Wabash, Indiana

Area Profile

10,358 residents. Public schools, jobs, income, housing cost, climate and natural-hazard risk for Wabash, in Wabash County.

55out of 100
Area Score
Bottom 37% of 4,196 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks

Data updated · 13 sources
Opportunity3,289th of 4,199 cities measured43
Schools3,267th of 4,162 cities measured27
Growth3,646th of 4,224 cities measured29
Housing affordabilityTop 14% of 4,218 cities measured80
Climate3,403rd of 4,225 cities measured62
Physical resilienceTop 19% of 4,226 cities measured83
Access2,201st of 4,226 cities measured92
Economic stability3,463rd of 4,226 cities measured37
The quick read

Employment conditions sit below most comparable cities measured: unemployment is 3.4% and the Opportunity signal places Wabash in the bottom 22%. The unemployment rate is published for Wabash County, IN, which contains Wabash, rather than for Wabash alone.

In the public schools here, 35% of students met the state standard in mathematics, with 16.2 students for every teacher.

7 housing units were authorized over the past twelve months, within 13% of the prior year — steady rather than turning.

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
10,358
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$53,410
Bottom 28% nationally
Density
1,074/sq mi
9.6 sq mi of land
Median age
40.3
2024 ACS 5-Year
County
Indiana
Micro area
Nearest major airport
GUS
20 mi · Grissom ARB
Median home value
$116,500
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

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

Employment across Wabash County, IN, which contains Wabash, fell 3.7% over the past year, to 13,948 employed residents.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Income of new arrivalsWabash County, IN’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$50,4518th percentileof 4,101filing years 2022–2023
Income of those who leftWabash County, IN’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$46,2763rd percentileof 4,101filing years 2022–2023
Median household income ±$6,1602024 ACS 5-Year$53,410Bottom 28%of 29,2232024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$3,6382024 ACS 5-Year$32,760Bottom 47%of 31,4202024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate ±5%2024 ACS 5-Year14.1%Bottom 37%of 31,7732024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute ±2.2 min2024 ACS 5-Year19.0 minTop 14%of 31,5432024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year23.4%Top 43%of 31,9192024 ACS 5-Year
Drove alone to work ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year84.1%73rd percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year
EmploymentWabash County, IN’s figureJuly 202613,948Bottom 11%of 4,226July 2026
Employment change (3 years)Wabash County, IN’s figureJuly 2026−2.7%Bottom 17%of 4,226July 2026
Employment change (year over year)Wabash County, IN’s figureJuly 2026−3.7%Bottom 3%of 4,226July 2026
Labor forceWabash County, IN’s figureJuly 202614,44410th percentileof 4,226July 2026
Labor force participation ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year74.6%Bottom 38%of 31,5132024 ACS 5-Year
Public transit to work ±0.5%2024 ACS 5-Year0.4%78th percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)Wabash County, IN’s figureJuly 2026−0.6%Top 23%of 4,226July 2026
Unemployment rateWabash County, IN’s figureJuly 20263.4%Top 16%of 4,226July 2026
Worked from home ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year3.1%27th percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year

Median household income, successive ACS releases

202120222023202454k47k
Each point is a separate five-year estimate, most recently $53,410 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 Wabash County, IN, which contains this city.

35% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 44% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.

There are 16.2 students for every full-time teacher across 10 public schools, more than in most measured places.

Public schools
11
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
16.2
across 10 of them
Math proficiency
35.3%
Bottom 20% in Indiana
Reading proficiency
44.3%
Bottom 27% in Indiana
All 11 public schools on record, largest first.
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
Wabash High SchoolWabash City Schools46916.222%47%
Southwood Elementary SchoolMSD Wabash County Schools45815.843%49%
Southwood Jr-Sr High SchoolMSD Wabash County Schools44514.442%57%
Wabash Middle SchoolWabash City Schools43316.731%47%
Northfield Jr-Sr High SchoolMSD Wabash County Schools42913.435%45%
O J Neighbours Elementary SchoolWabash City Schools38514.837%39%
White's Jr-Sr High SchoolMSD Wabash County Schools36928.410%15%
Metro North Elementary SchoolMSD Wabash County Schools28514.357%47%
Sharp Creek Elementary SchoolMSD Wabash County Schools27015.951%50%
LH Carpenter Early Learning CenterWabash City Schools17629.3——
Heartland Career CenterHeartland Career Center0———

54.1% 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 $764 a year in real estate taxes, about 0.66% 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 29% above the $739 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 72% of the median household income here of $53,410.

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 $739 a month.

A median home at $116,500 costs 1.7 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $67,232, close to the historic benchmark for an affordable market.

Rent as a share of income
26.9%
Below the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
1.7×
median home value ÷ owner household income
Market rent, two bedroom
$956
what a new lease costs · FY2026
Median gross rent
$739
what tenants now pay · 2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$116,500
2024 ACS 5-Year

The figures above are measured against Wabash’s median household income of $53,410, 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 ±0.32024 ACS 5-Year1.7Top 23%of 26,8152024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate ±5%2024 ACS 5-Year70.6%39th percentileof 31,7172024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±2102024 ACS 5-Year4,91988th percentileof 32,1772024 ACS 5-Year
Market rent, one bedroomFY2026$729Top 3%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 ±$812024 ACS 5-Year$739Top 20%of 23,1202024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$7,6162024 ACS 5-Year$116,50026th percentileof 29,1112024 ACS 5-Year
Median property taxes ±$922024 ACS 5-Year$76415th percentileof 26,4402024 ACS 5-Year
Owner household income ±$10,3572024 ACS 5-Year$67,232Bottom 34%of 27,5482024 ACS 5-Year
Property tax rate ±0.09%2024 ACS 5-Year0.66%25th percentileof 20,5432024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year26.9%Top 42%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-Year9.9%63rd percentileof 31,7692024 ACS 5-Year
Vacant housing units ±1842024 ACS 5-Year48689th 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

29/ 100
Ranks 3,646 of 4,224 published city profiles
The most recent move in permitting was upward, 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 fallen 1% since 2020, to 10,275 in 2024.

New construction is predominantly single-family: of 7 units permitted over the past twelve months, none were in buildings of five or more homes.

Federal tax returns show that people moving in from elsewhere in the US and people moving out roughly balanced across Wabash County, which contains Wabash, in the most recent year. Households that moved in reported an average income of $50,451, above the $46,276 of households that moved out.

At 0.7 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is below the median for measured US cities.

Units permitted
7
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
0.7
Bottom 18% nationally
Year over year
−13%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
0.0%
units in 5+ unit buildings

Population, annual estimates

2020202120222023202410k10k
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
−0.1%
of residents, in a year
Arrivals from another state
21%
of people moving in
Income of arrivals
$50,451
average per tax return
Income of those who left
$46,276
average per tax return

Where newcomers came from

  1. Kosciusko County, IN 175 people · 15% of arrivals
  2. Miami County, IN 138 people · 12% of arrivals
  3. Grant County, IN 92 people · 7.8% of arrivals
  4. Huntington County, IN 86 people · 7.3% of arrivals
  5. Allen County, IN 69 people · 5.8% of arrivals

Where people who left went

  1. Kosciusko County, IN 157 people · 13% of departures
  2. Grant County, IN 154 people · 13% of departures
  3. Miami County, IN 112 people · 9.3% of departures
  4. Huntington County, IN 100 people · 8.3% of departures
  5. Allen County, IN 77 people · 6.4% 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 Wabash County, IN. IRS Statistics of Income, filing years 2022–2023.

Housing units permitted per year

2022202320242025104.0
Annual totals from the Census Building Permits Survey. Permitting in 2025 was higher than 2022 (+150%).

Weather & climate

5 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 85°F and January a low of 18°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 40.3 inches, including 19.5 inches of snow.

Air quality measures a median index of 36, 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 WABASH, 0.8 miles from this location.

Precipitation

JFMAMJJASOND4.9"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
90th percentile air quality index2024 calendar year512024 calendar year
Annual precipitation1991-2020 Normals40.3"1991-2020 Normals
Annual snowfall1991-2020 Normals19.5"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low1991-2020 Normals18°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high1991-2020 Normals85°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months1991-2020 Normals51991-2020 Normals
Days above AQI 1002024 calendar year02024 calendar year
Median air quality index2024 calendar year362024 calendar year
Seasonal temperature swing1991-2020 Normals48°F1991-2020 Normals

Air quality

Median air quality index
36
Good on a typical day
Worst tenth of days
51
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

83 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are inland flooding, tornado and cold wave, with inland flooding alone responsible for 48% of it. Inland flooding and cold wave are independently rated low or minimal nationally, so this describes how the loss is composed, not how large those hazards are.

Overall hazard risk is lower than 81% of measured US cities.

TornadoHigh
DroughtModerate
HailModerate
EarthquakeModerate
Heat waveModerate
LightningModerate

Low or minimal exposure: strong wind, cold wave, landslide, inland flooding, winter weather, hurricane, ice storm, wildfire, avalanche, coastal flooding, tsunami, 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.

These are deaths, not offenses — they say nothing about burglary, theft or assault.

Wabash County has a modeled homicide rate of about 3.9 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 13.2 per 100,000 — more than the homicide rate, since the figure counts suicides and accidents as well as homicides.

Drug overdose deaths run at about 14.2 per 100,000 residents in Wabash County.

Homicide
3.9
per 100,000 residents · modeled, not measured
Firearm deaths, all intents
13.2
per 100,000 residents · modeled, not measured
Drug overdose
14.2
per 100,000 residents · modeled, not measured
Suicide
14.2
per 100,000 residents · modeled, not measured

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.

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 Wabash (Wabash County) rather than Wabash itself. They are shown and not scored. How to read 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.

Reported crime
Offenses reported to police are published by department rather than by town, so AreaProfile shows a rate only on city profiles, and only where that city’s department submitted every month of a year. Either no municipal department reports for this place — many smaller communities are policed by the county — or its department did not report every month of the year. Either way there is no figure to show. A partial year is never scaled up to look complete, and arrest counts or news volume are never substituted for it.
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

4 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest Grissom ARB at 20 miles.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Broadband access ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year92.1%Top 39%of 31,5882024 ACS 5-Year
Distance to major airportNASR current cycle20 miBottom 45%of 4,226NASR current cycle
Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle4Bottom 38%of 4,226NASR current cycle
No internet access ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year5.1%Top 37%of 31,5882024 ACS 5-Year
AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Grissom ARBGUS20 mi12,501 ft
South Bend IntlSBN68 mi8,412 ft
Indianapolis IntlIND79 mi11,200 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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Data & methodology

Used forSourceSource period
AccessFederal Aviation Administration
Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service
NASR current cycle
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
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
DemographicsU.S. Census Bureau
Population Estimates Program
July 1, 2024 estimate
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 Wabash

1 ZIP area

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

ZIPPopulationMedian household incomeMedian home valueArea Score
4699216,438$66,220$159,90057