New Castle, Indiana

Area Profile

17,367 residents. Public schools, jobs, income, housing cost, climate and natural-hazard risk for New Castle, in Henry County.

62out of 100
Area Score
Top 39% of 4,196 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks

Data updated · 14 sources
OpportunityTop 33% of 4,199 cities measured65
Schools2,302nd of 4,162 cities measured46
GrowthTop 47% of 4,224 cities measured52
Housing affordabilityTop 12% of 4,218 cities measured80
Climate2,532nd of 4,225 cities measured68
Physical resilienceTop 43% of 4,226 cities measured65
Access3,645th of 4,226 cities measured73
Economic stability4,037th of 4,226 cities measured24
The quick read

Unemployment is 3.4% and median household income $51,606, putting employment conditions in the middle range of cities measured. The unemployment rate is published for Henry County, IN, which contains New Castle, rather than for New Castle alone.

In the public schools here, 40% of students met the state standard in mathematics, with 12.5 students for every teacher.

Housing is more affordable relative to local incomes than in most cities measured: rent takes 27% of renter income and the median home is 1.5 times what its owners earn.

These sentences are written by fixed rules from the measurements below — a statement appears because a number crossed a stated threshold, and the values behind it are stored with it. No figure anywhere on this site is invented, estimated or inferred to fill a gap. How this works.

At a glance

Population
17,367
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$51,606
Bottom 25% nationally
Density
2,371/sq mi
7.3 sq mi of land
Median age
41.2
2024 ACS 5-Year
County
Indiana
Micro area
Nearest major airport
IND
51 mi · Indianapolis Intl
Median home value
$98,000
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment across Henry County, IN, which contains New Castle, is 3.4%, lower than in 84% of the 4,226 measured US cities.

Employment across Henry County, IN, which contains New Castle, grew 0.7% over the past year, to 22,023 employed residents.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Income of new arrivalsHenry County, IN’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$48,1895th percentileof 4,101filing years 2022–2023
Income of those who leftHenry County, IN’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$46,2763rd percentileof 4,101filing years 2022–2023
Median household income ±$4,5172024 ACS 5-Year$51,606Bottom 25%of 29,2232024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$2,6712024 ACS 5-Year$28,155Bottom 30%of 31,4202024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year19.7%Bottom 23%of 31,7732024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute ±2.1 min2024 ACS 5-Year21.8 minTop 25%of 31,5432024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year13.3%Bottom 29%of 31,9192024 ACS 5-Year
Drove alone to work ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year75.4%44th percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year
EmploymentHenry County, IN’s figureJuly 202622,023Bottom 26%of 4,226July 2026
Employment change (3 years)Henry County, IN’s figureJuly 2026+6.3%Top 3%of 4,226July 2026
Employment change (year over year)Henry County, IN’s figureJuly 2026+0.7%Top 22%of 4,226July 2026
Labor forceHenry County, IN’s figureJuly 202622,79325th percentileof 4,226July 2026
Labor force participation ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year69.3%Bottom 25%of 31,5132024 ACS 5-Year
Public transit to work ±0.5%2024 ACS 5-Year0.6%80th percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)Henry County, IN’s figureJuly 2026−0.6%Top 23%of 4,226July 2026
Unemployment rateHenry County, IN’s figureJuly 20263.4%Top 16%of 4,226July 2026
Worked from home ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year8.8%55th percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year

Median household income, successive ACS releases

202120222023202452k46k
Each point is a separate five-year estimate, most recently $51,606 in the 2024 ACS 5-Year. Consecutive releases share four years of sample, so AreaProfile shows them as a record of successive estimates and does not compute a year-over-year change from them.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes city-level labor data only for places of 25,000 or more. This is the figure for Henry County, IN, which contains this city.

40% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 45% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.

There are 12.5 students for every full-time teacher across 9 public schools, fewer than in most measured places.

Public schools
9
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
12.5
across all schools here
Math proficiency
40.1%
Bottom 40% in Indiana
Reading proficiency
45.3%
Bottom 29% in Indiana
All 9 public schools on record, largest first.
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
New Castle High SchoolNew Castle Community School Corp82811.532%57%
New Castle Middle SchoolNew Castle Community School Corp62711.431%42%
Blue River Valley Elementary SchBlue River Valley Schools33114.443%44%
Wilbur Wright Elementary SchoolNew Castle Community School Corp30513.350%40%
Blue River Valley Jr-Sr High SchBlue River Valley Schools28913.827%42%
Parker Elementary SchoolNew Castle Community School Corp27812.643%25%
Eastwood Elementary SchoolNew Castle Community School Corp2579.942%27%
Westwood Elementary SchoolNew Castle Community School Corp25616.062%57%
James Whitcomb Riley Elem SchoolNew Castle Community School Corp24615.462%57%

57.0% of students here are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. That describes the circumstances families arrive with, not how the schools perform, so it is shown and not scored.

Public schools only, from the NCES Common Core of Data, placed by ZIP code — which schools are in this place, not which one a particular address is zoned for. A dash in a proficiency column is a gap in the federal file, not a bad result. Proficiency is measured against Indiana’s own standard, so it is ranked within state. How to read school figures.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency’s house price index for the non-metropolitan parts of Indiana is up 51% over five years, and up 5.5% over the last year. It follows repeat sales of the same homes, so it measures price change rather than which homes happened to sell.

Homeowners here who pay a tax bill pay a median of $911 a year in real estate taxes, about 0.93% of the median home value.

HUD’s Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom, set near the 40th percentile of recent new leases, is $956, some 22% above the $781 tenants already here pay.

At HUD’s Fair Market Rent of $956 a month for a two-bedroom, keeping rent to 30% of income takes a household income of about $38,200 a year, about 74% of the median household income here of $51,606.

The typical renter household here spends 27% of its income on rent, below the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened. Median gross rent runs $781 a month.

A median home at $98,000 costs 1.5 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $65,022, close to the historic benchmark for an affordable market.

Rent as a share of income
26.6%
Below the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
1.5×
median home value ÷ owner household income
Market rent, two bedroom
$956
what a new lease costs · FY2026
Median gross rent
$781
what tenants now pay · 2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$98,000
2024 ACS 5-Year

The figures above are measured against New Castle’s median household income of $51,606, which describes the place rather than you. Enter your own and the ratio is recomputed against it. It stays in this browser.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Home price change (1 year)the non-metropolitan parts of Indiana’s figure2026 Q2+5.5%83rd percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price change (5 years)the non-metropolitan parts of Indiana’s figure2026 Q2+50.9%82nd percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price change (10 years)the non-metropolitan parts of Indiana’s figure2026 Q2+103.3%68th percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price to income ±0.12024 ACS 5-Year1.5Top 15%of 26,8152024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year61.5%23rd percentileof 31,7172024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±2992024 ACS 5-Year8,41793rd percentileof 32,1772024 ACS 5-Year
Market rent, one bedroomFY2026$775Top 6%of 4,072FY2026
Market rent, three bedroomFY2026$1,146Top 2%of 4,072FY2026
Market rent, two bedroomFY2026$956Top 4%of 4,072FY2026
Median gross rent ±$602024 ACS 5-Year$781Top 26%of 23,1202024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$5,0972024 ACS 5-Year$98,00018th percentileof 29,1112024 ACS 5-Year
Median property taxes ±$862024 ACS 5-Year$91120th percentileof 26,4402024 ACS 5-Year
Owner household income ±$5,1902024 ACS 5-Year$65,022Bottom 30%of 27,5482024 ACS 5-Year
Property tax rate ±0.10%2024 ACS 5-Year0.93%47th percentileof 20,5432024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year26.6%Top 40%of 22,9502024 ACS 5-Year
Seasonal and second homes ±202024 ACS 5-Year01st percentileof 32,3302024 ACS 5-Year
Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year0.0%1st percentileof 31,8952024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year14.6%78th percentileof 31,7692024 ACS 5-Year
Vacant housing units ±2522024 ACS 5-Year1,22996th percentileof 32,3302024 ACS 5-Year

These measures come from the same ACS release as the income they are compared with. They compare housing cost with local earnings only: transport, groceries, healthcare, insurance and taxes are not in them. How to read affordability, the two rent figures.

Development Momentum

52/ 100
Top 47% of 4,224 published city profiles
The most recent move in permitting was downward, in a series running from 2022 to 2025. That is the direction of the recent run. The chart below compares the first year with the last, which can point the other way.

An AreaProfile calculation combining permit volume per resident, its direction over one and three years, population change and employment growth. Permit volume alone is not the measure.

Population has been broadly flat since 2020, at 17,382 in 2024.

Permitting has turned downward after moving the other way the year before: 8 units authorized in 2025, against 14 the year before.

New construction is predominantly single-family: of 15 units permitted over the past twelve months, none were in buildings of five or more homes.

Federal tax returns show Henry County, which contains New Castle, gained about 0.3% of its residents through moves within the US in the most recent year, counting those who arrived against those who left. Households that moved in reported an average income of $48,189, close to the $46,276 of households that moved out.

At 0.9 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is below the median for measured US cities.

Units permitted
15
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
0.9
Bottom 23% nationally
Year over year
+15%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
0.0%
units in 5+ unit buildings

Population, annual estimates

2020202120222023202417k17k
Census Population Estimates Program, July 1 of each year. These annual estimates are designed for year-over-year comparison, unlike the ACS five-year figure shown as this profile's population. It has been holding roughly steady, over a series running from 2020 to 2024.

People moving in and out

Net migration
+0.3%
of residents, in a year
Arrivals from another state
18%
of people moving in
Income of arrivals
$48,189
average per tax return
Income of those who left
$46,276
average per tax return

Where newcomers came from

  1. Hancock County, IN 338 people · 17% of arrivals
  2. Madison County, IN 274 people · 14% of arrivals
  3. Delaware County, IN 205 people · 10% of arrivals
  4. Marion County, IN 167 people · 8.4% of arrivals
  5. Wayne County, IN 152 people · 7.6% of arrivals

Where people who left went

  1. Delaware County, IN 287 people · 15% of departures
  2. Madison County, IN 273 people · 15% of departures
  3. Hancock County, IN 225 people · 12% of departures
  4. Wayne County, IN 121 people · 6.5% of departures
  5. Marion County, IN 115 people · 6.2% of departures

Based on the address on federal tax returns, compared with the same filers a year earlier. It counts people who file, and sees a move only when the address on a return changes. Domestic moves only: people arriving from abroad are left out. This is the figure for Henry County, IN. IRS Statistics of Income, filing years 2022–2023.

Housing units permitted per year

2022202320242025144.0
Annual totals from the Census Building Permits Survey. Permitting in 2025 was higher than 2022 (+100%).

Weather & climate

6 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 86°F and January a low of 21°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 40.3 inches.

Air quality measures a median index of 34, in the Good band, and no day in the year passed 100.

10°30°50°70°90°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station MUNCIE DELAWARE CO AP, 21.8 miles from this location.

Precipitation

JFMAMJJASOND4.8"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
90th percentile air quality index2024 calendar year552024 calendar year
Annual precipitation1991-2020 Normals40.3"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low1991-2020 Normals21°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high1991-2020 Normals86°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months1991-2020 Normals61991-2020 Normals
Days above AQI 1002024 calendar year02024 calendar year
Median air quality index2024 calendar year342024 calendar year
Seasonal temperature swing1991-2020 Normals47°F1991-2020 Normals

Air quality

Median air quality index
34
Good on a typical day
Worst tenth of days
55
90th percentile index
Days above 100
0
unhealthy for sensitive groups

A comfortable median and a bad tail are different problems. Wildfire smoke and summer ozone show up in the worst tenth of days, not in the middle of the year.

Climate figures are thirty-year normals, not current conditions. Air quality is measured by EPA monitors and published by county only where a monitor sits; a county without one shows nothing rather than an estimate, and a county reading is still the county’s. How to read climate and air quality.

Physical risk

65 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are inland flooding, tornado and earthquake, with inland flooding alone responsible for 54% of it. Inland flooding is independently rated low or minimal nationally, so this describes how the loss is composed, not how large that hazard is.

TornadoHigh
EarthquakeElevated
HailModerate
LightningModerate
Strong windModerate
Heat waveModerate
Cold waveModerate

Low or minimal exposure: ice storm, inland flooding, winter weather, landslide, drought, hurricane, wildfire, avalanche, tsunami, coastal flooding, volcanic activity.

Hazard ratings are AreaProfile calculations derived from the FEMA National Risk Index v1.20.0 (December 2025). FEMA publishes at county level. City values are the population-weighted mean of the counties the city overlaps, using AreaProfile place-to-county land-area weights. FEMA does not endorse this presentation. Higher physical resilience means lower exposure.

Violent crime
127
per 100,000 residents · 2025 calendar year
Property crime
840
per 100,000 residents · 2025 calendar year

Below these are deaths rather than offenses, published for the county. The two measure different things and are not comparable with each other.

New Castle's police department reported 127 violent offenses per 100,000 residents, near the middle of places with a department reporting. Property crime runs at 840.

Henry County has a modeled homicide rate of about 3.3 per 100,000 residents a year, because the CDC suppresses counts this small, near the middle of counties measured. The CDC does not publish this below county level.

Firearm deaths of all intents run at about 14.6 per 100,000 — more than the homicide rate, since the figure counts suicides and accidents as well as homicides.

Drug overdose deaths run at 20.4 per 100,000 residents in Henry County.

Homicide
3.3
per 100,000 residents · modeled, not measured
Firearm deaths, all intents
14.6
per 100,000 residents · modeled, not measured
Drug overdose
20.4
per 100,000 residents
Suicide
24.5
per 100,000 residents

Firearm deaths count every intent together, and nationally the majority are suicides rather than homicides, so the firearm figure and the homicide figure above it count some of the same deaths twice over. They overlap and should not be added together.

Offenses are reported to the FBI by New Castle’s own police department and shown only where it reported every month of the year; a partial year is withheld rather than scaled up. Reported crime is what police recorded, which is not the same as what happened. Death rates are crude rates — deaths divided by population, not adjusted for age — except where a count was too small for the CDC to publish and it modeled the rate, which the card marks. They come from provisional death certificate records, published by the CDC by county and not below it. So they describe the county around New Castle (Henry County) rather than New Castle itself. Neither is part of the Area Score. How to read crime rates and death rates.

What this profile does not cover

Each of these is absent for a reason, not by oversight. The Area Score is calculated without them; the weighting is on the methodology page.

Cost of living
Price parities are published for metropolitan areas, and this place lies outside one.
Taxes
Income and sales taxes are not published: no source covers them nationally with a method open enough to check. Property taxes are shown in the housing section but are not part of the score. Cost of living is published where the Bureau of Economic Analysis measures it, though not for this place. Nothing here is individualized tax advice.
Anything about a specific address
Every figure describes an area, not a street or a house.

Access

5 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest Indianapolis Intl at 51 miles.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Broadband access ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year89.2%Bottom 47%of 31,5882024 ACS 5-Year
Distance to major airportNASR current cycle51 miBottom 12%of 4,226NASR current cycle
Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle5Top 45%of 4,226NASR current cycle
No internet access ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year7.6%Bottom 49%of 31,5882024 ACS 5-Year
AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Indianapolis IntlIND51 mi11,200 ft
James M Cox Dayton IntlDAY61 mi8,502 ft
Grissom ARBGUS65 mi12,501 ft

Airport identity, position and runway data come from the FAA. “Major airport” is an AreaProfile classification — a public-use civil airport with a paved runway of at least 8,000 feet — not an FAA hub designation. Distances are straight-line, not driving distance.

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62
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Data & methodology

Used forSourceSource period
AccessFederal Aviation Administration
Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service
NASR current cycle
SafetyFederal Bureau of Investigation, Crime Data Explorer
Summarized offense counts by law enforcement agency
2025 calendar year
Physical riskFederal Emergency Management Agency
National Risk Index
National Risk Index December 2025 (v1.20.0)
Demographics, IncomeInternal Revenue Service, Statistics of Income Division
U.S. Population Migration Data (county to county)
filing years 2022–2023
ClimateNOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Monthly)
1991-2020 Normals
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Local Area Unemployment Statistics
July 2026
DemographicsU.S. Census Bureau
Population Estimates Program
July 1, 2024 estimate
DevelopmentU.S. Census Bureau
Building Permits Survey
12 months ending July 2026
Access, Demographics, Housing, Income, JobsU.S. Census Bureau
American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File)
2024 ACS 5-Year
SafetyU.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics
Provisional county-level mortality by intent
March 2025 to February 2026; May 2025 to April 2026
SchoolsU.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics
Common Core of Data and EDFacts assessments
2018-19 school year; 2024-25 school year
HousingU.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Policy Development and Research
Fair Market Rents
FY2026
ClimateU.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Air Quality System
Daily Air Quality Index by county
2024 calendar year
HousingU.S. Federal Housing Finance Agency
House Price Index (traditional, all-transactions)
2026 Q2
Current conditionsNOAA National Weather Service
National Weather Service current conditions
Live observation, read when the page opens

Profile recalculated October 8, 2026. Recalculation is not the same as new source data — each figure above shows the period its source actually covers. Read the full methodology, or every source with how often each updates.

ZIP codes in New Castle

1 ZIP area

Every ZIP area in New Castle with census figures of its own, largest first.

ZIPPopulationMedian household incomeMedian home valueArea Score
4736229,337$60,258$146,80063