Town · Vigo County, Indiana

West Terre Haute, Indiana

West Terre Haute is a town in Vigo County, Indiana, part of the Terre Haute, IN metro area. It has 2,092 residents. West Terre Haute, Indiana has a quality-of-life score of 12 out of 100 (very low), ranking #13,712 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Indiana it ranks #346 of 353 cities and towns. It ranks best on home price to income ratio (low), public transit commuters (high) and social associations (high). It ranks worst on preventable hospital stays (high), high school diploma or higher (low) and adult smoking (high).

12Very low

Quality-of-life score: #13,712 of 15,651 cities and towns
Indiana: #346 of 353 in IN
Population: 2,092 (2020-2024)
Land area: 1 mi²
Density: 2,779.1 /mi²
FIPS code: 1883384

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 75 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.

Safety20#12,514/15,637
Economy8#14,305/15,631
Housing83#2,601/14,977
Health4#14,973/15,609
Healthcare19#12,619/15,650
Environment12#13,623/15,453
Education20#12,460/15,649
Infrastructure29#11,075/15,650
Community19#12,621/15,651
Leisure & amenities58#6,615/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where West Terre Haute, Indiana ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Vigo 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

Home price to income ratio · low1.4×
99/100Indiana 3.0×United States 4.1×2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25077
Public transit commuters · high12.4%
98/100Indiana 0.6%United States 3.2%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B08301High uncertainty
Social associations · high14.4 /10k
89/100Indiana 11.8 /10kUnited States 9.1 /10k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteVigo County value
Distance to an emergency room · low3.4 mi
87/100Indiana 5.2 miUnited States 5.5 miJul 2026Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesVigo County value
Gyms and fitness centers · high1.5 /10k
71/100Indiana 1.1 /10kUnited States 1.3 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsVigo County value
Rent-burdened households · low45.5%
69/100Indiana 48.1%United States 51.1%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25070

Weaknesses

Preventable hospital stays · high4,977 /100k
2/100Indiana 3,202 /100kUnited States 2,769 /100k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteVigo County value
High school diploma or higher · low78.6%
3/100Indiana 90.4%United States 89.6%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B15003
Adult smoking · high24.4%
3/100Indiana 17.8%United States 16.1%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteModel-based estimate
Food environment index · low5.7
3/100Indiana 6.5United States 7.62019 & 2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteVigo County value
Frequent mental distress · high22.9%
3/100Indiana 19.3%United States 18.6%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteModel-based estimate
Dental care shortage · high19.0
3/100Indiana 6.4United States 5.7Oct 2026Health Resources and Services AdministrationVigo County value

Trends

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

Child poverty rateImproving
37.4% (2015-2019) → 6.0% (2020-2024)
−31 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
66.1% (2015-2019) → 85.2% (2020-2024)
+19 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Poverty rateImproving
24.3% (2015-2019) → 10.5% (2020-2024)
−14 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 12.3% → 12.1%
Public transit commutersImproving
0.0% (2015-2019) → 12.4% (2020-2024)
+12 pts5 yearsCensus table B08301US 5.0% → 3.2%
Median household incomeImproving
$34,286 (2015-2019) → $53,676 (2020-2024)
+57%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604
Income inequality (Gini index)Worsening
0.457 (2015-2019) → 0.606 (2020-2024)
+33%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, West Terre Haute, Indiana improved on 4 of 13 measures with a comparison and declined on 0. 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.

Improved4

Poverty−14 points24.3% → 10.5%
Household income+57%$34,286 → $53,676
Broadband+19 points66.1% → 85.2%
Bachelor's++4.4 points3.8% → 8.1%

Declined0

No measure declined by more than its margin of error.

All 13 measures

Change of every measure of West Terre Haute, Indiana between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	22.9 min2015-2019	23.8 min2020-2024	+0.9 min	Within the margin of error	37%
Bachelor's degree or higher	3.8%2015-2019	8.1%2020-2024	+4.4 points	Improved	63%
Broadband subscriptions	66.1%2015-2019	85.2%2020-2024	+19 points	Improved	89%
Effective property tax rate	0.82%2015-2019	0.99%2020-2024	+0.2 points	Within the margin of error	4%
High school diploma or higher	78.4%2015-2019	78.6%2020-2024	+0.2 points	Within the margin of error	35%
Home price to income ratio	1.5×2015-2019	1.4×2020-2024	−0.2×	Within the margin of error	85%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4572015-2019	0.6062020-2024	+0.149	Within the margin of error	1%
Median household income	$34,2862015-2019	$53,6762020-2024	+57%	Improved	89%
Poverty rate	24.3%2015-2019	10.5%2020-2024	−14 points	Improved	97%
Rent as share of income	28.5%2015-2019	27.4%2020-2024	−1.1 points	Within the margin of error	63%
Rent-burdened households	42.8%2015-2019	45.5%2020-2024	+2.7 points	Within the margin of error	46%
Unemployment rate	9.9%2015-2019	10.6%2020-2024	+0.7 points	Within the margin of error	35%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	9.4%2015-2019	13.1%2020-2024	+3.7 points	Within the margin of error	15%

“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 West Terre Haute, Indiana five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of West Terre Haute, 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, West Terre Haute, Indiana itself moved −2.2 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

2,092 residents (±327)

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

732 households (±146)

West Terre Haute, Indiana
Indiana share

Under $25k22%†161
$25k–50k24%†179
$50k–75k

Homes

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

Owners and renters

732 households (±146)

West Terre Haute, Indiana
Indiana share

Own71%521
Rent29%†211

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

846 workers (±200)

West Terre Haute, Indiana
Indiana share

Drive alone69%583
Carpool14%†120
Public transit12%†105

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 Terre Haute, 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 Vigo County, the county holding most of West Terre Haute's residents.

Vigo County has 2,473 employer establishments, 233 for every 10,000 residents (0.94× the US rate of 248; 1.03× Indiana's), with 41,318 paid employees at an average annual pay of $46,754. The Census Bureau also counts 5,537 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 2,473; 5,537 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 233; US 248 · Indiana 226
Paid employees: 41,318
Average annual pay: $46,754; US $68,342

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

Ambulatory health care services	263	24.8	1.19×About typical	2,699	$75,585	292
Restaurants and other eating places	195	18.4	1.00×About typical	4,820	$17,895	29
Specialty trade contractors	122	11.5	0.74×Fewer than typical	1,236	$69,206	310
Limited-service restaurants	93	8.8	1.09×About typical	2,298	$16,614	16
Religious organizations	89	8.4	1.51×More than typical	553	$25,011	—
Offices of other health practitioners	79	7.4	1.23×About typical	501	$49,190	125
Full-service restaurants	77	7.3	0.95×About typical	2,096	$19,107	5
Lessors of real estate	77	7.3	0.59×Fewer than typical	317	$40,451	506
Offices of physicians	76	7.2	1.11×About typical	656	$148,575	42
Services to buildings and dwellings	66	6.2	0.92×About typical	513	$33,263	408
Gasoline stations	58	5.5	1.69×More than typical	429	$27,261	—
Automotive repair and maintenance	57	5.4	1.07×About typical	394	$40,470	85

Rank places for an industry Open Vigo County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 106,086 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: West Terre Haute is mostly in Vigo County.

See federal money in Vigo 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.

West Terre Haute, 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.

Vigo County28100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Terre Haute, IN21

Other cities and towns in Vigo 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/1883384

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends