City · Jay County, Indiana

Dunkirk, Indiana

Dunkirk is a city in Jay County, Indiana. It has 1,861 residents. Dunkirk, Indiana has a quality-of-life score of 17 out of 100 (very low), ranking #12,993 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Indiana it ranks #327 of 353 cities and towns. It ranks best on drug overdose deaths (low), hospital quality rating (high) and preventable hospital stays (low). It ranks worst on grocery stores (low), rent as share of income (high) and bachelor's degree or higher (low).

17Very low

Quality-of-life score: #12,993 of 15,651 cities and towns
Indiana: #327 of 353 in IN
Population: 1,861 (2020-2024)
Land area: 1 mi²
Density: 1,583.9 /mi²
FIPS code: 1819054

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 72 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.

Safety60#6,235/15,637
Economy7#14,555/15,631
Housing43#8,473/14,977
Health15#13,308/15,609
Healthcare42#9,130/15,650
Environment41#9,144/15,453
Education45#8,559/15,649
Infrastructure4#15,037/15,650
Community34#10,389/15,651
Leisure & amenities5#14,843/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

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

Drug overdose deaths · low0.0 /100k
99/100Indiana 18.5 /100kUnited States 18.4 /100kMar 2025–Feb 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionProvisional dataJay County value
Hospital quality rating · high5.0
98/100Indiana 3.4United States 3.2Jul 2026Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesJay County value
Preventable hospital stays · low1,502 /100k
96/100Indiana 3,202 /100kUnited States 2,769 /100k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteJay County value
Home price to income ratio · low1.8×
96/100Indiana 3.0×United States 4.1×2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25077
Homicide rate · low0.0 /100k
94/100Indiana 5.6 /100kUnited States 4.8 /100kMay 2025–Apr 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionProvisional dataJay County value
Public libraries · high2.0 /10k
91/100Indiana 0.6 /10kUnited States 0.5 /10k2024Institute of Museum and Library ServicesJay County value

Weaknesses

Grocery stores · low0.5 /10k
1/100Indiana 1.3 /10kUnited States 1.7 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsJay County value
Rent as share of income · high51.0%
2/100Indiana 29.1%United States 30.6%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25071At least this value: the publisher's top bracket is open-ended
Bachelor's degree or higher · low6.9%
3/100Indiana 29.5%United States 35.7%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B15003
Public EV charging ports · low0.0 /10k
3/100Indiana 3.2 /10kUnited States 7.6 /10kOct 2026U.S. Department of EnergyJay County value
New business applications · low7.4 /1k
4/100Indiana 12.9 /1kUnited States 16.6 /1k2025U.S. Census BureauJay County value
Gyms and fitness centers · low0.0 /10k
4/100Indiana 1.1 /10kUnited States 1.3 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsJay County value

Trends

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

PopulationFalling
2,022 (2015-2019) → 1,861 (2020-2024)
−8%5 yearsCensus table B01003US 328,329,953 → 340,003,797
Rent-burdened householdsWorsening
29.9% (2015-2019) → 64.6% (2020-2024)
+35 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Rent as share of incomeWorsening
21.8% (2015-2019) → 51.0% (2020-2024)
+29 pts5 yearsCensus table B25071US 29.8% → 30.6%
Child poverty rateWorsening
13.1% (2015-2019) → 33.6% (2020-2024)
+20 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
65.5% (2015-2019) → 79.1% (2020-2024)
+14 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Poverty rateWorsening
13.7% (2015-2019) → 22.6% (2020-2024)
+8.9 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 12.3% → 12.1%

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, Dunkirk, Indiana improved on 1 of 14 measures with a comparison and declined on 4. 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

Broadband+14 points65.5% → 79.1%

Declined4

Rent / income+29 points21.8% → 51.0%
Rent burden+35 points29.9% → 64.6%
Child poverty+20 points13.1% → 33.6%
Poverty+8.9 points13.7% → 22.6%

All 14 measures

Change of every measure of Dunkirk, Indiana between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	25.7 min2015-2019	27.7 min2020-2024	+1.9 min	Within the margin of error	28%
Bachelor's degree or higher	8.6%2015-2019	6.9%2020-2024	−1.7 points	Within the margin of error	17%
Broadband subscriptions	65.5%2015-2019	79.1%2020-2024	+14 points	Improved	75%
Child poverty rate	13.1%2015-2019	33.6%2020-2024	+20 points	Declined	4%
Effective property tax rate	0.63%2015-2019	0.82%2020-2024	+0.2 points	Within the margin of error	3%
High school diploma or higher	83.8%2015-2019	89.1%2020-2024	+5.3 points	Within the margin of error	83%
Home price to income ratio	1.6×2015-2019	1.8×2020-2024	+0.1×	Within the margin of error	73%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.3822015-2019	0.4172020-2024	+0.035	Within the margin of error	24%
Median household income	$39,1962015-2019	$46,3392020-2024	+18%	Within the margin of error	30%
Poverty rate	13.7%2015-2019	22.6%2020-2024	+8.9 points	Declined	5%
Public transit commuters	0.0%2015-2019	0.0%2020-2024	0 points	Within the margin of error	60%
Rent as share of income	21.8%2015-2019	51.0%2020-2024	+29 points	Declined	0%
Rent-burdened households	29.9%2015-2019	64.6%2020-2024	+35 points	Declined	2%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	6.2%2015-2019	5.5%2020-2024	−0.7 points	Within the margin of error	56%

“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 Dunkirk, Indiana five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Dunkirk, 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, Dunkirk, Indiana itself moved −22.8 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

1,861 residents (±340)

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

815 households (±144)

Dunkirk, Indiana
Indiana share

Under $25k35%†288
$25k–50k17%†135
$50k–75k

Homes

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

Owners and renters

815 households (±144)

Dunkirk, Indiana
Indiana share

Own72%587
Rent28%†228

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

836 workers (±177)

Dunkirk, Indiana
Indiana share

Drive alone86%718
Carpool8.1%†68
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 Jay County, the county holding most of Dunkirk's residents.

Jay County has 411 employer establishments, 205 for every 10,000 residents (0.82× the US rate of 248; 0.90× Indiana's), with 6,301 paid employees at an average annual pay of $46,736. The Census Bureau also counts 1,431 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 411; 1,431 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 205; US 248 · Indiana 226
Paid employees: 6,301
Average annual pay: $46,736; US $68,342

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

Ambulatory health care services	29	14.4	0.69×Fewer than typical	271	$58,007	28
Specialty trade contractors	27	13.4	0.87×About typical	128	$56,570	162
Restaurants and other eating places	21	10.4	0.57×Fewer than typical	463	$15,266	7
Religious organizations	17	8.5	1.52×More than typical	93	$15,441	—
Automotive repair and maintenance	15	7.5	1.48×More than typical	46	$38,370	25
Truck transportation	14	7	1.38×More than typical	83	$55,193	62
Building equipment contractors	13	6.5	1.07×About typical	71	$50,042	13
Individual and family services	12	6	2.13×More than typical	136	$25,949	9
Accounting, tax preparation and payroll services	11	5.5	1.34×More than typical	95	$46,000	15
Full-service restaurants	11	5.5	0.71×Fewer than typical	186	$14,565	3
Insurance agencies and brokerages	11	5.5	1.25×About typical	32	$45,656	22
General merchandise stores	10	5	2.82×More than typical	279	$30,355	14

Rank places for an industry Open Jay County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 20,097 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

No federal contract obligations recorded here in FY2026.

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

See federal money in Jay 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.

Dunkirk, 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.

Other cities and towns in Jay 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/1819054

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends