City · Gibson County, Indiana

Princeton, Indiana

Princeton is a city in Gibson County, Indiana. It has 8,372 residents. Princeton, Indiana has a quality-of-life score of 29 out of 100 (low), ranking #11,097 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Indiana it ranks #249 of 353 cities and towns. It ranks best on average commute time (low), time spent in the emergency room (low) and effective property tax rate (low). It ranks worst on suicide rate (high), bachelor's degree or higher (low) and new business applications (low).

29Low

Quality-of-life score: #11,097 of 15,651 cities and towns
Indiana: #249 of 353 in IN
Population: 8,372 (2020-2024)
Land area: 5 mi²
Density: 1,529.1 /mi²
FIPS code: 1862046

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 71 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.

Safety23#12,104/15,637
Economy27#11,441/15,631
Housing95#797/14,977
Health20#12,448/15,609
Healthcare48#8,147/15,650
Environment9#14,089/15,453
Education29#11,141/15,649
Infrastructure44#8,822/15,650
Community67#5,213/15,651
Leisure & amenities17#12,986/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

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

Average commute time · low13.8 min
98/100Indiana 24.1 minUnited States 26.4 min2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B08013
Time spent in the emergency room · low101 min
96/100Indiana 148 minUnited States 170 minOct 2024–Sep 2025Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesGibson County value
Effective property tax rate · low0.35%
96/100Indiana 0.76%United States 0.94%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25090High uncertainty
Mammography screening · high56.0%
94/100Indiana 49.0%United States 46.0%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteGibson County value
Social associations · high14.6 /10k
90/100Indiana 11.8 /10kUnited States 9.1 /10k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteGibson County value
New homes permitted · high9.6 /1k
87/100Indiana 3.9 /1kUnited States 4.2 /1kSep 2025–Aug 2026U.S. Census BureauProvisional data

Weaknesses

Suicide rate · high30.4 /100k
3/100Indiana 16.1 /100kUnited States 14.1 /100kMay 2025–Apr 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionProvisional dataGibson County value
Bachelor's degree or higher · low8.6%
4/100Indiana 29.5%United States 35.7%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B15003
New business applications · low7.6 /1k
5/100Indiana 12.9 /1kUnited States 16.6 /1k2025U.S. Census BureauGibson County value
Comfortable days · low22.5%
5/100Indiana 24.0%United States 26.8%2016-2025NOAA National Centers for Environmental InformationGibson County value
Mental health providers · low52 /100k
6/100Indiana 226 /100kUnited States 348 /100k2025University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteGibson County value
Adult smoking · high21.7%
7/100Indiana 17.8%United States 16.1%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.

Rent-burdened householdsWorsening
35.3% (2015-2019) → 45.7% (2020-2024)
+10 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
High school diploma or higherWorsening
90.5% (2015-2019) → 83.3% (2020-2024)
−7.2 pts5 yearsCensus table B15003US 88.0% → 89.6%
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
81.3% (2015-2019) → 88.4% (2020-2024)
+7.1 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Average commute timeImproving
18.2 min (2015-2019) → 13.8 min (2020-2024)
−24%5 yearsCensus table B08013US 26.9 min → 26.4 min
Child poverty rateWorsening
15.2% (2015-2019) → 19.9% (2020-2024)
+4.6 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%
Median household incomeImproving
$47,091 (2015-2019) → $57,618 (2020-2024)
+22%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604

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, Princeton, Indiana improved on 3 of 12 measures with a comparison and declined on 1. 8 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.

Improved3

Commute−4.4 min18.2 min → 13.8 min
Broadband+7.1 points81.3% → 88.4%
Household income+22%$47,091 → $57,618

Declined1

Bachelor's+−3.9 points12.5% → 8.6%

All 12 measures

Change of every measure of Princeton, Indiana between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	18.2 min2015-2019	13.8 min2020-2024	−4.4 min	Improved	87%
Bachelor's degree or higher	12.5%2015-2019	8.6%2020-2024	−3.9 points	Declined	9%
Broadband subscriptions	81.3%2015-2019	88.4%2020-2024	+7.1 points	Improved	44%
Child poverty rate	15.2%2015-2019	19.9%2020-2024	+4.6 points	Within the margin of error	21%
High school diploma or higher	90.5%2015-2019	83.3%2020-2024	−7.2 points	Within the margin of error	3%
Home price to income ratio	2.1×2015-2019	2.2×2020-2024	+0.2×	Within the margin of error	69%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4062015-2019	0.4332020-2024	+0.027	Within the margin of error	29%
Median household income	$47,0912015-2019	$57,6182020-2024	+22%	Improved	38%
Poverty rate	13.1%2015-2019	16.9%2020-2024	+3.8 points	Within the margin of error	16%
Rent as share of income	24.2%2015-2019	28.6%2020-2024	+4.4 points	Within the margin of error	25%
Rent-burdened households	35.3%2015-2019	45.7%2020-2024	+10 points	Within the margin of error	23%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	8.7%2015-2019	7.0%2020-2024	−1.6 points	Within the margin of error	65%

“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 Princeton, Indiana five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Princeton, 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, Princeton, Indiana itself moved −13.1 points in standing on average over the same 9 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

8,372 residents (±28)

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

3,404 households (±203)

Princeton, Indiana
Indiana share

Under $25k19%637
$25k–50k27%925
$50k–75k18%609

Homes

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

Owners and renters

3,404 households (±203)

Princeton, Indiana
Indiana share

Own61%2,088
Rent39%1,316

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

3,789 workers (±304)

Princeton, Indiana
Indiana share

Drive alone80%3,021
Carpool10%†389
Public transit1.5%†56

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 Gibson County, the county holding most of Princeton's residents.

Gibson County has 728 employer establishments, 221 for every 10,000 residents (0.89× the US rate of 248; 0.98× Indiana's), with 20,517 paid employees at an average annual pay of $61,433. The Census Bureau also counts 1,797 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 728; 1,797 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 221; US 248 · Indiana 226
Paid employees: 20,517
Average annual pay: $61,433; US $68,342

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

Ambulatory health care services	58	17.6	0.85×About typical	374	$65,826	41
Restaurants and other eating places	55	16.7	0.91×About typical	928	$15,652	7
Specialty trade contractors	44	13.4	0.86×About typical	274	$55,774	122
Religious organizations	40	12.2	2.19×More than typical	164	$20,506	—
Full-service restaurants	27	8.2	1.07×About typical	464	$14,558	3
Automotive repair and maintenance	24	7.3	1.45×More than typical	153	$41,745	39
Truck transportation	24	7.3	1.44×More than typical	359	$69,897	34
Services to buildings and dwellings	23	7	1.04×About typical	175	$37,360	152
Offices of physicians	22	6.7	1.03×About typical	143	$92,217	6
Gasoline stations	21	6.4	1.97×More than typical	314	$29,519	—
Limited-service restaurants	20	6.1	0.76×Fewer than typical	422	$16,491	4
Construction of buildings	17	5.2	0.68×Fewer than typical	58	$73,000	59

Rank places for an industry Open Gibson County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 32,901 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 Princeton, 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

0FY2017
7.6KFY2018
149FY2019
911.6FY2020
-10.8FY2021
-2.1KFY2022

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

Princeton, Indiana's figures are part of those of Gibson County, IN ($1.8M 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: Princeton is mostly in Gibson County.

See federal money in Gibson 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.

Princeton, 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.

Gibson County63100% of residents

Other cities and towns in Gibson 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/1862046

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends