City · Blackford County, Indiana

Montpelier, Indiana

Montpelier is a city in Blackford County, Indiana. It has 1,533 residents. Montpelier, Indiana has a quality-of-life score of 21 out of 100 (low), ranking #12,296 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Indiana it ranks #304 of 353 cities and towns. It ranks best on firearm deaths (low), social associations (high) and home price to income ratio (low). It ranks worst on dentists (low), public EV charging ports (low) and new business applications (low).

21Low

Quality-of-life score: #12,296 of 15,651 cities and towns
Indiana: #304 of 353 in IN
Population: 1,533 (2020-2024)
Land area: 1 mi²
Density: 1,023.7 /mi²
FIPS code: 1850796

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 69 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.

Safety37#9,924/15,637
Economy14#13,517/15,631
Housing87#1,973/14,977
Health18#12,860/15,609
Healthcare17#12,990/15,650
Environment47#8,126/15,453
Education32#10,651/15,649
Infrastructure6#14,710/15,650
Community33#10,470/15,651
Leisure & amenities46#8,499/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

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

Firearm deaths · low0.0 /100k
99/100Indiana 14.6 /100kUnited States 12.1 /100k2023Centers for Disease Control and PreventionBlackford County value
Social associations · high17.7 /10k
96/100Indiana 11.8 /10kUnited States 9.1 /10k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteBlackford County value
Home price to income ratio · low1.9×
94/100Indiana 3.0×United States 4.1×2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25077
Pharmacies · high2.6 /10k
91/100Indiana 1.5 /10kUnited States 1.8 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsBlackford County value
Grocery stores · high2.6 /10k
90/100Indiana 1.3 /10kUnited States 1.7 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsBlackford County value
Public libraries · high1.7 /10k
88/100Indiana 0.6 /10kUnited States 0.5 /10k2024Institute of Museum and Library ServicesBlackford County value

Weaknesses

Dentists · low17 /100k
3/100Indiana 61 /100kUnited States 75 /100k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteBlackford County value
Public EV charging ports · low0.0 /10k
3/100Indiana 3.2 /10kUnited States 7.6 /10kOct 2026U.S. Department of EnergyBlackford County value
New business applications · low7.7 /1k
5/100Indiana 12.9 /1kUnited States 16.6 /1k2025U.S. Census BureauBlackford County value
Bachelor's degree or higher · low9.9%
6/100Indiana 29.5%United States 35.7%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B15003
Access to exercise opportunities · low42.5%
7/100Indiana 76.2%United States 84.5%2022 & 2024University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteBlackford County value
Mental health providers · low59 /100k
7/100Indiana 226 /100kUnited States 348 /100k2025University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteBlackford County value

Trends

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

PopulationFalling
1,738 (2015-2019) → 1,533 (2020-2024)
−12%5 yearsCensus table B01003US 328,329,953 → 340,003,797
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
62.6% (2015-2019) → 82.3% (2020-2024)
+20 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Average commute timeWorsening
20.3 min (2015-2019) → 33.9 min (2020-2024)
+67%5 yearsCensus table B08013US 26.9 min → 26.4 min
Uninsured residents (under 65)Improving
13.5% (2015-2019) → 5.3% (2020-2024)
−8.3 pts5 yearsCensus table B27010US 10.8% → 9.8%
Home price to income ratioWorsening
1.4× (2015-2019) → 1.9× (2020-2024)
+37%5 yearsCensus table B25077US 3.5× → 4.1×
Unemployment rateImproving
7.6% (2015-2019) → 2.5% (2020-2024)
−5.1 pts5 yearsCensus table B23025US 3.7% → 4.0%

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, Montpelier, Indiana improved on 1 of 12 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.

Improved1

Broadband+20 points62.6% → 82.3%

Declined2

Commute+13.5 min20.3 min → 33.9 min
Price / income+0.5×1.4× → 1.9×

All 12 measures

Change of every measure of Montpelier, Indiana between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	20.3 min2015-2019	33.9 min2020-2024	+13.5 min	Declined	1%
Bachelor's degree or higher	6.9%2015-2019	9.9%2020-2024	+2.9 points	Within the margin of error	51%
Broadband subscriptions	62.6%2015-2019	82.3%2020-2024	+20 points	Improved	90%
Effective property tax rate	1.14%2015-2019	0.66%2020-2024	−0.5 points	Within the margin of error	90%
High school diploma or higher	86.7%2015-2019	91.5%2020-2024	+4.9 points	Within the margin of error	81%
Home price to income ratio	1.4×2015-2019	1.9×2020-2024	+0.5×	Declined	47%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4752015-2019	0.4902020-2024	+0.014	Within the margin of error	38%
Median household income	$39,3132015-2019	$45,2502020-2024	+15%	Within the margin of error	24%
Poverty rate	20.0%2015-2019	21.2%2020-2024	+1.2 points	Within the margin of error	32%
Public transit commuters	0.0%2015-2019	0.0%2020-2024	0 points	Within the margin of error	60%
Rent as share of income	27.9%2015-2019	28.2%2020-2024	+0.3 points	Within the margin of error	52%
Rent-burdened households	44.2%2015-2019	47.3%2020-2024	+3.1 points	Within the margin of error	44%

“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 Montpelier, Indiana five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Montpelier, 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, Montpelier, Indiana itself moved −3.8 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

1,533 residents (±323)

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

774 households (±153)

Montpelier, Indiana
Indiana share

Under $25k27%†211
$25k–50k32%247
$50k–75k12%†91

Homes

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

Owners and renters

774 households (±153)

Montpelier, Indiana
Indiana share

Own67%516
Rent33%†258

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: Own (+10.2 points).

† 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

758 workers (±186)

Montpelier, Indiana
Indiana share

Drive alone81%611
Carpool10%†79
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 Blackford County, the county holding most of Montpelier's residents.

Blackford County has 231 employer establishments, 194 for every 10,000 residents (0.78× the US rate of 248; 0.86× Indiana's), with 2,639 paid employees at an average annual pay of $50,904. The Census Bureau also counts 622 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 231; 622 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 194; US 248 · Indiana 226
Paid employees: 2,639
Average annual pay: $50,904; US $68,342

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

Specialty trade contractors	16	13.5	0.87×About typical	127	$107,142	50
Ambulatory health care services	15	12.6	0.61×Fewer than typical	165	$54,267	22
Restaurants and other eating places	15	12.6	0.69×Fewer than typical	323	$13,684	—
Religious organizations	14	11.8	2.12×More than typical	53	$16,019	—
Truck transportation	14	11.8	2.33×More than typical	99	$46,293	24
Gasoline stations	10	8.4	2.60×More than typical	69	$20,667	—
Insurance agencies and brokerages	7	5.9	1.34×Too few to compare	13	$36,692	14
Limited-service restaurants	7	5.9	0.73×Too few to compare	202	$12,832	—
Building equipment contractors	6	5.1	0.84×Too few to compare	16	$40,875	7
Full-service restaurants	6	5.1	0.66×Too few to compare	105	$16,638	—
Grocery and convenience stores	6	5.1	1.70×Too few to compare	96	$18,198	—
Lessors of real estate	6	5.1	0.41×Too few to compare	20	$23,850	51

Rank places for an industry Open Blackford County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 11,881 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: Montpelier is mostly in Blackford County.

See federal money in Blackford 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.

Montpelier, 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.

Blackford County27100% of residents

Other cities and towns in Blackford 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/1850796

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends