Census-designated place · Dearborn County, Indiana

Bright, Indiana

Bright is a census-designated place in Dearborn County, Indiana, part of the Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN metro area. It has 5,540 residents. Bright, Indiana has a quality-of-life score of 77 out of 100 (high), ranking #3,568 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Indiana it ranks #24 of 353 cities and towns. It ranks best on hospital quality rating (high), income inequality (Gini index) (low) and unemployment rate (low). It ranks worst on comfortable days (low), dentists (low) and public EV charging ports (low).

77High

Quality-of-life score: #3,568 of 15,651 cities and towns
Indiana: #24 of 353 in IN
Population: 5,540 (2020-2024)
Land area: 13 mi²
Density: 441.8 /mi²
FIPS code: 1807624

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 71 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#2,859/15,637
Economy91#1,339/15,631
Housing91#1,378/14,977
Health67#5,126/15,609
Healthcare63#5,716/15,650
Environment20#12,384/15,453
Education74#4,015/15,649
Infrastructure70#4,753/15,650
Community64#5,572/15,651
Leisure & amenities23#12,103/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

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

Hospital quality rating · high5.0
98/100Indiana 3.4United States 3.2Jul 2026Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesDearborn County value
Income inequality (Gini index) · low0.337
96/100Indiana 0.452United States 0.4832020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B19083
Unemployment rate · low0.7%
94/100Indiana 3.7%United States 4.3%2020-2024U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Census table B23025High uncertainty
Homicide rate · low0.0 /100k
94/100Indiana 5.6 /100kUnited States 4.8 /100kMay 2025–Apr 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionProvisional dataDearborn County value
Poverty rate · low3.3%
91/100Indiana 12.1%United States 12.1%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B17001High uncertainty
Drought exposure · low2%
90/100Indiana 19%United States 43%Oct 2025–Sep 2026National Drought Mitigation Center (University of Nebraska–Lincoln), USDA and NOAADearborn County value

Weaknesses

Comfortable days · low22.8%
7/100Indiana 24.0%United States 26.8%2016-2025NOAA National Centers for Environmental InformationDearborn County value
Dentists · low25 /100k
7/100Indiana 61 /100kUnited States 75 /100k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteDearborn County value
Public EV charging ports · low0.4 /10k
7/100Indiana 3.2 /10kUnited States 7.6 /10kOct 2026U.S. Department of EnergyDearborn County value
New business applications · low8.3 /1k
9/100Indiana 12.9 /1kUnited States 16.6 /1k2025U.S. Census BureauDearborn County value
Gyms and fitness centers · low0.4 /10k
13/100Indiana 1.1 /10kUnited States 1.3 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsDearborn County value
Grocery stores · low1.0 /10k
13/100Indiana 1.3 /10kUnited States 1.7 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsDearborn County value

Trends

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

Rent-burdened householdsImproving
33.5% (2015-2019) → 17.2% (2020-2024)
−16 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Median household incomeImproving
$75,942 (2015-2019) → $108,974 (2020-2024)
+43%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
90.9% (2015-2019) → 95.7% (2020-2024)
+4.8 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Unemployment rateImproving
4.8% (2015-2019) → 0.7% (2020-2024)
−4.1 pts5 yearsCensus table B23025US 3.7% → 4.0%
High school diploma or higherImproving
93.4% (2015-2019) → 95.6% (2020-2024)
+2.3 pts5 yearsCensus table B15003US 88.0% → 89.6%
Average commute timeImproving
32.5 min (2015-2019) → 29.0 min (2020-2024)
−11%5 yearsCensus table B08013US 26.9 min → 26.4 min

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, Bright, Indiana improved on 1 of 10 measures with a comparison and declined on 0. 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.

Improved1

Household income+43%$75,942 → $108,974

Declined0

No measure declined by more than its margin of error.

All 10 measures

Change of every measure of Bright, Indiana between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	32.5 min2015-2019	29.0 min2020-2024	−3.5 min	Within the margin of error	82%
Bachelor's degree or higher	27.4%2015-2019	27.9%2020-2024	+0.5 points	Within the margin of error	31%
Broadband subscriptions	90.9%2015-2019	95.7%2020-2024	+4.8 points	Within the margin of error	30%
Effective property tax rate	0.87%2015-2019	0.78%2020-2024	−0.1 points	Within the margin of error	34%
High school diploma or higher	93.4%2015-2019	95.6%2020-2024	+2.3 points	Within the margin of error	61%
Home price to income ratio	2.4×2015-2019	2.6×2020-2024	+0.2×	Within the margin of error	70%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.3642015-2019	0.3372020-2024	−0.027	Within the margin of error	72%
Median household income	$75,9422015-2019	$108,9742020-2024	+43%	Improved	78%
Rent as share of income	23.7%2015-2019	23.4%2020-2024	−0.3 points	Within the margin of error	58%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	3.6%2015-2019	4.6%2020-2024	+1 points	Within the margin of error	35%

“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 Bright, Indiana five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Bright, 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, Bright, Indiana itself moved +3.2 points in standing on average over the same 9 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

5,540 residents (±529)

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

2,206 households (±222)

Bright, Indiana
Indiana share

Under $25k6.1%†135
$25k–50k15%†335
$50k–75k

Homes

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

Owners and renters

2,206 households (±222)

Bright, Indiana
Indiana share

Own89%1,971
Rent11%†235

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

2,886 workers (±353)

Bright, Indiana
Indiana share

Drive alone73%2,096
Carpool6.0%†174
Public transit0.8%†24

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 Cincinnati, OH-KY-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 Dearborn County, the county holding most of Bright's residents.

Dearborn County has 988 employer establishments, 192 for every 10,000 residents (0.77× the US rate of 248; 0.85× Indiana's), with 12,570 paid employees at an average annual pay of $46,570. The Census Bureau also counts 3,385 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 988; 3,385 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 192; US 248 · Indiana 226
Paid employees: 12,570
Average annual pay: $46,570; US $68,342

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

Specialty trade contractors	91	17.7	1.14×About typical	397	$61,864	339
Ambulatory health care services	87	16.9	0.81×About typical	1,485	$61,840	107
Restaurants and other eating places	69	13.4	0.73×Fewer than typical	1,569	$18,883	10
Building equipment contractors	38	7.4	1.23×About typical	217	$68,189	76
Construction of buildings	36	7	0.92×About typical	218	$61,179	160
Offices of physicians	35	6.8	1.05×About typical	691	$79,068	14
Automotive repair and maintenance	34	6.6	1.31×More than typical	101	$47,030	72
Religious organizations	33	6.4	1.15×About typical	214	$22,603	—
Full-service restaurants	32	6.2	0.81×About typical	775	$20,554	—
Limited-service restaurants	31	6	0.75×Fewer than typical	716	$17,342	4
Lessors of real estate	30	5.8	0.47×Fewer than typical	75	$34,560	344
Services to buildings and dwellings	27	5.2	0.78×Fewer than typical	151	$36,238	248

Rank places for an industry Open Dearborn County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 51,527 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 Bright, Indiana: $0 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $0; −100% vs FY2025
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

41.3KFY2017
9.8KFY2018
73.6KFY2019
28.5KFY2020
7.2KFY2021
49.2KFY2022
24.9KFY2023
16.4KFY2024
1.8KFY2025

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

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

See federal money in Dearborn 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.

Bright, 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.

Dearborn County74100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN69

Other cities and towns in Dearborn 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/1807624

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends