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Rensselaer, Indiana

Rensselaer is a small town of about 5,700 people in Jasper County, Indiana. It's the county seat. Its population has held about steady since 2020. A typical home costs about 2.5 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 67 miles away as the crow flies.

County seat

Population
5,681
down 0.7% since 2020
Typical home, 2020-24
$153,800
Jasper County prices up 17% since 2022
Household income
$60,331
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, Chicago area
103.6
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
In town
Franciscan Health Rensselaer, INC
To Chicago
67 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 2.5 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 Rensselaer 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 town4 public schools: 2 elementary, 1 middle and 1 high school.
  • A hospital close byFranciscan Health Rensselaer, INC is in town and has an emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big cityChicago is about 67 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 Rensselaer 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
$153,800U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Up 17%Jasper County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities
$936 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income
$60,331U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them
63%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill
$698 a yearIndiana: $1,614
Homes built before 1940
31%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010
4%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 17% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin metro area, not Rensselaer 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
5,6812020: 5,718
Median age
30.8 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
18%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
24%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
18%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year
12%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 (21%); manufacturing (16%); arts, recreation, lodging and restaurants (15%)
Unemployment rate
6%U.S.: 5%
Average commute
21 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home
6%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line
15%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, in town. 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: Franciscan Health Crown Point, Crown Point, IN, about 33 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

4 public schools in Rensselaer, run by Rensselaer Central 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
77%U.S.: 76%

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
84°F
Days 90°F or hotter
17 a year
Nights at or below freezing
127 a year
Rain and melted snow
40.1 inches a year
Snow
25 inches a year
Elevation
673 feet

Weather station: Rensselaer (2 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: Lafayette, Chicago.

Jasper 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

9 places on the National Register of Historic Places, including the Rensselaer Courthouse Square Historic District.

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

  • Indiana Dunes National Park40 miles
  • Pullman National Historical Park56 miles

Read about Rensselaer's history on Wikipedia.

Know Rensselaer?

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

  • Mount Ayr, IN116 people, 8 miles
  • Fair Oaks, IN (unincorporated)323 people, 10 miles
  • Brook, IN944 people, 13 miles
  • Francesville, IN820 people, 14 miles
  • Wolcott, IN963 people, 14 miles
  • Goodland, IN971 people, 15 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.