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New Pekin, Indiana

New Pekin is a small town of about 1,400 people in Washington 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, Louisville/Jefferson County, is about 31 miles away as the crow flies.

Population
1,378
up 1.2% since 2020
Typical home, 2020-24
$135,800
Washington County prices up 19% since 2022
Household income
$50,625
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, Louisville/Jefferson County area
93.1
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
9 miles
Salem, IN
To Louisville/Jefferson County
31 mi
straight line

The book's checklist

  • Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 6.9% below the U.S. average in the Louisville/Jefferson County 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 New Pekin 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 town3 public schools: 1 elementary, 1 middle and 1 high school.
  • A hospital close byAscension St. Vincent Salem in Salem, about 9 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big cityLouisville/Jefferson County is about 31 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 New Pekin 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
$135,800U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Up 19%Washington County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities
$836 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income
$50,625U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them
62%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill
$844 a yearIndiana: $1,614
Homes built before 1940
12%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010
8%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes
0%U.S.: 3%
Everyday prices
93.1U.S. average = 100 (the Louisville/Jefferson County 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 19% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the Louisville/Jefferson County metro area, not New Pekin 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
1,3782020: 1,362
Median age
37.8 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
15%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
29%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
12%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year
7%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 (29%); manufacturing (17%); retail (15%)
Unemployment rate
2%U.S.: 5%
Average commute
31 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home
5%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line
20%U.S.: 12%

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

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Ascension St. Vincent Salem, Salem, IN, about 9 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: Baptist Health Floyd, New Albany, IN, about 17 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

3 public schools in New Pekin, run by East Washington 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 cable, fiber or DSL internet
66%U.S.: 76%
Homes with any internet subscription
78%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
87°F
Days 90°F or hotter
24 a year
Nights at or below freezing
103 a year
Rain and melted snow
46.9 inches a year
Snow
14 inches a year
Elevation
699 feet

Weather station: Salem (9 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: Ascension St. Vincent Salem, Jeffersonville, Louisville/Jefferson County.

Washington 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.

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

  • Lincoln Boyhood National Memorial59 miles

Read about New Pekin's history on Wikipedia.

Know New Pekin?

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

  • Martinsburg, IN (unincorporated)233 people, 4 miles
  • Borden, IN842 people, 4 miles
  • Palmyra, IN913 people, 8 miles
  • Canton, IN (unincorporated)148 people, 9 miles
  • Galena, IN (unincorporated)1,549 people, 11 miles
  • Memphis, IN (unincorporated)784 people, 13 miles
  • Henryville, IN (unincorporated)1,691 people, 14 miles
  • New Salisbury, IN (unincorporated)499 people, 14 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.