Small Town Guide
Menu

Towns / Indiana

Crawfordsville, Indiana

Crawfordsville is a small town of about 16,700 people in Montgomery County, Indiana. It's the county seat. It has grown about 2% since 2020. A typical home costs about 2.4 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 44 miles away as the crow flies.

County seat

Population
16,699
up 2.2% since 2020
Typical home, 2020-24
$134,000
Montgomery County prices up 20% since 2022
Household income
$55,033
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, rural Indiana
88.7
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
In town
Franciscan Health Crawfordsville
To Indianapolis
44 mi
straight line

The book's checklist

  • Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 11.3% below the U.S. average in the parts of Indiana outside metro areas.
  • More house for the moneyA typical home costs 2.4 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
  • A safer neighborhood23 violent crimes were reported in 2025, about 1.4 per 1,000 people (U.S.: 3.3). Property crime: 8 per 1,000 (U.S.: 15.3).
  • Schools in town13 public schools: 6 elementary, 3 middle, 3 high schools and 1 other.
  • A hospital close byFranciscan Health Crawfordsville is in town and has an emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big cityIndianapolis is about 44 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 Crawfordsville 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
$134,000U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Up 20%Montgomery County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities
$857 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income
$55,033U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them
69%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill
$1,041 a yearIndiana: $1,614
Homes built before 1940
30%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010
4%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes
1%U.S.: 3%
Everyday prices
88.7U.S. average = 100 (the parts of Indiana outside metro areas)

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 20% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the parts of Indiana outside metro areas, not Crawfordsville 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
16,6992020: 16,341
Median age
36.2 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
20%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
23%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
15%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year
6%U.S.: 6%
College students
7%share of all residents

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
Manufacturing (23%); schools, health care and social services (19%); retail (12%)
Unemployment rate
4%U.S.: 5%
Average commute
18 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home
5%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line
15%U.S.: 12%

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

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Franciscan Health Crawfordsville, Crawfordsville, IN, in town. It's a general hospital. Medicare gives it 5 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

13 public schools in Crawfordsville, run by Crawfordsville Community Schools and North Montgomery Com Sch Corp.

Colleges in or next to town: Wabash College (under 1,000 students).

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
72%U.S.: 76%
Homes with any internet subscription
90%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
17°F
July average high
83°F
Days 90°F or hotter
12 a year
Nights at or below freezing
140 a year
Rain and melted snow
44.2 inches a year
Snow
22 inches a year
Elevation
768 feet

Weather station: Crawfordsville 6 SE (6 miles away). 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: Lafayette, Indianapolis.

Montgomery County is outside any metro area, with 5,000 to 20,000 people in its towns, next to a metro area (USDA rural-urban code 6, on a scale where 1 is the biggest metro areas and 9 the most rural counties).

For a day

15 places on the National Register of Historic Places, including Gen. Lew Wallace Study, Montgomery County Jail and Sheriff's Residence, the Crawfordsville Commercial Historic District and the Elston Grove Historic District. Two are National Historic Landmarks, the country's highest honor for a historic place.

Campus life. Check Wabash College's events calendar for games, concerts and plays open to the public.

Read about Crawfordsville's history on Wikipedia.

Know Crawfordsville?

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

  • New Market, IN567 people, 6 miles
  • Lake Holiday, IN (unincorporated)845 people, 6 miles
  • Darlington, IN724 people, 8 miles
  • Waynetown, IN976 people, 9 miles
  • Linden, IN742 people, 10 miles
  • New Ross, IN314 people, 11 miles
  • New Richmond, IN318 people, 11 miles
  • Wingate, IN252 people, 13 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.