Small Town Guide
Menu

Towns / Indiana

Greendale, Indiana

Greendale is a small town of about 4,600 people in Dearborn County, Indiana. Its population has held about steady since 2020. A typical home costs about 2.7 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, Cincinnati, is about 17 miles away as the crow flies.

Population
4,598
down 0.2% since 2020
Typical home, 2020-24
$198,700
Dearborn County prices up 22% since 2022
Household income
$74,980
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, Cincinnati area
95.4
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
4 miles
Lawrenceburg, IN
To Cincinnati
17 mi
straight line

The book's checklist

  • Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 4.6% below the U.S. average in the Cincinnati metro area.
  • More house for the moneyA typical home costs 2.7 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 Greendale 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 townNo public schools inside the town. The nearest high school is Lawrenceburg High School, about 4 miles away.
  • A hospital close bySt. Elizabeth Dearborn Hospital in Lawrenceburg, about 4 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big cityCincinnati is about 17 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 Greendale 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
$198,700U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Up 22%Dearborn County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities
$567 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income
$74,980U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them
87%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill
$1,726 a yearIndiana: $1,614
Homes built before 1940
19%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010
3%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes
0%U.S.: 3%
Everyday prices
95.4U.S. average = 100 (the Cincinnati 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 22% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the Cincinnati metro area, not Greendale 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
4,5982020: 4,606
Median age
39.4 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
19%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
24%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
24%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year
2%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 (27%); manufacturing (25%); retail (12%)
Unemployment rate
0%U.S.: 5%
Average commute
26 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home
5%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line
10%U.S.: 12%

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

Health care

Nearest emergency room: St. Elizabeth Dearborn Hospital, Lawrenceburg, IN, about 4 miles away. 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

There are no public schools inside Greendale itself. The nearest public high school is Lawrenceburg High School, about 4 miles away.

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
75%U.S.: 76%
Homes with any internet subscription
82%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
24°F
July average high
86°F
Days 90°F or hotter
22 a year
Nights at or below freezing
101 a year
Rain and melted snow
47.5 inches a year
Snow
11 inches a year
Elevation
700 feet

Weather station: Cincinnati-fernbank (7 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: St. Elizabeth Dearborn Hospital, Cincinnati.

Dearborn County is in a metro area of 1 million people or more (USDA rural-urban code 1, on a scale where 1 is the biggest metro areas and 9 the most rural counties).

For a day

1 place on the National Register of Historic Places, including the Greendale Historic District.

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

  • William Howard Taft National Historic Site17 miles
  • Dayton Aviation Heritage National Historical Park52 miles

Read about Greendale's history on Wikipedia.

Know Greendale?

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

  • Elizabethtown, OH (unincorporated)347 people, 2 miles
  • Shawnee, OH (unincorporated)739 people, 3 miles
  • Hooven, OH (unincorporated)403 people, 4 miles
  • North Bend, OH841 people, 5 miles
  • Addyston, OH911 people, 6 miles
  • Grandview, OH (unincorporated)1,382 people, 7 miles
  • Petersburg, KY (unincorporated)771 people, 7 miles
  • West Harrison, IN334 people, 8 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.