Scores by category

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

Safety56#6,932/15,637
Economy11#13,909/15,631
Housing65#5,218/14,977
Health11#13,951/15,609
Healthcare28#11,339/15,650
Environment39#9,405/15,453
Education26#11,546/15,649
Infrastructure33#10,469/15,650
Community9#14,295/15,651
Leisure & amenities4#14,998/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

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

Property crime rate · low361 /100k
95/100Indiana 1,052 /100kUnited States 1,535 /100k2025Federal Bureau of InvestigationJennings County value
Drought exposure · low1%
94/100Indiana 19%United States 43%Oct 2025–Sep 2026National Drought Mitigation Center (University of Nebraska–Lincoln), USDA and NOAAJennings County value
Preventable hospital stays · low1,950 /100k
86/100Indiana 3,202 /100kUnited States 2,769 /100k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteJennings County value
Time spent in the emergency room · low123 min
86/100Indiana 148 minUnited States 170 minOct 2024–Sep 2025Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesJennings County value
Home price to income ratio · low2.5×
79/100Indiana 3.0×United States 4.1×2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25077
Effective property tax rate · low0.63%
77/100Indiana 0.76%United States 0.94%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25090

Weaknesses

Public EV charging ports · low0.0 /10k
3/100Indiana 3.2 /10kUnited States 7.6 /10kOct 2026U.S. Department of EnergyJennings County value
Access to exercise opportunities · low35.2%
4/100Indiana 76.2%United States 84.5%2022 & 2024University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteJennings County value
Social associations · low4.3 /10k
4/100Indiana 11.8 /10kUnited States 9.1 /10k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteJennings County value
Grocery stores · low0.7 /10k
5/100Indiana 1.3 /10kUnited States 1.7 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsJennings County value
Restaurants and bars · low4.0 /10k
5/100Indiana 8.2 /10kUnited States 9.0 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsJennings County value
Dentists · low25 /100k
7/100Indiana 61 /100kUnited States 75 /100k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteJennings County value

Trends

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

PopulationRising
6,735 (2015-2019) → 7,078 (2020-2024)
+5.1%5 yearsCensus table B01003US 328,329,953 → 340,003,797
Rent-burdened householdsWorsening
26.0% (2015-2019) → 58.1% (2020-2024)
+32 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Rent as share of incomeWorsening
21.4% (2015-2019) → 35.8% (2020-2024)
+14 pts5 yearsCensus table B25071US 29.8% → 30.6%
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
80.6% (2015-2019) → 89.1% (2020-2024)
+8.5 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Child poverty rateImproving
24.9% (2015-2019) → 16.4% (2020-2024)
−8.4 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%
Home price to income ratioWorsening
1.9× (2015-2019) → 2.5× (2020-2024)
+32%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, North Vernon, Indiana improved on 0 of 14 measures with a comparison and declined on 3. 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.

Improved0

No measure improved by more than its margin of error.

Declined3

Rent burden+32 points26.0% → 58.1%
Rent / income+14 points21.4% → 35.8%
Price / income+0.6×1.9× → 2.5×

All 14 measures

Change of every measure of North Vernon, Indiana between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	20.3 min2015-2019	22.8 min2020-2024	+2.5 min	Within the margin of error	23%
Bachelor's degree or higher	12.1%2015-2019	13.9%2020-2024	+1.8 points	Within the margin of error	41%
Broadband subscriptions	80.6%2015-2019	89.1%2020-2024	+8.5 points	Within the margin of error	52%
Child poverty rate	24.9%2015-2019	16.4%2020-2024	−8.4 points	Within the margin of error	79%
Effective property tax rate	0.81%2015-2019	0.63%2020-2024	−0.2 points	Within the margin of error	54%
High school diploma or higher	87.2%2015-2019	88.5%2020-2024	+1.3 points	Within the margin of error	50%
Home price to income ratio	1.9×2015-2019	2.5×2020-2024	+0.6×	Declined	42%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.5142015-2019	0.4012020-2024	−0.114	Within the margin of error	97%
Median household income	$49,1782015-2019	$51,4292020-2024	+4.6%	Within the margin of error	11%
Poverty rate	14.9%2015-2019	16.7%2020-2024	+1.9 points	Within the margin of error	27%
Public transit commuters	0.0%2015-2019	0.0%2020-2024	0 points	Within the margin of error	60%
Rent as share of income	21.4%2015-2019	35.8%2020-2024	+14 points	Declined	5%
Rent-burdened households	26.0%2015-2019	58.1%2020-2024	+32 points	Declined	2%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	12.6%2015-2019	11.8%2020-2024	−0.8 points	Within the margin of error	57%

“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 North Vernon, Indiana five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of North Vernon, 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, North Vernon, Indiana itself moved −13.3 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

7,078 residents (±469)

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: Under 10 women (−4.5 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

7,078 residents (±469)

North Vernon, Indiana
Indiana share

White88%6,253
Black0.9%†66
Hispanic or Latino7.8%†551

Education

4,958 residents (±407)

North Vernon, Indiana
Indiana share

No high school diploma12%†571
High school or GED47%2,347
Some college23%1,144

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

2,940 households (±243)

North Vernon, Indiana
Indiana share

Under $25k20%†592
$25k–50k29%†838
$50k–75k17%†501
$75k–100k17%†495
$100k–150k10%†304
$150k–200k5.1%†150
$200k or more2.0%†60

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: $75k–100k (+7.8 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

2,940 households (±243)

North Vernon, Indiana
Indiana share

Own59%1,733
Rent41%1,207

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

1,095 households (±233)

North Vernon, Indiana
Indiana share

Under $75026%†288
$750–1,00039%†427
$1,000–1,50033%†365

Home values

1,733 homes (±257)

North Vernon, Indiana
Indiana share

Under $150k59%1,024
$150k–250k28%†482
$250k–400k9.7%†168

Age of homes

3,050 homes (±238)

North Vernon, Indiana
Indiana share

2010 or later2.5%†77
2000–20094.6%†140
1980–199928%†845

Size of homes

3,050 homes (±238)

North Vernon, Indiana
Indiana share

Studio0.0%0
1 bedroom11%†326
2 bedrooms32%975

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

2,752 workers (±387)

North Vernon, Indiana
Indiana share

Drive alone77%2,123
Carpool13%†353
Public transit0.0%0
Walk0.8%†22
Bike0.5%†13
Work from home8.0%†221
Other0.7%†20

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: Work from home (+7.2 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

2,531 workers (±388)

North Vernon, Indiana
Indiana share

Under 15 min35%†884
15–29 min25%†628
30–44 min27%693

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 Jennings County, the county holding most of North Vernon's residents.

Jennings County has 488 employer establishments, 177 for every 10,000 residents (0.71× the US rate of 248; 0.78× Indiana's), with 7,070 paid employees at an average annual pay of $50,270. The Census Bureau also counts 1,629 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 488; 1,629 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 177; US 248 · Indiana 226
Paid employees: 7,070
Average annual pay: $50,270; US $68,342

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

Ambulatory health care services	37	13.4	0.64×Fewer than typical	345	$52,870	43
Specialty trade contractors	37	13.4	0.87×About typical	563	$78,162	170
Restaurants and other eating places	25	9	0.49×Fewer than typical	357	$21,521	15
Building equipment contractors	20	7.2	1.20×About typical	331	$64,097	37
Truck transportation	20	7.2	1.43×More than typical	166	$60,259	34
Fabricated metal product manufacturing	16	5.8	3.63×More than typical	515	$58,289	9
Individual and family services	16	5.8	2.07×More than typical	94	$42,117	8
Lessors of real estate	16	5.8	0.47×Fewer than typical	26	$21,500	120
Services to buildings and dwellings	16	5.8	0.86×About typical	137	$37,212	133
Insurance agencies and brokerages	15	5.4	1.24×About typical	46	$46,826	16
Construction of buildings	14	5.1	0.67×Fewer than typical	132	$74,061	92
Electrical contractors and wiring installation	14	5.1	2.05×More than typical	262	$66,443	14

Rank places for an industry Open Jennings County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 27,630 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 North Vernon, Indiana: $0 per resident (US $1,995).

Obligations: $0
Per resident: $0; US $1,995
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

2.5KFY2017
1.2KFY2018
3.3KFY2019
11.9KFY2020
1.4KFY2021
8.1KFY2022
1.4KFY2023
754.9FY2024

What was bought

Source: Federal contract transactions (Federal Procurement Data System) (U.S. Department of the Treasury, USAspending.gov), data current to Oct 6, 2026, loaded Oct 6, 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 North Vernon, Indiana, so they do not add up across cities.

North Vernon, Indiana's figures are part of those of Jennings County, IN ($547.9K 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: North Vernon is mostly in Jennings County.

See federal money in Jennings 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.

North Vernon, 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.

Jennings County34100% of residents

Other cities and towns in Jennings 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/1855116