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Seymour, Indiana

Seymour is a small town of about 22,000 people in Jackson County, Indiana. 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, Louisville/Jefferson County, is about 56 miles away as the crow flies.

Population
22,450
up 1.8% since 2020
Typical home, 2020-24
$162,800
Jackson County prices up 18% since 2022
Household income
$64,426
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, rural Indiana
88.7
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
In town
Schneck Medical Center
To Louisville/Jefferson County
56 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 2.5 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
  • A safer neighborhood6 violent crimes were reported in 2025, about 0.3 per 1,000 people (U.S.: 3.3). Property crime: 8.7 per 1,000 (U.S.: 15.3).
  • Schools in town8 public schools: 5 elementary, 2 middle and 1 high school.
  • A hospital close bySchneck Medical Center is in town and has an emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big cityLouisville/Jefferson County is about 56 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 Seymour 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
$162,800U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Up 18%Jackson County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities
$1,011 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income
$64,426U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them
60%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill
$792 a yearIndiana: $1,614
Homes built before 1940
14%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010
9%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes
1%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 18% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the parts of Indiana outside metro areas, not Seymour 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
22,4502020: 22,056
Median age
33.3 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
13%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
30%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
5%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 (32%); schools, health care and social services (16%); retail (13%)
Unemployment rate
2%U.S.: 5%
Average commute
19 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home
3%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: Schneck Medical Center, Seymour, IN, in town. 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

8 public schools in Seymour, run by Seymour Community 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
68%U.S.: 76%
Homes with any internet subscription
82%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
22°F
July average high
85°F
Days 90°F or hotter
20 a year
Nights at or below freezing
117 a year
Rain and melted snow
49.6 inches a year
Snow
8 inches a year
Elevation
583 feet

Weather station: Seymour 2 N (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: Columbus, Louisville/Jefferson County.

Jackson County is outside any metro area, with 20,000 or more people in its towns, next to a metro area (USDA rural-urban code 4, 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 Seymour Commercial Historic District, the Walnut Street Historic District and the Westside Historic District.

Read about Seymour's history on Wikipedia.

Know Seymour?

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

  • Rockford, IN (unincorporated)761 people, 3 miles
  • Reddington, IN (unincorporated)199 people, 7 miles
  • Jonesville, IN182 people, 8 miles
  • Hayden, IN (unincorporated)288 people, 8 miles
  • Waynesville, IN (unincorporated)116 people, 11 miles
  • Scipio, IN (unincorporated)246 people, 13 miles
  • Mineral Springs, IN (unincorporated)742 people, 13 miles
  • Freetown, IN (unincorporated)277 people, 13 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.