Town · Orange County, Indiana

Paoli, Indiana

Paoli is a town in Orange County, Indiana. It has 3,125 residents. Paoli, Indiana has a quality-of-life score of 28 out of 100 (low), ranking #11,340 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Indiana it ranks #263 of 353 cities and towns. It ranks best on preventable hospital stays (low), homicide rate (low) and drought exposure (low). It ranks worst on adult smoking (high), new business applications (low) and frequent mental distress (high).

28Low

Quality-of-life score: #11,340 of 15,651 cities and towns
Indiana: #263 of 353 in IN
Population: 3,125 (2020-2024)
Land area: 4 mi²
Density: 835.7 /mi²
FIPS code: 1857780

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 70 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.

Safety72#4,444/15,637
Economy3#15,134/15,631
Housing78#3,246/14,977
Health12#13,812/15,609
Healthcare34#10,385/15,650
Environment45#8,497/15,453
Education34#10,284/15,649
Infrastructure8#14,446/15,650
Community43#8,844/15,651
Leisure & amenities47#8,265/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

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

Preventable hospital stays · low963 /100k
100/100Indiana 3,202 /100kUnited States 2,769 /100k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteOrange County value
Homicide rate · low0.0 /100k
94/100Indiana 5.6 /100kUnited States 4.8 /100kMay 2025–Apr 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionProvisional dataOrange County value
Drought exposure · low1%
92/100Indiana 19%United States 43%Oct 2025–Sep 2026National Drought Mitigation Center (University of Nebraska–Lincoln), USDA and NOAAOrange County value
Pharmacies · high2.5 /10k
90/100Indiana 1.5 /10kUnited States 1.8 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsOrange County value
Time spent in the emergency room · low118 min
88/100Indiana 148 minUnited States 170 minOct 2024–Sep 2025Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesOrange County value
Public libraries · high1.5 /10k
87/100Indiana 0.6 /10kUnited States 0.5 /10k2024Institute of Museum and Library ServicesOrange County value

Weaknesses

Adult smoking · high22.9%
4/100Indiana 17.8%United States 16.1%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteModel-based estimate
New business applications · low7.7 /1k
5/100Indiana 12.9 /1kUnited States 16.6 /1k2025U.S. Census BureauOrange County value
Frequent mental distress · high22.1%
5/100Indiana 19.3%United States 18.6%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteModel-based estimate
Average weekly wage · low$899
5/100Indiana $1,251United States $1,5142025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsOrange County value
Depression · high30.0%
6/100Indiana 25.6%United States 20.7%2023Centers for Disease Control and PreventionModel-based estimate
Median household income · low$42,906
8/100Indiana $71,958United States $81,6042020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B19013

Trends

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

PopulationFalling
3,665 (2015-2019) → 3,125 (2020-2024)
−15%5 yearsCensus table B01003US 328,329,953 → 340,003,797
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
67.6% (2015-2019) → 82.8% (2020-2024)
+15 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Home price to income ratioWorsening
2.2× (2015-2019) → 3.5× (2020-2024)
+59%5 yearsCensus table B25077US 3.5× → 4.1×
Average commute timeWorsening
15.7 min (2015-2019) → 24.9 min (2020-2024)
+59%5 yearsCensus table B08013US 26.9 min → 26.4 min
Uninsured residents (under 65)Improving
15.7% (2015-2019) → 5.5% (2020-2024)
−10 pts5 yearsCensus table B27010US 10.8% → 9.8%
Income inequality (Gini index)Worsening
0.431 (2015-2019) → 0.631 (2020-2024)
+46%5 yearsCensus table B19083US 0.482 → 0.483

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, Paoli, Indiana improved on 2 of 13 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.

Improved2

Uninsured−10 points15.7% → 5.5%
Broadband+15 points67.6% → 82.8%

Declined2

Inequality+0.2000.431 → 0.631
Price / income+1.3×2.2× → 3.5×

All 13 measures

Change of every measure of Paoli, Indiana between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	15.7 min2015-2019	24.9 min2020-2024	+9.2 min	Within the margin of error	3%
Bachelor's degree or higher	8.3%2015-2019	14.0%2020-2024	+5.7 points	Within the margin of error	72%
Broadband subscriptions	67.6%2015-2019	82.8%2020-2024	+15 points	Improved	80%
Child poverty rate	17.6%2015-2019	20.8%2020-2024	+3.2 points	Within the margin of error	26%
Effective property tax rate	0.63%2015-2019	0.65%2020-2024	+0 points	Within the margin of error	12%
High school diploma or higher	82.4%2015-2019	83.1%2020-2024	+0.8 points	Within the margin of error	43%
Home price to income ratio	2.2×2015-2019	3.5×2020-2024	+1.3×	Declined	13%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4312015-2019	0.6312020-2024	+0.200	Declined	0%
Median household income	$37,4492015-2019	$42,9062020-2024	+15%	Within the margin of error	23%
Poverty rate	17.6%2015-2019	25.2%2020-2024	+7.6 points	Within the margin of error	7%
Rent as share of income	27.0%2015-2019	27.1%2020-2024	+0.1 points	Within the margin of error	54%
Rent-burdened households	41.6%2015-2019	39.2%2020-2024	−2.4 points	Within the margin of error	64%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	15.7%2015-2019	5.5%2020-2024	−10 points	Improved	96%

“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 Paoli, Indiana five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Paoli, 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, Paoli, Indiana itself moved −11.6 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

3,125 residents (±388)

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

1,287 households (±202)

Paoli, Indiana
Indiana share

Under $25k30%†391
$25k–50k33%†419
$50k–75k

Homes

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

Owners and renters

1,287 households (±202)

Paoli, Indiana
Indiana share

Own62%800
Rent38%487

No change since 2015–2019 is larger than the margin of error.

Table view

Getting to work

How workers travel to their job and how long it takes them.

How people get to work

1,000 workers (±205)

Paoli, Indiana
Indiana share

Drive alone70%703
Carpool18%†182
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 Orange County, the county holding most of Paoli's residents.

Orange County has 398 employer establishments, 202 for every 10,000 residents (0.81× the US rate of 248; 0.89× Indiana's), with 8,500 paid employees at an average annual pay of $50,120. The Census Bureau also counts 1,255 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 398; 1,255 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 202; US 248 · Indiana 226
Paid employees: 8,500
Average annual pay: $50,120; US $68,342

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

Restaurants and other eating places	37	18.8	1.02×About typical	555	$17,130	7
Ambulatory health care services	25	12.7	0.61×Fewer than typical	244	$48,697	25
Specialty trade contractors	21	10.7	0.69×Fewer than typical	71	$48,915	104
Truck transportation	20	10.2	2.01×More than typical	68	$46,853	45
Full-service restaurants	18	9.1	1.19×About typical	269	$17,357	3
Limited-service restaurants	16	8.1	1.01×About typical	268	$17,030	3
Religious organizations	16	8.1	1.46×More than typical	34	$21,824	—
Heavy and civil engineering construction	12	6.1	5.31×More than typical	2,030	$82,601	—
Automotive repair and maintenance	11	5.6	1.11×About typical	43	$37,581	37
Lessors of real estate	11	5.6	0.45×Fewer than typical	22	$18,045	108
Building equipment contractors	10	5.1	0.84×About typical	46	$56,457	10
Offices of other health practitioners	10	5.1	0.84×About typical	34	$27,088	8

Rank places for an industry Open Orange County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 19,701 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 Paoli, 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

-291.3FY2017
255.9FY2018
4.2KFY2020
3.9KFY2021
3.8KFY2022
4.6KFY2023
5.5KFY2024
2KFY2025

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

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

See federal money in Orange 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.

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

House

Mark B. MessmerR-IN-8 · 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.

Orange County41100% of residents

Other cities and towns in Orange 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/1857780

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends