Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Washington Township is a city of 140,572, and it grades B− overall, 385th among Indiana's 585 graded towns. Residents are healthier than 76% of U.S. towns on CDC estimates and it is more walkable than 85% of U.S. towns. The trade-off: its public schools trail 77% of Indiana towns on state tests and graduation. 57% of adults 25 and older hold a bachelor’s degree or more in Washington Township, where Indiana’s towns sit at 22% and U.S. towns at 29%. Only 28 of Indiana’s 1,096 towns score lower on cost of living. Its National Register listings include Butler Fieldhouse and Oldfields.
Where Washington Township beats most towns.
Butler Fieldhouse
Butler Fieldhouse is one of 2 National Historic Landmarks here, the National Register’s top tier. Its 26 National Register listings are more than in 97% of Indiana towns with a listing.
Census counts: 2,400 in 1890, 138,678 in 2020. The archive holds 12 old photos and papers going back to 1941 and 4 maps from 1952 on.
Explore the history →Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Indiana), ordered by how far Washington Township is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Washington Township. Close and well known come first.
Big draw8 mi Stadium & arenaLucas Oil Stadium
8 mi Stadium & arenaGainbridge Fieldhouse
in town Stadium & arenaHinkle Fieldhouse
in town MuseumIndianapolis Museum of Art428K visitors a year
8 mi LandmarkSoldiers' and Sailors' Monument
5 mi MuseumThe Children's Museum of Indianapolis1.0M visitors a yearLucas 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 · Hinkle Fieldhouse: Peetlesnumber1, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Indianapolis Museum of Art: No machine-readable author provided. Cszmurlo assumed (based on copyright claims, CC BY 3.0 · Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument: alexeatswhales, CC BY 2.0 · The Children's Museum of Indianapolis: HstryQT, CC BY 3.0
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.
The biggest place to walk is Newfields, 161 acres with 1.2 miles of trail. Trails total 25 miles in 29 parks and preserves. Washington Township’s trail density is 0.5 miles per square mile.
| Washington Township | Indiana towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.5 miles per square mile | 0.2 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 4.6% | 1.9% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Town Run Trail Park | 6.6 mi | 129 |
| 2. The Viginia B. Fairbanks Art & Nature Park | 3.4 mi | 103 |
| 3. Holliday Park | 3.3 mi | 93 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Three of the 49 schools are below, and why each made the list. Public schools: the MSD Washington Township school district.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Northview Middle SchoolLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 1,019 | C− |
| North Central High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 3,682 | B+ |
| Merle Sidener Academy 59 - a High Ability SchoolTop results in townGrades 1–5 | Grades 1–5 | 228 | A+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within IN on state tests and graduation
Among adults in Washington Township, 11% smoke cigarettes. In Washington Township, just over one in ten adults report frequent physical distress, and 19% binge drink.
| Washington Township | Indiana towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 11% | 17% | 14% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 12% | 15% | 14% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 16% | 16% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 20% | 26% | 25% |
| What stands out | Washington Township | IN |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer smokers | 11.3% | 15.7% |
| Fewer adults with COPD | 6% | 8.1% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
July afternoons reach 84°, January nights drop to 20° and about 27 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
20.7% of workers work from home, against 10.7% across Indiana.
The median commute is under 7 miles. Jobs in Washington Township grew by 12,207 from 2013 to 2023, reaching 91,055. For working residents here, the share who work locally is 18%. The top destinations are Indianapolis (64%), Carmel (9%) and Fishers (3%).
| Washington Township | Indiana towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Work from home | 21% | 7.8% | 11% |
| Working residents who work in town | 18% | 11% | 8% |
| Average trip to work | 23 minutes | 24 minutes | 25 minutes |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Of the losses FEMA expects in Washington Township, 62% come from inland flooding and 13% from tornadoes. Storm and flood damage is expected to run lower than in 55% of U.S. communities. Paid flood insurance claims here since 1978: 903.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
10 within 15 miles of the center of Washington Township
About 8 of every 100 Washington Township residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Indiana.
26 places in Washington Township on the National Register of Historic Places.
Township in Indiana, United States
Washington Township is one of the nine townships of Marion County, Indiana, located in the northern part of the county. The township is entirely within the city of Indianapolis. The population as of the 2020 census was 138,678, up from 132,049 at the 2010 census. The first settlement at Washington Township was made in 1819. On January 1, 2007, the Washington Township Fire Department became the first township fire department in Marion County to consolidate into the Indianapolis Fire Department as part of Indianapolis Mayor Bart Peterson's proposed Indy Works government cost-savings plan, even though Indy Works, which included merging of Marion County fire departments as part of its cost savi…
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 | #385 | B− | C | — | C− | A− |
| Pike Township | #390 | B− | B | — | C− | B |
| Center Township | #551 | C− | B | — | C− | C− |
| Lawrence Township | #413 | C+ | B− | — | C | B |
| Indianapolis | — | — | C | D | — | — |
| Carmel | #28 | A+ | C− | A− | A+ | A+ |
| Clay Township | #35 | A | C− | — | A+ | A+ |
| Wayne Township | #542 | C− | B+ | — | C− | C− |
Washington Township, Pike Township, Center Township, Lawrence Township, Clay Township and Wayne Township report no FBI crime data of their own. Indianapolis 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.
Washington Township grades B− overall, better than 48% of U.S. towns and #385 of 585 in Indiana. It grades A− for health and C− for schools. Schools is its weak spot, with a C−.
Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C.
