Town · DeKalb County, Indiana

Ashley, Indiana

Ashley is a town in DeKalb County, Indiana, part of the Auburn, IN metro area. It has 1,230 residents. Ashley, Indiana has a quality-of-life score of 41 out of 100 (moderate), ranking #9,303 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Indiana it ranks #171 of 353 cities and towns. It ranks best on property crime rate (low), violent crime rate (low) and distance to an Amtrak station (low). It ranks worst on job growth (low), bachelor's degree or higher (low) and pharmacies (low).

41Moderate

Quality-of-life score: #9,303 of 15,651 cities and towns
Indiana: #171 of 353 in IN
Population: 1,230 (2020-2024)
Land area: 2 mi²
Density: 646.0 /mi²
FIPS code: 1802458

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 73 of 80 indicators, with the default “Explorer” weights.

Open in the map

Scores by category

Each category averages its indicators' percentile scores among US cities and towns.

Safety83#2,621/15,637
Economy40#9,337/15,631
Housing90#1,497/14,977
Health41#9,260/15,609
Healthcare28#11,268/15,650
Environment29#11,047/15,453
Education20#12,522/15,649
Infrastructure28#11,211/15,650
Community50#7,892/15,651
Leisure & amenities38#9,636/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Ashley, Indiana ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “DeKalb County value” are the county’s: the source publishes no figure for this city or town, and the county holding most of its residents stands in.

Strengths

Property crime rate · low182 /100k
99/100Indiana 1,052 /100kUnited States 1,535 /100k2025Federal Bureau of InvestigationCovers part of the area: some reporting agencies or member counties have no figureDeKalb County value
Violent crime rate · low60 /100k
95/100Indiana 254 /100kUnited States 328 /100k2025Federal Bureau of InvestigationCovers part of the area: some reporting agencies or member counties have no figureDeKalb County value
Distance to an Amtrak station · low6 mi
91/100Indiana 29 miUnited States 43 mi2026Federal Aviation Administration · Bureau of Transportation Statistics · U.S. Census BureauDeKalb County value
Time spent in the emergency room · low118 min
88/100Indiana 148 minUnited States 170 minOct 2024–Sep 2025Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesDeKalb County value
Dental care shortage · low0.0
84/100Indiana 6.4United States 5.7Oct 2026Health Resources and Services AdministrationDeKalb County value
Public libraries · high1.4 /10k
83/100Indiana 0.6 /10kUnited States 0.5 /10k2024Institute of Museum and Library ServicesDeKalb County value

Weaknesses

Job growth · low-7.0%
1/100Indiana -0.1%United States 0.1%2026 Q1U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsProvisional dataDeKalb County value
Bachelor's degree or higher · low8.2%
4/100Indiana 29.5%United States 35.7%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B15003
Pharmacies · low0.7 /10k
6/100Indiana 1.5 /10kUnited States 1.8 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsDeKalb County value
Broadband subscriptions · low81.9%
10/100Indiana 89.9%United States 91.0%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B28002
Mental health providers · low86 /100k
12/100Indiana 226 /100kUnited States 348 /100k2025University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteDeKalb County value
Depression · high27.5%
16/100Indiana 25.6%United States 20.7%2023Centers for Disease Control and PreventionModel-based estimate

Trends

The largest changes over about five years, next to the country's over the same periods.

PopulationRising
993 (2015-2019) → 1,230 (2020-2024)
+24%5 yearsCensus table B01003US 328,329,953 → 340,003,797
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
68.2% (2015-2019) → 81.9% (2020-2024)
+14 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Child poverty rateImproving
19.7% (2015-2019) → 9.2% (2020-2024)
−10 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%
Home price to income ratioWorsening
1.8× (2015-2019) → 2.7× (2020-2024)
+48%5 yearsCensus table B25077US 3.5× → 4.1×
Income inequality (Gini index)Improving
0.542 (2015-2019) → 0.380 (2020-2024)
−30%5 yearsCensus table B19083US 0.482 → 0.483
High school diploma or higherImproving
86.9% (2015-2019) → 91.6% (2020-2024)
+4.7 pts5 yearsCensus table B15003US 88.0% → 89.6%

What changed in five years

How each measure moved between two periods about five years apart, read against whether more or less is better, the published margin of error and the same change in other places.

Over about five years, Ashley, Indiana improved on 1 of 13 measures with a comparison and declined on 0. 12 moved within the margin of error and 0 barely changed.

Earlier (2015-2019)
Latest (2020-2024)
Lower standingHigher standing

Position is the place's standing among cities and towns: further right is better, whichever way the measure counts.

Improved1

Broadband+14 points68.2% → 81.9%

Declined0

No measure declined by more than its margin of error.

All 13 measures

Change of every measure of Ashley, Indiana between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	20.0 min2015-2019	19.9 min2020-2024	−0.2 min	Within the margin of error	50%
Bachelor's degree or higher	8.6%2015-2019	8.2%2020-2024	−0.4 points	Within the margin of error	25%
Broadband subscriptions	68.2%2015-2019	81.9%2020-2024	+14 points	Improved	75%
Effective property tax rate	0.84%2015-2019	0.61%2020-2024	−0.2 points	Within the margin of error	63%
High school diploma or higher	86.9%2015-2019	91.6%2020-2024	+4.7 points	Within the margin of error	80%
Home price to income ratio	1.8×2015-2019	2.7×2020-2024	+0.9×	Within the margin of error	28%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.5422015-2019	0.3802020-2024	−0.163	Within the margin of error	99%
Median household income	$45,8132015-2019	$49,0912020-2024	+7.2%	Within the margin of error	14%
Poverty rate	14.1%2015-2019	11.1%2020-2024	−3.1 points	Within the margin of error	70%
Public transit commuters	0.0%2015-2019	0.0%2020-2024	0 points	Within the margin of error	60%
Rent as share of income	27.4%2015-2019	27.4%2020-2024	0 points	Within the margin of error	55%
Rent-burdened households	42.3%2015-2019	37.7%2020-2024	−4.7 points	Within the margin of error	71%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	6.2%2015-2019	10.5%2020-2024	+4.3 points	Within the margin of error	13%

“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 14640 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.

Sources: American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates. Values are the latest and the one five years earlier of the same publisher dataset; datasets that changed publisher in between are never compared.

Survey estimates (American Community Survey) compare the two most recent 5-year windows that do not share years, so the margin of error of the difference holds. The 2015-2019 window predates the pandemic and 2020-2024 includes it.
A change counts only when it is larger than 1.645 times the square root of the two standard errors squared, summed (a 90% margin). Measures published without a margin must change by at least 5% to count.
“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 15651 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.
Standing is a percentile among the same places: 0 is the lowest value on the measure (or the worst when lower is better), 100 the best.

Cities and towns like Ashley, Indiana five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Ashley, Indiana in the earlier period, ranked by how many measures improved beyond the margin of error, minus how many declined. A comparison of published data, not a forecast and not advice.

For comparison, Ashley, Indiana itself moved +8 points in standing on average over the same 10 measures (standings of all places average about zero).

How the ranking works

Similarity is the root-mean-square difference of standings in the earlier period over the measures most places have. Places are ranked by measures that improved beyond the margin of error minus those that declined (a count that estimation noise in small places cannot inflate), then by the mean change of standing over the measures a place has in both periods. Only places with more improvements than declines and a rise in standing are listed. Standings are relative, so a place can improve in absolute terms and still lose standing.

Who lives here

Age, race and education of residents, from the American Community Survey. Shares are of all residents (age), residents of every origin (race) or adults 25 and over (education).

Age and sex

1,230 residents (±260)

Men
Women

80 and over†
70–79†
60–69†

Income

How household income is spread, not just the middle: each bar is the share of households in that income range.

Household income

470 households (±103)

Ashley, Indiana
Indiana share

Under $25k17%†81
$25k–50k34%†158
$50k–75k

Homes

Who owns and who rents, what homes cost, and what the housing stock looks like.

Owners and renters

470 households (±103)

Ashley, Indiana
Indiana share

Own66%308
Rent34%†162

No change since 2015–2019 is larger than the margin of error.

† Wide margin of error (more than 30% of the estimate): read with care.

Table view

Getting to work

How workers travel to their job and how long it takes them.

How people get to work

551 workers (±132)

Ashley, Indiana
Indiana share

Drive alone81%448
Carpool16%†88
Public transit0.0%0

Jobs and pay

What the largest occupations here pay, from the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes pay by metro area, not by county or city. The metro area page lists its largest occupations and lets you look up any job.

Pay in the Auburn, IN

Local businesses

Employer businesses and sole proprietors by industry, per resident and against the state and the nation. Counts of businesses next to counts of people, not a measure of demand.

The Census Bureau publishes business counts by county, not by city, so these are the figures of DeKalb County, the county holding most of Ashley's residents.

DeKalb County has 1,034 employer establishments, 234 for every 10,000 residents (0.94× the US rate of 248; 1.04× Indiana's), with 21,088 paid employees at an average annual pay of $62,826. The Census Bureau also counts 2,922 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 1,034; 2,922 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 234; US 248 · Indiana 226
Paid employees: 21,088
Average annual pay: $62,826; US $68,342

Employer establishments, employees, average pay and nonemployers of DeKalb County by industry, with the density per resident against the nation

Specialty trade contractors	94	21.3	1.38×More than typical	596	$58,815	263
Restaurants and other eating places	73	16.5	0.90×About typical	1,396	$17,746	5
Ambulatory health care services	52	11.8	0.57×Fewer than typical	684	$64,925	81
Truck transportation	47	10.6	2.11×More than typical	499	$69,381	97
Religious organizations	39	8.8	1.59×More than typical	356	$23,115	—
Services to buildings and dwellings	37	8.4	1.24×About typical	140	$41,164	222
Automotive repair and maintenance	36	8.2	1.62×More than typical	161	$44,739	60
Construction of buildings	36	8.2	1.08×About typical	237	$56,194	152
Limited-service restaurants	35	7.9	0.99×About typical	773	$16,882	3
Fabricated metal product manufacturing	31	7	4.40×More than typical	2,316	$100,776	10
Full-service restaurants	30	6.8	0.88×About typical	552	$18,509	—
Foundation, structure and building exterior contractors	29	6.6	2.08×More than typical	226	$65,305	56

Rank places for an industry Open DeKalb County

County Business Patterns (2023); Nonemployer Statistics (2024)

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 44,148 residents here, 336,755,052 in the United States. County Business Patterns counts establishments in 2023; the Nonemployer Statistics count businesses in 2024.
“More than typical” is a density at least 1.25 times the nation's per resident, “fewer” at most 0.8 times, with at least 10 establishments. It compares counts of businesses with counts of people: it says nothing about demand, incomes, size, quality or profit, and visitors and commuters are not residents.
The Census Bureau adds noise to employment and payroll to protect confidentiality, and withholds some figures: an industry with few establishments can show employees or pay as unavailable.
Industries overlap: a narrower industry (full-service restaurants) is part of a broader one (restaurants), so the rows do not add up.
Industries follow the North American Industry Classification System; the two surveys use different editions (NAICS 2017 and 2022), which this page matches industry by industry.

Federal contracts performed here

In FY2026, an estimated $0 of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Ashley, Indiana: $0 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $0
Per resident: $0; US $1,994
Sole-source: —; US 30%
Single offer: —; US 8.8%

A signal is a reason to look closer, not evidence of wrongdoing: most sole-source awards are lawful and justified.

Top buying agencies

Top recipients

Spending by fiscal year

39.3KFY2017
239.3KFY2018
125.2KFY2019
23.4KFY2020

What was bought

Source: Federal contract transactions (Federal Procurement Data System) (U.S. Department of the Treasury, USAspending.gov), data current to Oct 3, 2026, loaded Oct 3, 2026.

How this is estimated

Agencies report each contract action's place of performance as a county and a ZIP code. A ZIP code's money is split among the cities it covers by the share of its land inside each (Census 2020 ZIP code tabulation areas); the part outside city limits stays with the county.

The place of performance is what the contracting agency reports, often the contractor's office rather than where the work happens.
Shares are of land, not of people or businesses: a ZIP code that is mostly rural land but has its offices in town gives the town less than it should.
ZIP codes that are not mapped areas (post office boxes, the unique ZIP codes of large federal sites and companies) stay with their county, unless one city covers nearly all of it.
Counts of actions and awards include those only partly in Ashley, Indiana, so they do not add up across cities.

Ashley, Indiana's figures are part of those of DeKalb County, IN and Steuben County, IN ($1.6M in FY2026), never added to them: 0.0% of that total.

Grants and other federal assistance are counted by county here, not split among cities: Ashley is mostly in DeKalb County.

See federal money in DeKalb County

Representation in Congress

Members serving today, with their record in the current Congress (party-unity votes cast with their caucus, roll calls missed). Not a grade.

Ashley, Indiana is represented in the 119th Congress by these members.

House

Marlin A. StutzmanR-IN-3 · 100% of residentsWith party 99%Missed 3.0%

Senate

Explore Congress The 2026 races

County

A city can lie in several counties. Some indicators are published for counties only: the page marks them.

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Auburn, IN58

Other cities and towns in DeKalb County

Largest first.

Similar cities and towns

Closest indicator profiles across the country (no model: score distances).

Data and sources

Latest published value of each indicator; periods differ by source. Values flagged by their publisher are marked.

PLACES: Local Data for Better HealthCenters for Disease Control and Prevention · release 2025
Local Area Unemployment StatisticsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · release 2025
American Community Survey 5-Year EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2017-2024
Population Estimates ProgramU.S. Census Bureau · release 2025
Small Area Health Insurance EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
Small Area Income and Poverty EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
County Health Rankings & RoadmapsUniversity of Wisconsin Population Health Institute · release 2022-2025+2026-03-supplement

JSON · /api/v1/places/1802458

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends