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Morocco, Indiana

Morocco is a small town of about 1,100 people in Newton County, Indiana. Its population has held about steady since 2020. A typical home costs about 1.8 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, Chicago, is about 63 miles away as the crow flies.

Population
1,084
up 0.9% since 2020
Typical home, 2020-24
$113,900
Newton County prices up 14% since 2022
Household income
$61,767
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, Chicago area
103.6
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
16 miles
Rensselaer, IN
To Chicago
63 mi
straight line

The book's checklist

  • Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 3.6% above the U.S. average in the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin metro area.
  • More house for the moneyA typical home costs 1.8 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 Morocco 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 elementary and 1 high school.
  • A hospital close byFranciscan Health Rensselaer, INC in Rensselaer, about 16 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big cityChicago is about 63 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 Morocco 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 14%Newton County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities
$852 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income
$61,767U.S.: $80,734
Typical property tax bill
$1,123 a yearIndiana: $1,614
Homes built before 1940
36%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010
2%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes
2%U.S.: 3%
Everyday prices
103.6U.S. average = 100 (the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin 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 14% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin metro area, not Morocco 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
1,0842020: 1,074
Median age
40.5 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
7%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
Construction (18%); schools, health care and social services (16%); manufacturing (14%)
Unemployment rate
5%U.S.: 5%
Average commute
33 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home
3%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line
7%U.S.: 12%

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

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Franciscan Health Rensselaer, INC, Rensselaer, IN, about 16 miles away. 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: Presence St. Marys Hospital, Kankakee, IL, about 25 miles away. Medicare gives it 4 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 Morocco, run by North Newton School 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 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
16°F
July average high
85°F
Days 90°F or hotter
23 a year
Nights at or below freezing
133 a year
Rain and melted snow
40 inches a year
Snow
30 inches a year
Elevation
683 feet

Weather stations: Kentland (13 miles away) and Lake Village 7SE (10 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: Franciscan Health Rensselaer, Gary, Chicago.

Newton 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

2 places on the National Register of Historic Places.

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

  • Indiana Dunes National Park39 miles
  • Pullman National Historical Park52 miles

Read about Morocco's history on Wikipedia.

Know Morocco?

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

  • Brook, IN944 people, 7 miles
  • Mount Ayr, IN116 people, 8 miles
  • Donovan, IL239 people, 9 miles
  • Iroquois, IL131 people, 11 miles
  • Beaverville, IL295 people, 11 miles
  • Hopkins Park, IL645 people, 12 miles
  • Lake Village, IN (unincorporated)705 people, 13 miles
  • Sheldon, IL931 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.