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Morristown, Indiana

Morristown is a small town of about 1,200 people in Shelby County, Indiana. It has lost about 2% of its people since 2020. A typical home costs about 3 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 23 miles away as the crow flies.

Population
1,183
down 2.2% since 2020
Typical home, 2020-24
$162,000
Shelby County prices up 20% since 2022
Household income
$53,250
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, Indianapolis area
95.7
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
6 miles
Greenfield, IN
To Indianapolis
23 mi
straight line

The book's checklist

  • Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 4.3% below the U.S. average in the Indianapolis-Carmel-Greenwood metro area.
  • More house for the moneyA typical home costs 3 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 Morristown 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 byHancock Regional Hospital in Greenfield, about 6 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big cityIndianapolis is about 23 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 Morristown 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
$162,000U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Up 20%Shelby County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities
$902 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income
$53,250U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them
70%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill
$1,049 a yearIndiana: $1,614
Homes built before 1940
31%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010
4%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes
0%U.S.: 3%
Everyday prices
95.7U.S. average = 100 (the Indianapolis-Carmel-Greenwood 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 Indianapolis-Carmel-Greenwood metro area, not Morristown 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
1,1832020: 1,210
Median age
41.8 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
28%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
23%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
16%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year
13%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
Manufacturing (25%); schools, health care and social services (20%); professional and business services (10%)
Unemployment rate
1%U.S.: 5%
Average commute
28 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home
11%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line
14%U.S.: 12%

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

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Hancock Regional Hospital, Greenfield, IN, about 6 miles away. It's a general hospital. 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 Morristown, run by Shelby Eastern 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
65%U.S.: 76%
Homes with any internet subscription
87%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
18°F
July average high
84°F
Days 90°F or hotter
16 a year
Nights at or below freezing
119 a year
Rain and melted snow
44.9 inches a year
Snow
20 inches a year
Elevation
855 feet

Weather stations: Greenfield (7 miles away) and Morristown 2 SE (4 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: Hancock Regional Hospital, Lawrence, Indianapolis.

Shelby 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.

Read about Morristown's history on Wikipedia.

Know Morristown?

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

  • Fountaintown, IN (unincorporated)119 people, 3 miles
  • Gwynneville, IN (unincorporated)198 people, 5 miles
  • Carrollton, IN (unincorporated)267 people, 5 miles
  • Marion, IN (unincorporated)276 people, 7 miles
  • Philadelphia, IN (unincorporated)431 people, 9 miles
  • Arlington, IN (unincorporated)678 people, 9 miles
  • Spring Lake, IN216 people, 9 miles
  • Carthage, IN920 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.