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Place dossier plate
SheetIN-SUNMAN-IN · Sunman, IN 1,283 pop · income 53rd pct
Instrument codes from this place’s ACS population and household income, BEA state COL, FBI safety, national income percentile, photo-finish peer city, home-value band, and matched Census-tract book - not a moving recommendation.
Income neighbourhood around Sunman
Lowest/highest poles plus peers nearest Sunman on median household income. Full ladder: /browse and /rankings.
median HH income
Palmyra · lowest
49,821
Palmyra · lowest
49,821 median HH income
60.9% of the leader · rank #1
Blakeslee · near
72,273
Blakeslee · near
72,273 median HH income
88.4% of the leader · rank #2
Sunman · this city
72,279
Sunman · this city
72,279 median HH income
88.4% of the leader · rank #3
Grand Forks A… · near
72,279
Grand Forks A… · near
72,279 median HH income
88.4% of the leader · rank #4
Lampeter · near
72,281
Lampeter · near
72,281 median HH income
88.4% of the leader · rank #5
Shannondale · near
72,283
Shannondale · near
72,283 median HH income
88.4% of the leader · rank #6
Caledonia · highest
81,741
Caledonia · highest
81,741 median HH income
100.0% of the leader · rank #7
What this shows Neighbourhood peers only - not a full nationwide city board. Open a near peer when the gap is small; open the poles when the spread is wide.
Compare beyond this state
Nationwide peers by population, income
Out-of-state nearest neighbors for Sunman on ACS population and median household income
. Link sets are deduped so each column is a distinct comparison path, not a forecast that peers share a labor market or climate.
Similar population
Nearest out-of-state cities by ACS population. This city: 1,283.
Out of every US city with 1,000+ residents, Sunman places in the 53rd percentile for household income. Source: Census ACS.
53rd
percentile, household income
39th
percentile, home value
27th
percentile, median rent
📝 How we sourced this
Population, income, and housing-cost figures come from the U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-year estimates (B-series tables). Crime data uses FBI UCR; climate uses NOAA Climate Normals; school counts come from NCES Common Core of Data; permits use the Census Building Permits Survey (BPS). See our methodology page for the full ETL pipeline and OMB / FIPS join keys.
Data Snapshot: Sunman, IN
1,283 people live in Sunman, Indiana - a small town by U.S. Census Bureau ACS 2023 estimates. Households in Sunman report a median income of $72,279 per year, above the median for U.S. cities on this measure, with a poverty rate of 9.5%. Typical homes in Sunman are valued around $188,700, and the median resident age is 30.5 years. 16.7% of adults here have a bachelor's degree or higher; 68.2% of working-age residents are in the labor force.
The city is served by 1 public schools according to NCES Common Core of Data.
Living costs in Indiana run below the national norm: the state registers 93.3 on a 100-equals-national-average index (Below Average) per BEA Regional Price Parities 2024. A typical two-bedroom carries a HUD Fair Market Rent of $1,096 per month statewide. Statewide, average monthly utility bills in Indiana run around $235, per EIA 2023 residential energy data. On FEMA's National Risk Index, this area rates 45.5 out of 100 for natural-hazard exposure (Low).
A decision-led reading path
Useful questions to ask of Sunman's data
How this reading path is ordered
This is not a composite city score. It is a city-specific route through the available public records, ordered for this profile so the page starts with questions the joined data can actually answer. The route here runs from population change to schools and households to work and mobility to comparison shortlist to housing and income; another city can have a different sequence or fewer supported layers because the source joins are not uniform.
For Sunman, city-specific coverage includes matched public-school count, commute-mode shares, annual population history.
No matched row is reported here for local building permits, FBI reported-crime rates, within-city Census tract profiles; the page leaves those layers out instead of substituting a statewide or national value.
1. Population change
Is Sunman growing, shrinking, or holding steady?
Recent estimates point upward. Growth can increase housing demand and service needs, but the permit record must move in the same direction before calling it a supply response; the two series measure different things.
Census PEP estimates show the population grew by +21 residents from 2020 to 2025, a +2.3% change. No comparable local building-permit series is available here, so population change should not be read as a housing-supply measure. PEP and ACS are different Census series, so the trend is kept separate from the headline ACS population.
The NCES join finds 1 public school within the city match. 16.7% of adults age 25+ hold a bachelor's degree or higher in the ACS estimate. These measures answer different questions: the school count describes local institutions, while adult attainment describes residents and cannot be used as a school-quality rating.
The matched institution count is small, so district boundaries and schools outside the city line may matter more than the municipal count suggests. Use the number as a coverage cue, then verify attendance zones with the district before making a household decision.
What does the journey to work look like in Sunman?
Mode share answers how workers usually travel; it does not measure congestion, reliability, distance to a particular job, or the quality of transit service. No single mode completely explains the work trip here. The mix is more useful than a one-number commute grade, especially when comparing places where transit, walking, and remote work divide the non-driving share differently.
Driving alone is the largest reported mode at 72.7%. A reliable mean commute time is not available for this row, so the mode shares carry the comparison.
Which cities make useful reference points for Sunman?
Within Indiana, the closest population matches are Woodburn (1,292 residents, $60,511 income); Palmyra (1,271 residents, $49,821 income); Rome City (1,271 residents, $72,054 income). Outside the state, the closest population matches in this dataset are Onsted, MI (1,283 residents); Fosston, MN (1,283 residents); Caledonia, MS (1,283 residents). A third, income-matched reference set of 6 out-of-state cities sits in the income neighbourhood chart near the Place Dossier plate. These are mechanical peer sets, not claims that the places share a labor market, climate, culture, or metro context.
Use the in-state set to hold state policy and broad price conditions more nearly constant. Use the nationwide size set to ask whether cities with a similar resident count produce different housing, income, or commute outcomes. The income set is a third lens, deliberately separate from population matching.
These joined records add useful context, but they do not need another full-size panel. Each remains a separate measure with its own geography and source boundary.
Housing and income
How far does income reach against housing in Sunman?
The home-value-to-income reference sits in a middle range: the ACS median home value is 2.6 times median household income. The ACS poverty estimate is 9.5%, which keeps the citywide median from describing every household.
This is a citywide price-to-income reference, not a mortgage-affordability test; it does not include interest rates, taxes, insurance, household size, or an individual buyer's down payment. Income and home value move within the same broad scale here. The useful next check is not a generic affordability label, but whether similar-size cities offer a materially different income, housing, or commute trade-off.
Household income
$72,279
Home value
$188,700
Value / income
2.6×
City-level Census ACS 2023 medians. The ratio divides two separate medians and is descriptive only.
Above median income · poverty 9.5% (Above-median poverty)
Cost of Living Index (state)
93.3 (US=100)
Near national cost · BEA RPP 2024, Indiana average
D
City profile score · Sunman, IN
49/100
4 published dimensions · ACS/FBI 2023
Comparative score against U.S. cities with population of 1,000 or more on Census ACS medians
(income, poverty, bachelor's share, cost of living) and FBI UCR violent-crime rates when
published. Higher means a stronger standing on those published figures, not a livability
rating, not a recommendation to move, buy, or pick a "best" city. Missing inputs drop out
and redistribute weight.
How it is calculated.
Cost of living B
93.3 index
BEA state Regional Price Parities index (100 ≈ national average); lower is stronger on this axis. Same value for every city in the state.
Household income C-
$72,279
Median household income vs U.S. cities (pop ≥1,000); ACS.
Poverty rate D
9.5%
Share of residents below the poverty line; lower scores better on this axis.
Bachelor's+ share F
16.7%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or higher; ACS.
Violent crime N/A
N/A
No FBI UCR violent-crime rate for this place (coverage is incomplete).
Sunman profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions)Read the chart values
Cost of living: 72/100 (B) · 93.3 index
Household income: 52/100 (C-) · $72,279
Poverty rate: 42/100 (D) · 9.5%
Bachelor's+ share: 25/100 (F) · 16.7%
How does Sunman compare to other US cities?
Here's how Sunman stacks up against the full field of US cities (population 1,000+), computed live from Census and FBI data.
Household income53% higher than other cities
Home value39% pricier than other cities
Median rent27% pricier than other cities
"Safer than" reflects total crime rate from FBI UCR; the others use Census ACS estimates.
How we calculate these percentiles & ranks
Each percentile compares Sunman against every qualifying US city; each in-state rank narrows that to Indiana only. Full formula and direction notes: methodology.
Indiana-relative analysis
Median Gross Rent places Sunman near the bottom of Indiana's cities
Among the 850 Indiana cities PlainCities tracks with reported median gross rent data, Sunman ranks #1 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide percentiles above: it compares Sunman only against its own state's cities, not the full US field.
Median Household Income
#242 of 766
68th percentile in Indiana
Median Gross Rent
#1 of 850
0th percentile in Indiana
Median Home Value
#199 of 771
74th percentile in Indiana
Poverty Rate
#311 of 849
63rd percentile in Indiana
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
#372 of 850
56th percentile in Indiana
How in-state ranks are ordered
Ranked by raw value (highest first); a higher rank is not automatically "better" for every measure, see each metric's own context above. This is a comparison within Indiana only, not a livability score. See the methodology for the source and calculation.
Gauge source note
53rd percentile nationally for median household income. Source: Census ACS 2023 / FBI UCR 2023.
How Sunman's home value compares nationally
Median home value vs. every US city (population 1,000+)
$188,700Among the most affordablemore affordable than 61% of 15,600 US cities
Show national distribution
Each bar is a $25K-wide band; taller bars hold more US cities. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source U.S. Census Bureau ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2023
Sunman's home-value-to-income ratio: 2.6×
ACS median home value divided by median household income.
Band
affordable
< 3.0×
National rank
#4,566 of 15,516
More affordable than 71% of tracked cities (pop. 1,000+)
Size class
#4,057 of 11,323
Micro cities (under 10,000)
At 2.6×, Sunman sits in the affordable band:
national rank #4,566 of 15,516 and #4,057 of 11,323micro cities (under 10,000).
The multiple is comparatively compact among tracked cities, but a low ratio can still coexist with slow demand or household-level hardship.
How this ratio is calculated
Ratio = Census ACS 2023 median home value ÷ median household income for cities with both fields and population ≥ 1,000.
Rank 1 = lowest ratio (most compact). Bands match the fleet affordability thresholds used on guides (<3.0 / 3.0–5.0 / >5.0).
This is not a mortgage payment estimate and does not include rates, taxes, insurance, or down payment.
Income distribution context
$72,279Sunman, IN median household income (Census ACS)
Show U.S. national quintile / Lorenz context Sunman, IN median household income (Census ACS 5-year) with U.S. national quintile shares for context. Diagonal = equality; the curve is national, not computed for Sunman, IN.
Key socioeconomic indicators
Bachelor's degree or higher (adults 25+)16.7%
Census ACS S1501, educational attainment
Poverty rate (households below FPL)9.5%
Census ACS S1701, poverty status
Labor force participation (adults 16+)68.2%
Census ACS S2301, share of working-age residents in the labor force
Population
1,283
Median Income
$72,279
Median Home Value
$188,700
Median Age
30.5
Poverty Rate
9.5%
Labor force participation
68.2%
Bachelor's Degree+
16.7%
Schools
Total Schools
1
Public schools in this city
Population Change
PEP vintage
Annual U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program (PEP) estimates, 2020–2025
Sunman's Census PEP population estimates, 2020–2025.Read the chart as text
Period
Population
2020
904 residents
2021
905 residents
2022
906 residents
2023
916 residents
2024
921 residents
2025
925 residents
Commute Patterns
Commute source
How workers travel to work, Census ACS 2023
Drive Alone
72.7%
Carpool
11.1%
Public Transit
0.0%
Walk
7.8%
Work from Home
7.8%
Other
0.6%
Based on 630 workers 16 and over.
Monthly Utility Costs
Indiana statewide monthly utility average (EIA 2023): $235
EIA 2023 residential energy data puts average monthly utilities across Indiana at $235 (electricity about $110 , water and sewer about $45 ).
These are Indiana statewide averages, not a meter reading for Sunman. Actual bills vary by home size, usage, and local rates. Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) 2023.
Living Costs & Risk
Indiana's BEA cost-of-living index is 93.3 (Below Average; US average = 100, RPP 2024). HUD Fair Market Rent for a typical two-bedroom in the county around Sunman is $1,096/mo. FEMA's National Risk Index, averaged to Indiana statewide on PlainCities, rates natural-hazard exposure at 45.5 / 100 (Low).
Cost/risk geography note
Cost of living is a Indiana statewide BEA average; rent is a county-level HUD Fair Market Rent for the county Sunman sits in; the FEMA hazard score shown here is a statewide average of county NRI inputs, not a parcel-level reading.
How Sunman compares to similar-size Indiana cities
Same-state peer method
Closest same-state population matches, not geographic neighbors. Population + median household income come from Census Bureau ACS 5-year B01001 and B19013.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau ACS 5-Year 2023, NCES CCD, Census ACS B08301/B08136, U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) 2023, BEA Regional Price Parities 2024, HUD Fair Market Rents 2026, FEMA National Risk Index.