 26% |
| Some college | 17.3% | 19.3% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 14.2% | 9.1% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 14.2% | 18.7% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 13.8% | 10.8% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
Washington Township has chilly winters and warm summers. July afternoons reach 85°, January nights drop to 21° and about 20 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
The average commute for its 2,068 working residents takes 32.1 minutes, against 24.1 across Indiana.
About one in 5 of Washington Township’s working residents works in town. Washington Township’s average trip to work is 32 minutes. The top destinations are Columbus (19%), Nashville (16%) and Indianapolis (11%).
| Washington Township | Indiana towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 32 minutes | 24 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Working residents who work in town | 20% | 11% | 8% |
| Work from home | 12% | 7.8% | 11% |
| Median household income | $67,000 | $71,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Against the 10,176 U.S. towns with household incomes like Washington Township’s, it is healthier than 64%, so its B− isn’t only a matter of income. Within Indiana it is healthier than 70% of the 589 graded towns: much of Indiana scores lower on these measures.
Washington Township beats the Indiana average on 10 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 7. 43% of adults have high blood pressure in Washington Township. Only 3 of the 589 Indiana towns we compare have a higher share of adults who had a checkup this year than Washington Township.
| Washington Township | Indiana towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 43% | 39% | 35% |
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 29% | 32% | 33% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 32% | 37% | 36% |
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 83% | 80% | 79% |
| What stands out | Washington Township | IN |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing housing insecurity | 7.9% | 11.2% |
| Fewer adults facing a utility shut-off | 6% | 8.4% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 11.5% | 8.3% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Washington Township. Close and well known come first.
14 mi Stadium & arenaMemorial Stadium
19 mi MuseumMiller House and Garden
14 mi Stadium & arenaSimon Skjodt Assembly Hall
14 mi MuseumEskenazi Museum of Art18 mi GardenMill Race Park19 mi MuseumZaharakosMemorial Stadium: Durin at English Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Miller House and Garden: Nyttend, Public domain · Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall: Sean Benham from Chicago, CC BY 2.0 · Eskenazi Museum of Art: Kzollman (Kevin J.S. Zollman)., CC BY-SA 3.0
1 within 15 miles of the center of Washington Township
About 2 of every 100 Washington Township residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Indiana.
3 places in Washington Township on the National Register of Historic Places.
Township in Indiana, United States
Washington Township is one of four townships in Brown County, Indiana. As of the 2020 census, its population was 5,164 and it contained 2,753 housing units. The township includes the northern portion of Brown County State Park.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
7 towns share a border with Washington Township.
| Town | IN rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Washington Township | #303 | B | A− | — | B | B− |
| Van Buren Township | — | — | A | — | B | B− |
| Salt Creek Township | — | — | C− | — | A− | B+ |
| Jackson Township | #351 | B− | A− | — | B | C+ |
| Hamblen Township | #277 | B | A− | — | B | B− |
| Polk Township | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Nashville | — | — | B+ | — | B | B− |
| Benton Township | #213 | B+ | B | — | A− | B |
Van Buren Township, Salt Creek Township and Nashville have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. Washington Township, Van Buren Township, Salt Creek Township, Jackson Township, Hamblen Township, Nashville and Benton Township report no FBI crime data of their own. Polk Township isn’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Washington Township with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
By most measures, yes. Washington Township grades B overall, better than 59% of U.S. towns and #303 of 585 in Indiana. It grades B− for health and B for schools. Hazard risk 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−.
