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Santa Claus, Indiana

Santa Claus is a small town of about 2,600 people in Spencer County, Indiana. Its population has held about steady since 2020. A typical home costs about 2.9 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 70 miles away as the crow flies.

Population
2,641
up 1.9% since 2020
Typical home, 2020-24
$258,900
Spencer County prices up 13% since 2022
Household income
$89,659
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, rural Indiana
88.7
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
15 miles
Tell City, IN
To Louisville/Jefferson County
70 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 2.9 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 Santa Claus 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 townNo public schools inside the town. The nearest high school is Heritage Hills High School, about 3 miles away.
  • A hospital close byPerry County Memorial Hospital in Tell City, about 15 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big cityLouisville/Jefferson County is about 70 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 Santa Claus 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
$258,900U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Up 13%Spencer County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities
$1,219 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income
$89,659U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them
92%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill
$1,527 a yearIndiana: $1,614
Homes built before 1940
1%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010
12%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes
6%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 13% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the parts of Indiana outside metro areas, not Santa Claus 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
2,6412020: 2,592
Median age
43.4 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
22%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
28%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
42%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year
8%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 (22%); retail (9%)
Unemployment rate
2%U.S.: 5%
Average commute
30 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home
9%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line
4%U.S.: 12%

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

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Perry County Memorial Hospital, Tell City, IN, about 15 miles away. It's a critical access hospital (a small rural hospital with 25 or fewer beds). Medicare gives it 2 of 5 stars.

Nearest general hospital: Memorial Hospital and Health Care Center, Jasper, IN, about 19 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

There are no public schools inside Santa Claus itself. The nearest public high school is Heritage Hills High School, about 3 miles away.

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
91%U.S.: 76%
Homes with any internet subscription
97%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
26°F
July average high
87°F
Days 90°F or hotter
23 a year
Nights at or below freezing
90 a year
Rain and melted snow
49.6 inches a year
Snow
8 inches a year
Elevation
489 feet

Weather station: Saint Meinrad (7 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: Perry County Memorial Hospital, Owensboro, Louisville/Jefferson County.

Spencer County is outside any metro area, with fewer than 5,000 people in its towns, next to a metro area (USDA rural-urban code 8, on a scale where 1 is the biggest metro areas and 9 the most rural counties).

For a day

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

  • Lincoln Boyhood National Memorial4 miles
  • George Rogers Clark National Historical Park51 miles

Read about Santa Claus's history on Wikipedia.

Know Santa Claus?

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

  • Mariah Hill, IN (unincorporated)100 people, 3 miles
  • Gentryville, IN254 people, 6 miles
  • St. Meinrad, IN (unincorporated)646 people, 6 miles
  • Newtonville, IN (unincorporated)151 people, 8 miles
  • Chrisney, IN468 people, 9 miles
  • Troy, IN369 people, 11 miles
  • Tennyson, IN229 people, 11 miles
  • Holland, IN606 people, 11 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.