County profile

Howard County

Indiana · ACS 2020–2024

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Latest estimates

At a glance

U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-year estimates.

Total population
83,752
Median household income
$64,027
People below poverty
13.4%
Median home value
$165,000

Income

The median income of households in Howard County, Indiana was $64,027. An estimated 5.6% of households had income below $10,000 a year and 4.9% had income of $200,000 or more.

Household Income in Howard County, Indiana in 2020-2024

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Percent
Less than $10,000 5.6
$10,000 to $14,999 3.5
$15,000 to $24,999 7.3
$25,000 to $34,999 9.2
$35,000 to $49,999 13.4
$50,000 to $74,999 18.3
$75,000 to $99,999 14.4
$100,000 to $149,999 16.4
$150,000 to $199,999 6.9
$200,000 or more 4.9

Median Earnings for Full-Time Year-Round Workers by Sex in Howard County, Indiana in 2020-2024

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Dollars
Male 63369
Female 47708

An estimated 71% of households received earnings. An estimated 38.3% of households received Social Security and an estimated 32.6 % of households received retirement income other than Social Security. The average income from Social Security was $24,225. These income sources are not mutually exclusive; that is, some households received income from more than one source.

Proportion of Households with Various Income Sources in Howard County, Indiana in 2020-2024

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Percent
Earnings 71
Social Security 38.3
Retirement income 32.6
Supplemental Security Income (SSI) 8.1
Cash public assistance income 2.6

Poverty and Participation in Government Programs

In 2020-2024, 13.4 % of people were in poverty. An estimated 18.6% of children under 18 were below the poverty level, compared with 8.3% of people 65 years old and over. An estimated 13.1% of people 18 to 64 years were below the poverty level.

Poverty Rates in Howard County, Indiana in 2020-2024

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Percent
People in poverty 13.4
Children under 18 years below poverty 18.6
People 65 years old and over below poverty 8.3
People 18 to 64 years below poverty 13.1

In 2020-2024, 11.4 % of households received SNAP (the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program). An estimated 51.3% of households that received SNAP had children under 18, and 29.4% of households that received SNAP had one or more people 60 years and over. An estimated 39.9% of all households receiving SNAP were families with a female householder and no spouse present.


Among the civilian noninstitutionalized population in Howard County, Indiana in 2020-2024, 94.3% had health insurance coverage and 5.7% did not have health insurance coverage. Private coverage was 67.3% and public coverage was 43.8%, respectively. The percentage of children under the age of 19 with no health insurance coverage was 4%.


In 2020-2024, Howard County, Indiana had a total population of 83,752 - 43,227 (51.6%) females and 40,525 (48.4%) males. The median age was 40.7 years. An estimated 22.8% of the population was under 18 years, 29.9% was 19 to 44 years, 25.4% was 45 to 64 years, and 19.9 % was 65 years and older.

Population by Age and Sex for Howard County, Indiana in 2020-2024

Male Female
Under 5 2510 2465
5 to 9 2772 2773
10 to 14 2759 2562
15 to 19 2597 2296
20 to 24 2387 2611
25 to 29 2786 2627
30 to 34 2560 2612
35 to 39 2247 2543
40 to 44 2335 2352
45 to 49 2378 2439
50 to 54 2607 2648
55 to 59 2601 2801
60 to 64 2682 3170
65 to 69 2457 2625
70 to 74 1838 2538
75 to 79 1687 1558
80 to 84 722 1147
85 and over 600 1460

Hispanic Origin and Race

For people reporting one race alone, 84.7% were White; 7.4% were Black or African American; 16.1% were American Indian and Alaska Native; 1.4% were Asian; 3.1% were Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander, and 0% were Some Other Race. An estimated 5.7% reported Two or More Races. An estimated 4.1% of the people in Howard County, Indiana were Hispanic or Latino. An estimated 82.6% of the people in Howard County, Indiana were White alone, non-Hispanic. People of Hispanic origin may be of any race.


Households and Families

In 2020-2024, there were 35,593 households in Howard County, Indiana. The average household size was 2.32 people.

Married-couple households made up 39.6% of the households in Howard County, Indiana while cohabiting couple households made up 9.2% of households. Female householders with no spouse or partner present were 33.3% of all households, while 17.8% of households had male householders with no spouse or partner present. Some households had one person, as 13.5% of households were male householders living alone, and 20% were female householders living alone, for a total of 33.5% of all households.

In Howard County, Indiana, 28% of all households had one or more people under the age of 18; 35.4% of all households had one or more people 65 years and over.

Types of Households in Howard County, Indiana in 2020-2024

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Percent
Married-couple households 39.6
Cohabiting Couples 9.2
Male Householder
No spouse/partner present
17.8
Female Householder
No spouse/partner present
33.3

Marital Status

Among persons 15 and older, 47.5% of males and 41.8% of females were currently married.

Population 15 years and over Percent
Males
Percent
Females
Never married 33.4 28
Now married, except separated 47.5 41.8
Separated 1.5 1.4
Widowed 4.2 12.4
Divorced 13.4 16.4

Grandparents and Grandchildren

In Howard County, Indiana, 1,638 grandparents lived with their grandchildren under 18 years old. Of those grandparents, 33.6% were responsible for the basic needs of their grandchildren.


Nativity and Foreign-Born

In 2020-2024, an estimated 98.1% of the people living in Howard County, Indiana were U.S. natives. 77.1% of the Howard County, Indiana population were living in the state where they were born.

Approximately 1.9% of Howard County, Indiana residents in 2020-2024 were foreign-born. 60.5% of foreign-born were naturalized U.S. citizens and an estimated 69.6 % entered the country before the year 2010.

Foreign-born residents of Howard County, Indiana come from different parts of the world. The bar graph below displays the percentage of foreign-born from each world region of birth in 2020-2024 for Howard County, Indiana.

Region of Birth for the Foreign-Born Population in Howard County, Indiana in 2020-2024

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Percent
Latin America 27.1
Asia 53.6
Europe 9.2
Africa 5.6
Northern America 4.4
Oceania 0

Language

Among people at least five years old living in Howard County, Indiana in 2020-2024, 3.3 % spoke a language other than English at home. Spanish was spoken by 1.1% of people at least five years old; 1.1% reported that they did not speak English "very well."

Percentage of the Population 5 years and over who Speak a Language other than English in Howard County, Indiana in 2020-2024

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Percent
Spanish 1.1
Other Indo-European languages 0.8
Asian and Pacific Islander languages 1.2
Other languages 0.2

Geographic Mobility

In 2020-2024, 86.7 % of the people at least one year old living in Howard County, Indiana were living in the same house one year earlier.

Geographic Mobility of Residents of Howard County, Indiana in 2020-2024

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Percent
Same house 86.7
Different house, same county 8.4
Different county, same state 3.4
Different state 1.2
Abroad 0.3

Education

In 2020-2024, 91.8 % of people 25 years and over had at least graduated from high school and 20.8% had a bachelor's degree or higher. An estimated 8.2% did not complete high school.

The total school enrollment in Howard County, Indiana was 19,464 in 2020-2024. Nursery school enrollment was 1,337 and kindergarten through 12th grade enrollment was 14,271. College or graduate school enrollment was 3,856.

Educational Attainment of People in Howard County, Indiana in 2020-2024

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Percent
Less than high school diploma 8.2
High school diploma or equivalency 37.7
Some college, no degree 22.7
Associate's degree 10.6
Bachelor's degree 13.8
Graduate or professional degree 7

Disability

In Howard County, Indiana, among the civilian noninstitutionalized population in 2020-2024, 18.3 % reported a disability. The likelihood of having a disability varied by age - from 6.1% of people under 18 years old, to 16.9% of people 18 to 64 years old, and to 36.8% of those 65 and over.


Employment Status and Type of Employer

In Howard County, Indiana, 55.3 % of the population 16 and over were employed; 41% were not currently in the labor force.

An estimated 84.5% of the people employed were private wage and salary workers; 10.6% were federal, state, or local government workers; and 4.9 % were self-employed in their own (not incorporated) business.

Class of worker Number Percent
Private wage and salary workers 31,163 84.5
Federal, state, or local government workers 3,896 10.6
Self-employed workers in own not incorporated business 1,794 4.9

Industries

In 2020-2024, the civilian employed population 16 years and older in Howard County, Indiana worked in the following industries:

Percent by Industry in Howard County, Indiana in 2020-2024

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Percent
Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting, and mining 1.3
Construction 5.7
Manufacturing 24
Wholesale trade 1.2
Retail trade 11.1
Transportation and warehousing, and utilities 4.6
Information 1.1
Finance and insurance, and real estate and rental and leasing 3.7
Professional, scientific, and management, and administrative and waste management services 6.2
Educational services, and health care and social assistance 22.9
Arts, entertainment, and recreation, and accommodation, and food services 8.9
Other Services, except public administration 6.2
Public administration 3

Occupations

Occupations for the Civilian Employed Population 16 Years and over in Howard County, Indiana in 2020-2024

Civilian employed population 16 years and over Number Percent
Management, business, sciences, and arts occupations 11,262 30.5
Service occupations 6,908 18.7
Sales and office occupations 6,676 18.1
Natural resources, construction, and maintenance occupations 3,053 8.3
Production, transportation, and material moving occupations 8,992 24.4

Commuting to Work

An estimated 79.8% of Howard County, Indiana workers drove to work alone in 2020-2024, and 11.6% carpooled. Among those who commuted to work, it took them on average 20.4 minutes to get to work.

Percent of Workers 16 and over Commuting by Mode in Howard County, Indiana in 2020-2024

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Percent
Car, truck, van -- drove alone 79.8
Car, truck, van -- carpooled 11.6
Public transportation (excluding taxicab) 0.3
Walked 1.6
Other means 0.8
Worked from home 6

In 2020-2024, Howard County, Indiana had a total of 39,876 housing units. Of these housing units, 79.1% were single-family houses either not attached to any other structure or attached to one or more structures (commonly referred to as "townhouses" or "row houses"). 17.7% of the housing units were located in multi-unit structures, or those buildings that contained two or more apartments. 3.2% were mobile homes, while any remaining housing units were classified as "other," which included boats, recreational vehicles, vans, etc.

Types of Housing Units in Howard County, Indiana in 2020-2024

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Percent
Single-family houses 79.1
Apartments in multi-unit structures 17.7
Mobile homes 3.2
Boat, RV, van, etc 0

6.2% of the housing inventory was comprised of houses built since 2010, while 18.6% of the houses were first built in 1939 or earlier. The median number of rooms in all housing units in Howard County, Indiana was 5.9 rooms, and of these housing units 65.8% had three or more bedrooms.


In 2020-2024, Howard County, Indiana had 35,593 housing units that were occupied or had people living in them, while the remaining 4,283 were vacant. Of the occupied housing units, the percentage of these houses occupied by owners (also known as the homeownership rate) was 70.6% while renters occupied 29.4%. The average household size of owner-occupied houses was 2.42 and in renter-occupied houses it was 2.09.

5.4% of householders of these occupied houses had moved into their house since 2021, while 13.1% moved into their house in 1989 or earlier. Households without a vehicle available for personal use comprised 7.3% and another 22.1% had three or more vehicles available for use.

The following chart provides the primary fuel used to heat houses in Howard County, Indiana:

House Heating Fuel Used in Howard County, Indiana in 2020-2024

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Percent
Gas 71.8
Electricity 26.6
Fuel oil, kerosene, etc 0
All other fuels 1.3
No fuel used 0.4

In 2020-2024, the median property value for owner-occupied houses in Howard County, Indiana was $165,000.

Of the owner-occupied households, 63.7 % had a mortgage. 36.3% owned their houses "free and clear," that is without a primary mortgage or loan on the house. The median monthly housing costs for owners with a mortgage was $1,126 and for owners without a mortgage it was $451.

For renter-occupied houses, the median gross rent for Howard County, Indiana was $937. Gross rent includes the monthly contract rent and any monthly payments made for electricity, gas, water and sewer, and any other fuels to heat the house.