Scores by category

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

Safety53#7,417/15,637
Economy6#14,744/15,631
Housing0#14,917/14,977
Health46#8,395/15,609
Healthcare49#7,989/15,650
Environment83#2,661/15,453
Education96#572/15,649
Infrastructure57#6,762/15,650
Community31#10,777/15,651
Leisure & amenities71#4,477/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

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

Average commute time · low17.5 min
94/100Indiana 24.1 minUnited States 26.4 min2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B08013
Flu vaccinations · high55.0%
93/100Indiana 47.0%United States 44.0%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteMonroe County value
Drought exposure · low2%
92/100Indiana 19%United States 43%Oct 2025–Sep 2026National Drought Mitigation Center (University of Nebraska–Lincoln), USDA and NOAAMonroe County value
Bachelor's degree or higher · high58.8%
92/100Indiana 29.5%United States 35.7%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B15003
Math scores · high3.41
91/100Indiana 3.19United States 3.032019University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteMonroe County value
Public transit commuters · high3.6%
90/100Indiana 0.6%United States 3.2%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B08301

Weaknesses

Income inequality (Gini index) · high0.565
1/100Indiana 0.452United States 0.4832020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B19083
Poverty rate · high29.8%
2/100Indiana 12.1%United States 12.1%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B17001
Child care cost burden · high45.4%
2/100Indiana 30.8%United States 27.9%2023 & 2024University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteMonroe County value
Rent-burdened households · high64.4%
3/100Indiana 48.1%United States 51.1%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25070
Dental care shortage · high19.0
3/100Indiana 6.4United States 5.7Oct 2026Health Resources and Services AdministrationMonroe County value
Rent as share of income · high39.5%
6/100Indiana 29.1%United States 30.6%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25071

Trends

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

Median household incomeImproving
$37,077 (2015-2019) → $50,465 (2020-2024)
+36%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604
Poverty rateImproving
35.3% (2015-2019) → 29.8% (2020-2024)
−5.5 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 12.3% → 12.1%
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
84.2% (2015-2019) → 87.9% (2020-2024)
+3.8 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Home price to income ratioWorsening
5.4× (2015-2019) → 6.4× (2020-2024)
+18%5 yearsCensus table B25077US 3.5× → 4.1×
Public transit commutersWorsening
6.7% (2015-2019) → 3.6% (2020-2024)
−3.1 pts5 yearsCensus table B08301US 5.0% → 3.2%
Bachelor's degree or higherImproving
55.9% (2015-2019) → 58.8% (2020-2024)
+2.9 pts5 yearsCensus table B15003US 32.1% → 35.7%

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, Bloomington, Indiana improved on 4 of 15 measures with a comparison and declined on 2. 9 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.

Improved4

Poverty−5.5 points35.3% → 29.8%
Uninsured−2.5 points8.9% → 6.5%
Household income+36%$37,077 → $50,465
Broadband+3.8 points84.2% → 87.9%

Declined2

Price / income+1.0×5.4× → 6.4×
Transit use−3.1 points6.7% → 3.6%

All 15 measures

Change of every measure of Bloomington, Indiana between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	16.6 min2015-2019	17.5 min2020-2024	+0.9 min	Within the margin of error	37%
Bachelor's degree or higher	55.9%2015-2019	58.8%2020-2024	+2.9 points	Within the margin of error	51%
Broadband subscriptions	84.2%2015-2019	87.9%2020-2024	+3.8 points	Improved	24%
Child poverty rate	23.8%2015-2019	22.5%2020-2024	−1.3 points	Within the margin of error	52%
Effective property tax rate	0.89%2015-2019	0.83%2020-2024	−0.1 points	Within the margin of error	26%
High school diploma or higher	92.8%2015-2019	94.8%2020-2024	+2 points	Within the margin of error	59%
Home price to income ratio	5.4×2015-2019	6.4×2020-2024	+1.0×	Declined	24%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.5392015-2019	0.5652020-2024	+0.026	Within the margin of error	29%
Median household income	$37,0772015-2019	$50,4652020-2024	+36%	Improved	67%
Poverty rate	35.3%2015-2019	29.8%2020-2024	−5.5 points	Improved	82%
Public transit commuters	6.7%2015-2019	3.6%2020-2024	−3.1 points	Declined	10%
Rent as share of income	39.1%2015-2019	39.5%2020-2024	+0.4 points	Within the margin of error	52%
Rent-burdened households	63.1%2015-2019	64.4%2020-2024	+1.3 points	Within the margin of error	51%
Unemployment rate	6.7%2015-2019	6.6%2020-2024	−0.1 points	Within the margin of error	51%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	8.9%2015-2019	6.5%2020-2024	−2.5 points	Improved	72%

“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 Bloomington, Indiana five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Bloomington, 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, Bloomington, Indiana itself moved −2.4 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

80,049 residents (±491)

Men
Women

80 and over
70–79
60–69
50–59
40–49
30–39
20–29
10–19
Under 10

Share of all residents, each sex

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: 20–29 men (−2.4 points).

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B01001View table on data.census.gov

Race and Hispanic origin

80,049 residents (±491)

Bloomington, Indiana
Indiana share

White74%59,488
Black4.9%3,939
Hispanic or Latino5.5%4,405

Education

40,130 residents (±753)

Bloomington, Indiana
Indiana share

No high school diploma5.2%2,067
High school or GED16%6,531
Some college15%6,095

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

Income

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

Household income

34,514 households (±784)

Bloomington, Indiana
Indiana share

Under $25k30%10,256
$25k–50k20%6,860
$50k–75k16%5,432
$75k–100k10%3,556
$100k–150k11%3,940
$150k–200k5.2%1,796
$200k or more7.7%2,674

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: Under $25k (−8.4 points).

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B19001View table on data.census.gov

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

Homes

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

Owners and renters

34,514 households (±784)

Bloomington, Indiana
Indiana share

Own35%11,992
Rent65%22,522

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

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B25003View table on data.census.gov

Rent paid

22,173 households (±898)

Bloomington, Indiana
Indiana share

Under $75011%2,370
$750–1,00021%4,711
$1,000–1,50040%8,950

Home values

11,992 homes (±616)

Bloomington, Indiana
Indiana share

Under $150k12%1,443
$150k–250k22%2,626
$250k–400k34%4,028

Age of homes

38,407 homes (±656)

Bloomington, Indiana
Indiana share

2010 or later11%4,138
2000–200914%5,320
1980–199932%12,179

Size of homes

38,407 homes (±656)

Bloomington, Indiana
Indiana share

Studio4.9%1,892
1 bedroom22%8,409
2 bedrooms30%11,441

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

Getting to work

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

How people get to work

38,617 workers (±1,125)

Bloomington, Indiana
Indiana share

Drive alone56%21,515
Carpool8.8%3,408
Public transit3.6%1,386
Walk11%4,169
Bike1.8%687
Work from home18%7,046
Other1.1%†406

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: Work from home (+13.7 points).

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

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B08301View table on data.census.gov

Time to get to work

31,571 workers (±1,231)

Bloomington, Indiana
Indiana share

Under 15 min48%15,172
15–29 min37%11,537
30–44 min9.5%2,999

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

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 Bloomington, 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 Monroe County, the county holding most of Bloomington's residents.

Monroe County has 3,095 employer establishments, 216 for every 10,000 residents (0.87× the US rate of 248; 0.95× Indiana's), with 53,866 paid employees at an average annual pay of $51,459. The Census Bureau also counts 10,350 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 3,095; 10,350 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 216; US 248 · Indiana 226
Paid employees: 53,866
Average annual pay: $51,459; US $68,342

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

Restaurants and other eating places	286	19.9	1.08×About typical	6,816	$20,008	38
Ambulatory health care services	284	19.8	0.95×About typical	4,804	$69,352	499
Lessors of real estate	180	12.5	1.02×About typical	1,074	$48,376	1,086
Specialty trade contractors	156	10.9	0.70×Fewer than typical	1,642	$69,661	506
Full-service restaurants	129	9	1.17×About typical	3,589	$20,778	13
Limited-service restaurants	120	8.4	1.04×About typical	2,632	$19,134	19
Services to buildings and dwellings	110	7.7	1.14×About typical	705	$37,753	527
Offices of other health practitioners	101	7	1.16×About typical	813	$58,766	313
Religious organizations	89	6.2	1.12×About typical	836	$23,611	—
Offices of physicians	84	5.9	0.90×About typical	1,961	$90,181	80
Construction of buildings	80	5.6	0.74×Fewer than typical	499	$72,525	234
Management, scientific and technical consulting	68	4.7	0.71×Fewer than typical	392	$87,592	520

Rank places for an industry Open Monroe County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 143,548 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 $7.8M of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Bloomington, Indiana: $98.02 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $7.8M; +74% vs FY2025
Per resident: $98.02; US $1,994
Sole-source: 60%; US 30%
Single offer: 0.9%; 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

Office of the Chief Financial Officer$4M51%
Department of the Navy$1.4M17%
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention$1.3M17%
Food and Drug Administration$462.7K5.9%
U.S. Customs and Border Protection$346.7K4.4%
U.S. Geological Survey$141.4K1.8%
Drug Enforcement Administration$60.3K0.8%
Department of the Army$44.6K0.6%

Top recipients

Spending by fiscal year

2.5MFY2017
1.8MFY2018
3.2MFY2019
2.6MFY2020
2MFY2021
3.9MFY2022
2MFY2023
3.5M

Top industries (NAICS)

Computer systems design and related services · 5415$4.1M52%
Other professional, scientific, and technical services · 5419$1.5M19%
Architectural, engineering, and related services · 5413$602.5K7.7%
Ship and boat building · 3366$565.4K7.2%
Administration of human resource programs · 9231$462.7K5.9%
Data processing, hosting, and related services · 5182

Largest awards whose ZIP code lies mostly in Bloomington, Indiana

VACCINE SAFETY DATALINK$5.7M
KAISER FOUNDATION HOSPITALS· Monroe County, IN· Professional services· Sep 22, 2022 – Sep 23, 2026· 75D30122F00001
INDIANA UNIVERSITY FOR SPECIALIZED SECURITY OPERATIONS CENTER AS A SERVICE (SOCAAS) AND NETWORK OPERATIONS CENTER AS A SERVICE (NOCAAS) ON A FIRM-FIXED-PRICE BASIS FOR A PERIOD OF ONE BASE PERIOD AND (1) 2-MONTH OPTION.$3.2M
TRUSTEES OF INDIANA UNIVERSITY· Monroe County, IN· IT & telecom· Mar 5, 2025 – Nov 24, 2025· 12314425C0029
UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE (USDA), AGRICULTURE RESEARCH SERVICE (ARS), SCIENTIFIC COMPUTING INITIATIVE NETWORK (SCINET) NETWORK OPERATIONS AS A SERVICE (NOCAAS) AND SECURITY OPERATIONS AS A SERVICE (SOCAAS) .$2.7M
TRUSTEES OF INDIANA UNIVERSITY· Monroe County, IN· IT & telecom· May 18, 2026 – May 18, 2026

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

Bloomington, Indiana's figures are part of those of Monroe County, IN ($26.7M in FY2026), never added to them: 29% of that total.

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

See federal money in Monroe 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.

Bloomington, 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.

Monroe County70100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Bloomington, IN64

Other cities and towns in Monroe 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/1805860

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends