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Fairview Park, Indiana

Fairview Park is a small town of about 1,400 people in Vermillion County, Indiana. Its population has held about steady since 2020. A typical home costs about 1.7 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 68 miles away as the crow flies.

Population
1,420
up 1.3% since 2020
Typical home, 2020-24
$104,800
Vermillion County prices up 20% since 2022
Household income
$62,778
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, Terre Haute area
87.8
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
2 miles
Clinton, IN
To Indianapolis
68 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 1.7 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
  • A safer neighborhoodThe FBI has no 2025 figures for Fairview Park itself. Many small towns are patrolled by the county sheriff, so call the sheriff's office and ask what calls they get most.
  • Schools in town2 public schools: 1 middle and 1 high school.
  • A hospital close byUnion Hospital Clinton in Clinton, about 2 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big cityIndianapolis is about 68 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 Fairview Park 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
$104,800U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Up 20%Vermillion County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities
$833 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income
$62,778U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them
70%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill
$781 a yearIndiana: $1,614
Homes built before 1940
24%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010
3%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 20% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the Terre Haute metro area, not Fairview Park 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
1,4202020: 1,402
Median age
43.8 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
18%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
19%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
17%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year
4%U.S.: 6%
College students
6%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 (25%); schools, health care and social services (25%); retail (12%)
Unemployment rate
5%U.S.: 5%
Average commute
22 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home
10%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line
12%U.S.: 12%

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

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Union Hospital Clinton, Clinton, IN, about 2 miles away. It's a critical access hospital (a small rural hospital with 25 or fewer beds). Medicare gives it 2 of 5 stars.

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

2 public schools in Fairview Park, run by South Vermillion Com Sch Corp.

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
76%U.S.: 76%
Homes with any internet subscription
93%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
86°F
Days 90°F or hotter
28 a year
Nights at or below freezing
111 a year
Rain and melted snow
43.5 inches a year
Snow
15 inches a year
Elevation
499 feet

Weather stations: Rockville (11 miles away) and Clinton 2 W (2 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: Union Hospital Clinton, Terre Haute, Indianapolis.

Vermillion 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

Read about Fairview Park's history on Wikipedia.

Know Fairview Park?

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

  • Lyford, IN (unincorporated)438 people, 3 miles
  • Universal, IN285 people, 5 miles
  • Shepardsville, IN (unincorporated)115 people, 5 miles
  • Mecca, IN276 people, 5 miles
  • Blanford, IN (unincorporated)281 people, 6 miles
  • St. Bernice, IN (unincorporated)554 people, 6 miles
  • Hillsdale, IN (unincorporated)237 people, 7 miles
  • New Goshen, IN (unincorporated)526 people, 7 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.