Scores by category

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

Safety40#9,337/15,637
Economy15#13,281/15,631
Housing73#3,987/14,977
Health6#14,718/15,609
Healthcare17#13,030/15,650
Environment68#4,903/15,453
Education16#13,204/15,649
Infrastructure8#14,390/15,650
Community41#9,222/15,651
Leisure & amenities5#14,824/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

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

Drought exposure · low0%
98/100Indiana 19%United States 43%Oct 2025–Sep 2026National Drought Mitigation Center (University of Nebraska–Lincoln), USDA and NOAAStarke County value
Public libraries · high2.1 /10k
92/100Indiana 0.6 /10kUnited States 0.5 /10k2024Institute of Museum and Library ServicesStarke County value
Job growth · high2.6%
92/100Indiana -0.1%United States 0.1%2026 Q1U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsProvisional dataStarke County value
Pharmacies · high2.6 /10k
91/100Indiana 1.5 /10kUnited States 1.8 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsStarke County value
Time spent in the emergency room · low114 min
90/100Indiana 148 minUnited States 170 minOct 2024–Sep 2025Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesStarke County value
Natural hazard risk · low6.1
90/100Indiana 24.52025Federal Emergency Management AgencyStarke County value

Weaknesses

Adult smoking · high27.1%
1/100Indiana 17.8%United States 16.1%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteModel-based estimate
Hospital quality rating · low1.0
1/100Indiana 3.4United States 3.2Jul 2026Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesStarke County value
Primary care physicians · low13 /100k
2/100Indiana 66 /100kUnited States 76 /100k2022University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteStarke County value
Preventable hospital stays · high5,026 /100k
2/100Indiana 3,202 /100kUnited States 2,769 /100k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteStarke County value
Adult obesity · high46.9%
2/100Indiana 39.7%United States 38.2%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteModel-based estimate
Frequent mental distress · high23.1%
2/100Indiana 19.3%United States 18.6%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteModel-based estimate

Trends

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

Child poverty rateWorsening
16.0% (2015-2019) → 47.3% (2020-2024)
+31 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%
Rent-burdened householdsWorsening
40.2% (2015-2019) → 50.0% (2020-2024)
+9.8 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Average commute timeWorsening
21.9 min (2015-2019) → 31.9 min (2020-2024)
+45%5 yearsCensus table B08013US 26.9 min → 26.4 min
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
66.3% (2015-2019) → 73.8% (2020-2024)
+7.4 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Median household incomeImproving
$36,628 (2015-2019) → $48,931 (2020-2024)
+34%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604
Home price to income ratioWorsening
2.3× (2015-2019) → 2.9× (2020-2024)
+26%5 yearsCensus table B25077US 3.5× → 4.1×

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, Knox, Indiana improved on 1 of 13 measures with a comparison and declined on 1. 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.

Improved1

Household income+34%$36,628 → $48,931

Declined1

Child poverty+31 points16.0% → 47.3%

All 13 measures

Change of every measure of Knox, Indiana between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	21.9 min2015-2019	31.9 min2020-2024	+10.0 min	Within the margin of error	2%
Bachelor's degree or higher	11.4%2015-2019	11.5%2020-2024	+0.1 points	Within the margin of error	28%
Broadband subscriptions	66.3%2015-2019	73.8%2020-2024	+7.4 points	Within the margin of error	46%
Child poverty rate	16.0%2015-2019	47.3%2020-2024	+31 points	Declined	2%
Effective property tax rate	0.73%2015-2019	0.58%2020-2024	−0.2 points	Within the margin of error	48%
High school diploma or higher	81.4%2015-2019	84.8%2020-2024	+3.4 points	Within the margin of error	72%
Home price to income ratio	2.3×2015-2019	2.9×2020-2024	+0.6×	Within the margin of error	42%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4362015-2019	0.4252020-2024	−0.011	Within the margin of error	60%
Median household income	$36,6282015-2019	$48,9312020-2024	+34%	Improved	63%
Poverty rate	24.9%2015-2019	28.7%2020-2024	+3.7 points	Within the margin of error	17%
Rent as share of income	27.3%2015-2019	30.0%2020-2024	+2.7 points	Within the margin of error	35%
Rent-burdened households	40.2%2015-2019	50.0%2020-2024	+9.8 points	Within the margin of error	24%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	6.6%2015-2019	4.3%2020-2024	−2.3 points	Within the margin of error	71%

“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 Knox, Indiana five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Knox, 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, Knox, Indiana itself moved −9.4 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

3,479 residents (±398)

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: 40–49 men (−4.4 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 B01001View table on data.census.gov

Race and Hispanic origin

3,479 residents (±398)

Knox, Indiana
Indiana share

White87%3,025
Black1.4%†48
Hispanic or Latino6.3%†219
Asian0.1%†5
American Indian and Alaska Native0.1%†4
Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander0.0%0
Other or two or more races5.1%†178

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: White (−7.3 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 B03002View table on data.census.gov

Education

2,494 residents (±284)

Knox, Indiana
Indiana share

No high school diploma15%†379
High school or GED51%1,270
Some college18%†437
Associate degree4.9%†121
Bachelor's degree8.2%†205
Graduate degree3.3%†82

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

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B15003View 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.

Income

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

Household income

1,469 households (±181)

Knox, Indiana
Indiana share

Under $25k29%†428
$25k–50k23%†339
$50k–75k19%†276
$75k–100k14%†209
$100k–150k10%†150
$150k–200k2.1%†31
$200k or more2.5%†36

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: $100k–150k (+6.8 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 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

1,469 households (±181)

Knox, Indiana
Indiana share

Own59%872
Rent41%597

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

548 households (±165)

Knox, Indiana
Indiana share

Under $75071%†388
$750–1,00022%†122
$1,000–1,5006.9%†38

Home values

872 homes (±148)

Knox, Indiana
Indiana share

Under $150k53%†460
$150k–250k37%†322
$250k–400k10%†90

Age of homes

1,637 homes (±176)

Knox, Indiana
Indiana share

2010 or later5.8%†95
2000–20097.3%†120
1980–199921%†337

Size of homes

1,637 homes (±176)

Knox, Indiana
Indiana share

Studio0.0%0
1 bedroom17%†286
2 bedrooms30%493

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

1,196 workers (±207)

Knox, Indiana
Indiana share

Drive alone75%901
Carpool11%†134
Public transit1.2%†14
Walk3.4%†41
Bike0.0%0
Work from home6.4%†77
Other2.4%†29

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

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

Time to get to work

1,119 workers (±202)

Knox, Indiana
Indiana share

Under 15 min33%†369
15–29 min19%†214
30–44 min31%†342

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

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 Starke County, the county holding most of Knox's residents.

Starke County has 319 employer establishments, 137 for every 10,000 residents (0.55× the US rate of 248; 0.60× Indiana's), with 3,394 paid employees at an average annual pay of $42,897. The Census Bureau also counts 1,218 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 319; 1,218 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 137; US 248 · Indiana 226
Paid employees: 3,394
Average annual pay: $42,897; US $68,342

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

Restaurants and other eating places	22	9.4	0.51×Fewer than typical	351	$17,806	8
Specialty trade contractors	22	9.4	0.61×Fewer than typical	114	$57,702	138
Religious organizations	17	7.3	1.31×More than typical	80	$17,975	—
Ambulatory health care services	16	6.9	0.33×Fewer than typical	153	$53,000	28
Truck transportation	14	6	1.19×About typical	35	$45,457	88
Automotive repair and maintenance	13	5.6	1.11×About typical	46	$50,391	33
Full-service restaurants	13	5.6	0.73×Fewer than typical	164	$14,774	3
Construction of buildings	12	5.1	0.68×Fewer than typical	15	$69,333	68
Gasoline stations	12	5.1	1.59×More than typical	75	$29,133	—
Lessors of real estate	11	4.7	0.38×Fewer than typical	17	$21,529	106
Building equipment contractors	10	4.3	0.71×Fewer than typical	70	$68,071	28
General merchandise stores	10	4.3	2.43×More than typical	195	$37,308	10

Rank places for an industry Open Starke County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 23,309 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 Knox, 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

1.7KFY2023

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

Knox, Indiana's figures are part of those of Starke County, IN ($50.1K 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: Knox is mostly in Starke County.

See federal money in Starke 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.

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

House

Rudy Yakym IIIR-IN-2 · 100% of residentsWith party 100%Missed 0.0%

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.

Starke County31100% of residents

Other cities and towns in Starke 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/1840374