City · Scott County, Indiana

Austin, Indiana

Austin is a city in Scott County, Indiana. It has 3,818 residents. Austin, Indiana has a quality-of-life score of 23 out of 100 (low), ranking #12,037 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Indiana it ranks #297 of 353 cities and towns. It ranks best on violent crime rate (low), homicide rate (low) and job growth (high). It ranks worst on median household income (low), life expectancy (low) and injury deaths (high).

23Low

Quality-of-life score: #12,037 of 15,651 cities and towns
Indiana: #297 of 353 in IN
Population: 3,818 (2020-2024)
Land area: 3 mi²
Density: 1,199.5 /mi²
FIPS code: 1802800

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 74 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.

Safety82#2,853/15,637
Economy9#14,255/15,631
Housing73#4,061/14,977
Health3#15,156/15,609
Healthcare29#11,100/15,650
Environment58#6,441/15,453
Education32#10,712/15,649
Infrastructure18#12,787/15,650
Community28#11,278/15,651
Leisure & amenities3#15,148/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Austin, Indiana ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Scott 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

Violent crime rate · low9 /100k
100/100Indiana 254 /100kUnited States 328 /100k2024Federal Bureau of InvestigationScott County value
Homicide rate · low0.0 /100k
94/100Indiana 5.6 /100kUnited States 4.8 /100kMay 2025–Apr 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionProvisional dataScott County value
Job growth · high2.9%
93/100Indiana -0.1%United States 0.1%2026 Q1U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsProvisional dataScott County value
Drought exposure · low2%
91/100Indiana 19%United States 43%Oct 2025–Sep 2026National Drought Mitigation Center (University of Nebraska–Lincoln), USDA and NOAAScott County value
Effective property tax rate · low0.52%
86/100Indiana 0.76%United States 0.94%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25090
Drinking water violations · low0
86/100Indiana 0United States 02024University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteScott County value

Weaknesses

Median household income · low$31,520
2/100Indiana $71,958United States $81,6042020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B19013
Life expectancy · low70.0 yrs
2/100Indiana 75.6 yrsUnited States 77.6 yrs2021-2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteScott County value
Injury deaths · high151 /100k
3/100Indiana 96 /100kUnited States 87 /100k2019-2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteScott County value
Restaurants and bars · low3.6 /10k
4/100Indiana 8.2 /10kUnited States 9.0 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsScott County value
Comfortable days · low22.4%
4/100Indiana 24.0%United States 26.8%2016-2025NOAA National Centers for Environmental InformationScott County value
Premature death · high14,563 /100k
5/100Indiana 9,486 /100kUnited States 8,123 /100k2021-2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteScott County value

Trends

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

Broadband subscriptionsImproving
67.0% (2015-2019) → 85.9% (2020-2024)
+19 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
High school diploma or higherImproving
75.8% (2015-2019) → 86.5% (2020-2024)
+11 pts5 yearsCensus table B15003US 88.0% → 89.6%
Rent-burdened householdsImproving
64.5% (2015-2019) → 56.1% (2020-2024)
−8.4 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Bachelor's degree or higherImproving
3.6% (2015-2019) → 11.6% (2020-2024)
+8 pts5 yearsCensus table B15003US 32.1% → 35.7%
Home price to income ratioWorsening
2.1× (2015-2019) → 2.7× (2020-2024)
+30%5 yearsCensus table B25077US 3.5× → 4.1×
Child poverty rateWorsening
38.9% (2015-2019) → 43.8% (2020-2024)
+4.9 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%

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, Austin, Indiana improved on 2 of 13 measures with a comparison and declined on 0. 11 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.

Improved2

Broadband+19 points67.0% → 85.9%
Bachelor's++8 points3.6% → 11.6%

Declined0

No measure declined by more than its margin of error.

All 13 measures

Change of every measure of Austin, Indiana between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	19.3 min2015-2019	23.3 min2020-2024	+4.0 min	Within the margin of error	14%
Bachelor's degree or higher	3.6%2015-2019	11.6%2020-2024	+8 points	Improved	84%
Broadband subscriptions	67.0%2015-2019	85.9%2020-2024	+19 points	Improved	88%
Child poverty rate	38.9%2015-2019	43.8%2020-2024	+4.9 points	Within the margin of error	21%
Effective property tax rate	0.71%2015-2019	0.52%2020-2024	−0.2 points	Within the margin of error	56%
High school diploma or higher	75.8%2015-2019	86.5%2020-2024	+11 points	Within the margin of error	96%
Home price to income ratio	2.1×2015-2019	2.7×2020-2024	+0.6×	Within the margin of error	40%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.3862015-2019	0.4452020-2024	+0.058	Within the margin of error	13%
Median household income	$34,1632015-2019	$31,5202020-2024	−7.7%	Within the margin of error	4%
Poverty rate	27.4%2015-2019	27.0%2020-2024	−0.3 points	Within the margin of error	47%
Public transit commuters	0.0%2015-2019	0.0%2020-2024	0 points	Within the margin of error	60%
Rent as share of income	32.8%2015-2019	31.1%2020-2024	−1.7 points	Within the margin of error	67%
Rent-burdened households	64.5%2015-2019	56.1%2020-2024	−8.4 points	Within the margin of error	79%

“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 Austin, Indiana five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Austin, 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, Austin, Indiana itself moved +0 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

3,818 residents (±342)

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

1,900 households (±280)

Austin, Indiana
Indiana share

Under $25k36%†679
$25k–50k26%†494
$50k–75k

Homes

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

Owners and renters

1,900 households (±280)

Austin, Indiana
Indiana share

Own66%1,251
Rent34%†649

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

1,586 workers (±287)

Austin, Indiana
Indiana share

Drive alone84%1,331
Carpool11%†174
Public transit0.0%0

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 Scott County, the county holding most of Austin's residents.

Scott County has 401 employer establishments, 162 for every 10,000 residents (0.65× the US rate of 248; 0.72× Indiana's), with 6,580 paid employees at an average annual pay of $40,953. The Census Bureau also counts 1,364 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 401; 1,364 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 162; US 248 · Indiana 226
Paid employees: 6,580
Average annual pay: $40,953; US $68,342

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

Ambulatory health care services	39	15.8	0.76×Fewer than typical	391	$39,286	36
Restaurants and other eating places	26	10.5	0.57×Fewer than typical	720	$18,049	4
Specialty trade contractors	23	9.3	0.60×Fewer than typical	169	$46,308	126
Religious organizations	20	8.1	1.46×More than typical	55	$20,036	—
Gasoline stations	17	6.9	2.12×More than typical	109	$25,945	—
Limited-service restaurants	17	6.9	0.86×About typical	504	$17,657	—
Services to buildings and dwellings	15	6.1	0.90×About typical	57	$30,614	71
Lessors of real estate	14	5.7	0.46×Fewer than typical	48	$21,438	90
Landscaping services	12	4.9	1.39×More than typical	33	$40,303	33
Outpatient care centers	12	4.9	2.64×More than typical	99	$51,869	—
Building equipment contractors	11	4.5	0.74×Fewer than typical	123	$42,407	26
Offices of physicians	11	4.5	0.69×Fewer than typical	65	$66,077	5

Rank places for an industry Open Scott County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 24,687 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 $2M of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Austin, Indiana: $522 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $2M; −43% vs FY2025
Per resident: $522; US $1,994
Sole-source: 0.0%; US 30%
Single offer: 0.0%; 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

Agricultural Marketing Service$2M100%

Top recipients

MORGAN FOODS, INC.$2M100%

Spending by fiscal year

96.5KFY2019
141KFY2020
3.1MFY2021
336.2KFY2022
2.7MFY2023
1.6MFY2024
3.5MFY2025
2M

Top industries (NAICS)

Fruit and vegetable preserving and specialty food manufacturing · 3114$2M100%

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 Austin, Indiana, so they do not add up across cities.

Austin, Indiana's figures are part of those of Scott County, IN ($28.8M in FY2026), never added to them: 6.9% of that total.

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

See federal money in Scott 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.

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

House

Erin HouchinR-IN-9 · 100% of residentsWith party 99%Missed 1.9%

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.

Scott County35100% of residents

Other cities and towns in Scott 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
Building Permits SurveyU.S. Census Bureau · release 2026-08
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/1802800

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends