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Brazil, Indiana

Brazil is a small town of about 8,300 people in Clay County, Indiana. It's the county seat. It has grown about 2% since 2020. A typical home costs about 2.2 years of the typical household's income, compared with 4.1 across the U.S. The nearest metro area of about a million people or more, Indianapolis, is about 55 miles away as the crow flies.

County seat

Population
8,343
up 2.3% since 2020
Typical home, 2020-24
$113,900
Clay County prices up 32% since 2022
Household income
$52,055
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, Terre Haute area
87.8
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
In town
Ascension St. Vincent Clay
To Indianapolis
55 mi
straight line

The book's checklist

  • Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 12.2% below the U.S. average in the Terre Haute metro area.
  • More house for the moneyA typical home costs 2.2 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
  • A safer neighborhood32 violent crimes were reported in 2025, about 3.9 per 1,000 people (U.S.: 3.3). Property crime: 15.4 per 1,000 (U.S.: 15.3).
  • Schools in town8 public schools: 6 elementary, 1 middle and 1 high school.
  • A hospital close byAscension St. Vincent Clay is in town and has an emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big cityIndianapolis is about 55 miles away as the crow flies. The book suggests staying within about 60 miles if you'll miss big-city sports, concerts and theater.

A check means Brazil meets the rule of thumb from Frank and Dave's book. An empty box isn't a deal breaker: it's something to weigh for your family. A question mark means there isn't enough data.

For a lifetime

Homes and money

Typical home value, as owners valued them in 2020-2024
$113,900U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Up 32%Clay County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities
$869 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income
$52,055U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them
73%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill
$634 a yearIndiana: $1,614
Homes built before 1940
23%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010
7%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes
0%U.S.: 3%
Everyday prices
87.8U.S. average = 100 (the Terre Haute metro area)

Home values and rents are what households told the Census Bureau across 2020 to 2024, so they trail today's market: county prices have moved up 32% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the Terre Haute metro area, not Brazil alone. Check current listings before you budget.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates; Federal Housing Finance Agency, House Price Index for counties (all transactions); U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024.

The people

Population, 2025 estimate
8,3432020: 8,158
Median age
39.5 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
19%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
21%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
14%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year
3%U.S.: 6%

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates (Vintage 2025); U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Work

Biggest lines of work
Schools, health care and social services (29%); manufacturing (19%); construction (9%)
Unemployment rate
6%U.S.: 5%
Average commute
34 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home
1%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line
19%U.S.: 12%

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Ascension St. Vincent Clay, Brazil, IN, in town. It's a critical access hospital (a small rural hospital with 25 or fewer beds). Medicare hasn't given it a star rating.

Nearest general hospital: Union Hospital INC, Terre Haute, IN, about 14 miles away. Medicare gives it 3 of 5 stars.

Look up doctors, clinics and the hospitals themselves on Medicare's Care Compare. Ask where the most serious cases are sent.

Sources: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospital General Information.

Schools

8 public schools in Brazil, run by Clay Community Schools.

See each school on the federal school search, then check test scores and graduation rates on Indiana's school report card.

Sources: National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data, 2023-24 (via the Urban Institute Education Data Portal); National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS institution directory, 2024.

Internet

Homes with cable, fiber or DSL internet
62%U.S.: 76%
Homes with any internet subscription
83%U.S.: 91%

Before you buy, look up the address on the FCC's National Broadband Map to see which providers serve it.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Weather

January average low
20°F
July average high
86°F
Days 90°F or hotter
25 a year
Nights at or below freezing
111 a year
Rain and melted snow
46.3 inches a year
Snow
20 inches a year
Elevation
647 feet

Weather stations: Terre Haute Caa Ap (11 miles away) and Reelsville 4 SW (7 miles away, rain and snow). Averages for 1991 to 2020.

Sources: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020; U.S. Geological Survey, 3D Elevation Program.

Getting around

Straight-line miles. The road is always longer, and as the book says, an interstate at 70 is a different trip from a farm road at 45. Check the real drive: Terre Haute, Indianapolis.

Clay County is in a metro area of fewer than 250,000 people (USDA rural-urban code 3, on a scale where 1 is the biggest metro areas and 9 the most rural counties).

For a day

6 places on the National Register of Historic Places, including the Brazil Downtown Historic District and the Meridian-Forest Historic District.

Read about Brazil's history on Wikipedia.

Know Brazil?

Tell us what a visitor shouldn't miss, and what living there is really like. Write to Main Street at mainstreet@smalltownguide.com. The best notes from people who know the town will be added here.

Nearby

Straight-line miles.

Small towns

Smaller places

  • Knightsville, IN673 people, 2 miles
  • Harmony, IN668 people, 3 miles
  • Billtown, IN (unincorporated)177 people, 3 miles
  • Staunton, IN467 people, 4 miles
  • Carbon, IN251 people, 5 miles
  • Cloverland, IN (unincorporated)398 people, 6 miles
  • Center Point, IN206 people, 8 miles
  • Bridgeton, IN (unincorporated)138 people, 9 miles

Sources

  1. U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates (Vintage 2025)
  2. U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates
  3. Federal Housing Finance Agency, House Price Index for counties (all transactions)
  4. U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024
  5. FBI, Crime in the United States, Table 8 (offenses known to law enforcement by city)
  6. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospital General Information
  7. National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data, 2023-24 (via the Urban Institute Education Data Portal)
  8. National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS institution directory, 2024
  9. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020
  10. U.S. Geological Survey, 3D Elevation Program
  11. National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places listings
  12. National Park Service, park unit boundaries
  13. USDA Economic Research Service, Rural-Urban Continuum Codes, 2023
  14. U.S. Census Bureau, 2025 Gazetteer files and 2020 urban areas

Census survey figures are estimates with a margin of error; we leave out any figure whose margin is too wide to be useful. Data last gathered October 5, 2026. See something wrong? Write to mainstreet@smalltownguide.com.