How Penn compares across Indiana
Penn is ranked on 34 lists against the 602 Indiana towns with 2,500+ residents. It makes the top 10 on 0 and the top quarter on 2.
More snow than 95% of Indiana
Not better or worse, just Penn’s character, from the lists where neither end is the “good” one. The most distinctive come first.
The lists Penn does best on
Each list ranks every IN town with 2,500+ residents. Tap one to see the whole list with Penn marked.
Penn lands in the top half on 13 of 21 lists
Each dot is Penn’s spot on one list: the left end is #1 in IN, the right end is last. Areas where Penn does best come first.
Penn out-ranks every neighbor it can be compared with
Head to head on the lists where both towns are ranked: a point for each list where one town places higher. Tap a town for its own rankings.
Where Penn lands in every IN ranking
38 lists from Census, school, health, library, crime, climate and land data. Tap any list to see every town on it.
Health
Healthiest#1 Carmel · 96 / 100
#249
Lowest obesity#1 Notre Dame · 25%
#98
Fewest smokers#1 Carmel · 8%
#163
Most active#1 Carmel · 15%
#333
Fewest uninsured#1 Zionsville · 4%
#328
Lowest depression#1 East Chicago · 19%
#568
Closest to a top hospital#1 East Chicago · 0.1 mi
#229 People
Most educated#1 Notre Dame · 79.5%
#150
Youngest#1 Notre Dame · 20.3
#179
Oldest#1 Clay · 58.6
#418
Most residents 65+#1 Jamestown · 35.8%
#329
Most kids#1 Van Buren · 45.1%
#303 Getting around
Shortest commute#1 Notre Dame · 10.4 min
#189 
Cost of living
C Most affordable#1 Country Squire Lakes · 0.4 yrs #268
Cheapest rent#1 Madison · $537/mo
#360
Lowest property tax#1 Grissom AFB · $199/yr
#362
Rent easiest to afford#1 Vernon · 21.3%
#59 Outdoors
Most conserved land#1 Washington · 49.8%
#307
Most trails#1 Winona Lake · 3.5 mi / sq mi
#226
Most walkable#1 Bicknell · 197 / sq mi
#213 Climate
Snowiest#1 Michigan City · 65 in
#30
Least snow#1 Jeffersonville · 4.3 in
#570
Mildest winters#1 Tell City · 25.5°
#440
Hottest summers#1 Pigeon · 88.4°
#462
Coolest summers#1 Michigan City · 82.2°
#68
Longest growing season#1 Jeffersonville · 225 days
#286
Wettest#1 Ferdinand · 51 in
#418 Housing
Vacation-home towns#1 Jamestown · 39%
#223
Most new homes#1 Whitestown · 44.0 per 1,000
Fastest-rising home prices#1 Logan · +90.9%
#143
Housing hasn't kept up#1 Speedway · 35.1 per home
Safety
Safest#1 St. John · 2.5
The number on the right is Penn’s spot. All of Indiana’s rankings, with the map → · National lists and other states: all rankings.
Do the numbers ring true?
The lists count what can be counted. Neighbors know the rest.
Your answer becomes a post in Town Square.
- 2,500+ residents. Census estimates for smaller towns carry margins of error too wide to rank fairly, so they sit out every IN list.
- One town, one row. A city that is both a city and a town in Census data, or a village inside a town, is counted once.
- Ties share a rank. Towns on one weather station, one school district or one CDC estimate share a figure, so they share a spot (T).
- No “worst” lists. Lists rank toward the good end, and share cards are made only for the top half. Age, snow and the like are character, not grades.
U.S. Census Bureau (American Community Survey 5-year, 2010 and 2020 censuses, Building Permits Survey), U.S. Department of Education, FBI Uniform Crime Reporting, CDC PLACES, Medicare Care Compare, IMLS Public Libraries Survey, FHFA House Price Index, NOAA U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020, USGS PAD-US and OpenStreetMap. Each list explains its own method.