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Towns / Indiana

North Manchester, Indiana

North Manchester is a small town of about 5,200 people in Wabash County, Indiana. Its population has held about steady since 2020. A typical home costs about 2.3 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 87 miles away as the crow flies.

Population
5,230
down 0.8% since 2020
Typical home, 2020-24
$138,200
Wabash County prices up 23% since 2022
Household income
$61,296
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, rural Indiana
88.7
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
13 miles
Wabash, IN
To Indianapolis
87 mi
straight line

The book's checklist

  • Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 11.3% below the U.S. average in the parts of Indiana outside metro areas.
  • More house for the moneyA typical home costs 2.3 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 North Manchester 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 byParkview Wabash Hospital, INC in Wabash, about 13 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big cityIndianapolis is about 87 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 North Manchester 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
$138,200U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Up 23%Wabash County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities
$660 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income
$61,296U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them
80%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill
$796 a yearIndiana: $1,614
Homes built before 1940
33%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010
6%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes
0%U.S.: 3%
Everyday prices
88.7U.S. average = 100 (the parts of Indiana outside metro areas)

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 23% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the parts of Indiana outside metro areas, not North Manchester 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
5,2302020: 5,272
Median age
40.4 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
24%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
17%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
26%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year
6%U.S.: 6%
College students
14%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
Schools, health care and social services (33%); manufacturing (18%); retail (12%)
Unemployment rate
2%U.S.: 5%
Average commute
23 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home
7%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line
11%U.S.: 12%

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

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Parkview Wabash Hospital, INC, Wabash, IN, about 13 miles away. It's a critical access hospital (a small rural hospital with 25 or fewer beds). Medicare gives it 3 of 5 stars.

Nearest general hospital: Parkview Huntington Hospital, Huntington, IN, about 16 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 North Manchester, run by Manchester Community Schools.

Colleges in or next to town: Manchester University (1,000 to 4,999 students).

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
79%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
83°F
Days 90°F or hotter
12 a year
Nights at or below freezing
134 a year
Rain and melted snow
41.1 inches a year
Snow
30 inches a year
Elevation
777 feet

Weather station: N Manchester Wwtp (1 mile 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: Parkview Wabash Hospital, Fort Wayne, Indianapolis.

Wabash County is outside any metro area, with 5,000 to 20,000 people in its towns, next to a metro area (USDA rural-urban code 6, on a scale where 1 is the biggest metro areas and 9 the most rural counties).

For a day

7 places on the National Register of Historic Places, including the North Manchester Historic District.

Campus life. Check Manchester University's events calendar for games, concerts and plays open to the public.

Read about North Manchester's history on Wikipedia.

Know North Manchester?

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

  • Liberty Mills, IN (unincorporated)139 people, 3 miles
  • Laketon, IN (unincorporated)460 people, 4 miles
  • Servia, IN (unincorporated)114 people, 4 miles
  • Sidney, IN128 people, 7 miles
  • Urbana, IN (unincorporated)116 people, 7 miles
  • Silver Lake, IN875 people, 8 miles
  • Roann, IN437 people, 10 miles
  • Claypool, IN396 people, 10 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.