Town · Hancock County, Indiana

Shirley, Indiana

Shirley is a town in Hancock County, Indiana, part of the Indianapolis-Carmel-Greenwood, IN metro area. It has 1,022 residents. Shirley, Indiana has a quality-of-life score of 62 out of 100 (high), ranking #5,984 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Indiana it ranks #56 of 353 cities and towns. It ranks best on math scores (high), job growth (high) and home price to income ratio (low). It ranks worst on bachelor's degree or higher (low), grocery stores (low) and dentists (low).

62High

Quality-of-life score: #5,984 of 15,651 cities and towns
Indiana: #56 of 353 in IN
Population: 1,022 (2020-2024)
Land area: 0 mi²
Density: 2,828.9 /mi²
FIPS code: 1869516

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 73 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.

Safety84#2,573/15,637
Economy54#7,210/15,631
Housing97#469/14,977
Health37#9,763/15,609
Healthcare61#6,069/15,650
Environment47#8,169/15,453
Education51#7,626/15,649
Infrastructure59#6,483/15,650
Community59#6,402/15,651
Leisure & amenities8#14,363/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

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

Math scores · high3.54
98/100Indiana 3.19United States 3.032019University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteHancock County value
Job growth · high4.3%
97/100Indiana -0.1%United States 0.1%2026 Q1U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsProvisional dataHancock County value
Home price to income ratio · low1.7×
96/100Indiana 3.0×United States 4.1×2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25077
Homicide rate · low0.0 /100k
94/100Indiana 5.6 /100kUnited States 4.8 /100kMay 2025–Apr 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionProvisional dataHancock County value
Flu vaccinations · high55.0%
93/100Indiana 47.0%United States 44.0%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteHancock County value
Primary care shortage · low0.0
90/100Indiana 7.8United States 6.2Oct 2026Health Resources and Services AdministrationHancock County value

Weaknesses

Bachelor's degree or higher · low7.1%
3/100Indiana 29.5%United States 35.7%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B15003
Grocery stores · low0.7 /10k
4/100Indiana 1.3 /10kUnited States 1.7 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsHancock County value
Dentists · low31 /100k
12/100Indiana 61 /100kUnited States 75 /100k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteHancock County value
Adult obesity · high41.7%
14/100Indiana 39.7%United States 38.2%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteModel-based estimate
Depression · high27.5%
16/100Indiana 25.6%United States 20.7%2023Centers for Disease Control and PreventionModel-based estimate
Restaurants and bars · low5.8 /10k
18/100Indiana 8.2 /10kUnited States 9.0 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsHancock County value

Trends

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

PopulationRising
952 (2015-2019) → 1,022 (2020-2024)
+7.4%5 yearsCensus table B01003US 328,329,953 → 340,003,797
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
78.1% (2015-2019) → 93.5% (2020-2024)
+15 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Child poverty rateImproving
23.5% (2015-2019) → 9.3% (2020-2024)
−14 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%
Rent-burdened householdsImproving
35.7% (2015-2019) → 22.2% (2020-2024)
−13 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Rent as share of incomeWorsening
15.8% (2015-2019) → 27.2% (2020-2024)
+11 pts5 yearsCensus table B25071US 29.8% → 30.6%
High school diploma or higherImproving
81.2% (2015-2019) → 92.1% (2020-2024)
+11 pts5 yearsCensus table B15003US 88.0% → 89.6%

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, Shirley, Indiana improved on 2 of 9 measures with a comparison and declined on 1. 6 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

High school++11 points81.2% → 92.1%
Broadband+15 points78.1% → 93.5%

Declined1

Uninsured+8.9 points4.8% → 13.7%

All 9 measures

Change of every measure of Shirley, Indiana between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	29.7 min2015-2019	29.9 min2020-2024	+0.2 min	Within the margin of error	45%
Broadband subscriptions	78.1%2015-2019	93.5%2020-2024	+15 points	Improved	81%
Effective property tax rate	1.04%2015-2019	0.92%2020-2024	−0.1 points	Within the margin of error	39%
High school diploma or higher	81.2%2015-2019	92.1%2020-2024	+11 points	Improved	96%
Home price to income ratio	1.4×2015-2019	1.7×2020-2024	+0.3×	Within the margin of error	64%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.3582015-2019	0.3872020-2024	+0.029	Within the margin of error	28%
Median household income	$55,0402015-2019	$67,0832020-2024	+22%	Within the margin of error	37%
Public transit commuters	0.0%2015-2019	0.0%2020-2024	0 points	Within the margin of error	60%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	4.8%2015-2019	13.7%2020-2024	+8.9 points	Declined	4%

“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 Shirley, Indiana five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Shirley, 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, Shirley, Indiana itself moved +4.9 points in standing on average over the same 7 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

1,022 residents (±234)

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

382 households (±75)

Shirley, Indiana
Indiana share

Under $25k15%†57
$25k–50k25%†96
$50k–75k

Homes

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

Owners and renters

382 households (±75)

Shirley, Indiana
Indiana share

Own84%319
Rent16%†63

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

Getting to work

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

How people get to work

453 workers (±104)

Shirley, Indiana
Indiana share

Drive alone90%406
Carpool6.0%†27
Public transit0.0%0

Jobs and pay

What the largest occupations here pay, from the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes pay by metro area, not by county or city. The metro area page lists its largest occupations and lets you look up any job.

Pay in the Indianapolis-Carmel-Greenwood, IN

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 Hancock County, the county holding most of Shirley's residents.

Hancock County has 1,634 employer establishments, 190 for every 10,000 residents (0.76× the US rate of 248; 0.84× Indiana's), with 25,531 paid employees at an average annual pay of $56,315. The Census Bureau also counts 6,889 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 1,634; 6,889 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 190; US 248 · Indiana 226
Paid employees: 25,531
Average annual pay: $56,315; US $68,342

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

Specialty trade contractors	162	18.8	1.21×About typical	1,059	$57,914	496
Ambulatory health care services	116	13.5	0.65×Fewer than typical	944	$69,851	237
Restaurants and other eating places	114	13.2	0.72×Fewer than typical	2,509	$19,618	30
Services to buildings and dwellings	86	10	1.48×More than typical	1,089	$35,446	419
Building equipment contractors	72	8.4	1.39×More than typical	438	$57,662	99
Lessors of real estate	68	7.9	0.64×Fewer than typical	146	$43,356	617
Construction of buildings	65	7.5	1.00×About typical	249	$47,635	161
Truck transportation	58	6.7	1.33×More than typical	523	$65,463	315
Landscaping services	56	6.5	1.86×More than typical	517	$44,654	172
Religious organizations	56	6.5	1.17×About typical	564	$24,138	—
Limited-service restaurants	50	5.8	0.72×Fewer than typical	1,214	$17,348	15
Management, scientific and technical consulting	48	5.6	0.83×About typical	396	$81,449	245

Rank places for an industry Open Hancock County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 86,159 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: Shirley is mostly in Hancock County.

See federal money in Hancock 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.

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

House

Jefferson ShreveR-IN-6 · 100% of residentsWith party 100%Missed 1.8%

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.

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Indianapolis-Carmel-Greenwood, IN68

Other cities and towns in Hancock 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/1869516

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends