You can ‘wander Indiana’ or you can just take a look below at HomeSnacks’ list of best places for families for 2026.
We suggest you do the latter because there are some dangerous places at The Crossroads of America that you should definitely avoid; and two HomeSnacks has taken the guessing out of that search and consulted the latest US Census on places in this Midwest state with more than 10,000 residents. We looked at several factors including crime, education, family friendly activities, and the percent of households that currently have children. We ended up with 66 family friendly Indiana places that any family would be lucky to call home.
Now, it’s not lost on us that some of Indiana’s safest places and wealthiest places are also Indiana’s most family friendly. There should be no limits one should go to to protect their family and Indiana’s most family friendly cities have those limits in place; and sometimes, that comes at a cost.
All seriousness aside, our research discovered that Indiana is a pretty cool state with some pretty cool family friendly activities. You can have your family at the zoo in Indianapolis and at a Lake Michigan beach in Portage all in the same weekend. We call that an Indiana win!
Want to know where else your family will always win in Indiana? Take a look below at Indiana’s best of the best places for families to live.
$172,024 median income · 38.1% households with kids
Located in
Boone County, Indiana
Zionsville is a suburban town located in the extreme southeast area of Boone County, Indiana, United States, northwest of Indianapolis. The population was 14,160 at the 2010 census, and grew to 26,784 in the Census 2016 estimates.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$68,750 median income · 34.1% households with kids
Located in
DeKalb County, Indiana
Auburn is a city in DeKalb County, Indiana, United States. The population was 13,086 at the 2010 census. Founded in 1836 by Wesley Park, the city is the county seat of DeKalb County. Auburn is also known as Home of the Classics.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$82,380 median income · 35.5% households with kids
Located in
Johnson County, Indiana
Franklin is a city in Johnson County, Indiana, United States. The population was 23,712 at the 2010 census. Located about 20 miles south of Indianapolis, the city is the county seat of Johnson County. The site of Franklin College, the city attracts numerous regional sports fans for the college teams, as well as audiences for its art events.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$97,083 median income · 33.7% households with kids
Located in
Hendricks County, Indiana
Danville is a town in Center Township, Hendricks County, Indiana, United States. The population was 9,001 at the 2010 census, up from 6,418 at the 2000 census. By 2016 the estimated population was 9,676. The town is the county seat of Hendricks County.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$56,520 median income · 32.0% households with kids
Located in
Huntington County, Indiana
Huntington, known as the “Lime City”, is the largest city in and the county seat of Huntington County, Indiana, United States. It is in Huntington and Union townships. The population was 17,391 at the 2010 census.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$141,505 median income · 35.7% households with kids
Located in
Hamilton County, Indiana
Carmel is a suburban city in Hamilton County, Indiana, United States, located immediately north of Indianapolis. It has been one of the fastest-growing communities in the country. In 2012, Carmel was selected as the “Best Place to Live in the United States” by CNN Money magazine, and received the same designation by Niche.com in 2017. The population was 79,191 as of the 2010 and was estimated to be 91,065 in 2016 by the US Census Bureau, making it the fifth-largest city in Indiana.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$122,789 median income · 36.3% households with kids
Located in
Hamilton County, Indiana
Westfield is a city in Hamilton County, Indiana, United States. As of the 2010 census the population was 30,068, and in 2016 the estimated population was 37,221. Westfield is in the Indianapolis Metropolitan Area.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$102,235 median income · 38.6% households with kids
Located in
Hendricks County, Indiana
Brownsburg is a town in Hendricks County, Indiana, United States. The population was 21,285 at the 2010 Census, an increase from 14,520 in 2000. As of 2016 the estimated population was 25,408.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$104,047 median income · 40.0% households with kids
Located in
Hamilton County, Indiana
Noblesville is a city in, and the county seat of, Hamilton County, Indiana, United States, located just north of Indianapolis. The population was 51,969 at the 2010 census making it the 14th largest city/town in the state, up from 19th in 2007. As of 2016 the estimated population was 60,183. The city is part of Delaware, Fall Creek, Noblesville, and Wayne townships.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$101,686 median income · 35.4% households with kids
Located in
Lake County, Indiana
Crown Point is a city in and the county seat of Lake County, Indiana, United States. The population was 27,317 at the 2010 census. The city was incorporated in 1868. On October 31, 1834, Solon Robinson and his family became the first settlers to an area that later became Crown Point. Because of its location, Crown Point is known as the “Hub of Lake County”.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
The receipts
Compare the top ten
Pick a metric. The bars rescale. The red line is Indiana’s statewide median.
Indiana statewide median: $71,957
Indiana statewide median: $254,122
On the map
Where Indiana’s most family-friendly cities are
Saturday Night Science
Methodology: How do you determine which place is best for families in Indiana anyways?
To give you the places in Indiana that are best for families, we must look at a handful of metrics. We want to measure the criteria people want in a family-friendly city utilizing Saturday Night Science.
After researching U.S. Census data produced for the state of Indiana, we looked at the data for every single city in the state. We paid particular attention to:
- Crime (Both violent and property)
- Quality of local schools
- Distance to a major city without necessarily being in it
- % of households with children
- Family-friendly amenities nearby (museums, libraries, and colleges)
We then gave each city a “Family Score.”
The higher the score, the better the city is for families. We also limited our results to cities with over 10,000 people. For Indiana, that meant a total of 66 cities.
We updated this article for 2026. This is our eleventh time ranking the best cities for families in Indiana.
The full plate
Best Places For Families In Indiana
Click any column to sort. Search by city name.
| Rank | City | Population | Median Income | Average Home Price | % Households w/ Kids |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Zionsville | 32,095 | $172,024 | $680,117 | 38.1% |
| 2 | Auburn | 13,565 | $68,750 | $275,151 | 34.1% |
| 3 | Franklin | 26,168 | $82,380 | $279,168 | 35.5% |
| 4 | Danville | 11,714 | $97,083 | $337,029 | 33.7% |
| 5 | Huntington | 17,030 | $56,520 | $192,024 | 32.0% |
| 6 | Carmel | 101,651 | $141,505 | $563,458 | 35.7% |
| 7 | Westfield | 54,677 | $122,789 | $468,588 | 36.3% |
| 8 | Brownsburg | 31,215 | $102,235 | $356,184 | 38.6% |
| 9 | Noblesville | 73,362 | $104,047 | $389,215 | 40.0% |
| 10 | Crown Point | 34,393 | $101,686 | $354,995 | 35.4% |
| 11 | Bargersville | 10,752 | $114,231 | $442,137 | 50.4% |
| 12 | Valparaiso | 34,733 | $69,872 | $355,845 | 27.2% |
| 13 | Lowell | 11,073 | $84,024 | $329,211 | 31.1% |
| 14 | Columbus | 51,824 | $77,456 | $276,890 | 31.6% |
| 15 | St. John | 22,567 | $131,467 | $450,806 | 37.1% |
| 16 | Avon | 23,437 | $98,486 | $352,859 | 41.2% |
| 17 | Crawfordsville | 16,491 | $55,033 | $219,773 | 31.0% |
| 18 | Jasper | 15,991 | $68,817 | $266,264 | 28.5% |
| 19 | Dyer | 16,400 | $107,159 | $355,530 | 29.5% |
| 20 | McCordsville | 10,329 | $110,692 | $375,788 | 34.9% |
| 21 | Seymour | 22,371 | $64,426 | $230,829 | 34.0% |
| 22 | Kendallville | 10,556 | $58,939 | $220,523 | 32.7% |
| 23 | Greenwood | 66,029 | $83,608 | $326,491 | 31.6% |
| 24 | Munster | 23,733 | $110,187 | $347,952 | 27.4% |
| 25 | Plainfield | 36,369 | $87,272 | $331,618 | 32.8% |
| 26 | Cedar Lake | 15,295 | $83,381 | $328,156 | 33.2% |
| 27 | Bluffton | 10,529 | $57,539 | $183,603 | 27.3% |
| 28 | Frankfort | 15,917 | $57,412 | $209,856 | 32.8% |
| 29 | Fort Wayne | 268,589 | $61,422 | $242,385 | 29.3% |
| 30 | Greensburg | 12,229 | $62,655 | $261,666 | 27.5% |
| 31 | La Porte | 22,449 | $59,307 | $271,481 | 33.1% |
| 32 | Warsaw | 16,768 | $61,035 | $271,691 | 31.4% |
| 33 | Logansport | 17,790 | $47,291 | $153,143 | 33.7% |
| 34 | Shelbyville | 20,296 | $55,602 | $222,049 | 30.6% |
| 35 | Lawrence | 49,517 | $74,022 | $268,725 | 33.0% |
| 36 | Lebanon | 17,812 | $65,154 | $299,032 | 32.4% |
| 37 | Griffith | 16,273 | $76,636 | $247,099 | 31.8% |
| 38 | Speedway | 13,968 | $60,147 | $236,684 | 25.4% |
| 39 | West Lafayette | 45,159 | $34,891 | $363,861 | 14.3% |
| 40 | Marion | 27,531 | $43,343 | $136,313 | 25.9% |
| 41 | Vincennes | 16,586 | $53,637 | $164,630 | 28.7% |
| 42 | New Castle | 17,367 | $51,606 | $164,336 | 26.3% |
| 43 | Washington | 12,367 | $50,331 | $147,888 | 32.7% |
| 44 | Jeffersonville | 51,043 | $70,930 | $251,611 | 27.8% |
| 45 | Goshen | 34,420 | $59,184 | $275,120 | 30.1% |
| 46 | New Haven | 15,698 | $70,970 | $240,073 | 29.7% |
| 47 | Schererville | 29,701 | $89,466 | $352,735 | 26.7% |
| 48 | Bedford | 13,837 | $49,553 | $207,924 | 22.3% |
| 49 | Indianapolis | 885,860 | $66,219 | $229,209 | 27.9% |
| 50 | Beech Grove | 14,913 | $49,973 | $191,935 | 27.3% |
| 51 | South Bend | 103,085 | $55,786 | $192,340 | 27.4% |
| 52 | Portage | 38,082 | $76,276 | $264,578 | 33.2% |
| 53 | East Chicago | 26,022 | $42,125 | $128,171 | 35.7% |
| 54 | Bloomington | 80,049 | $50,465 | $313,960 | 14.3% |
| 55 | Elkhart | 53,733 | $51,028 | $222,794 | 31.0% |
| 56 | Lafayette | 71,159 | $53,716 | $262,731 | 28.8% |
| 57 | Hammond | 76,768 | $55,504 | $170,817 | 31.7% |
| 58 | Kokomo | 59,122 | $55,360 | $180,398 | 27.7% |
| 59 | Muncie | 64,751 | $44,471 | $151,291 | 22.7% |
| 60 | New Albany | 37,581 | $54,710 | $235,058 | 24.5% |
| 61 | Mishawaka | 51,021 | $54,291 | $206,367 | 22.3% |
| 62 | Anderson | 55,367 | $46,909 | $135,174 | 26.5% |
| 63 | Terre Haute | 58,427 | $43,126 | $155,802 | 24.8% |
| 64 | Hobart | 29,558 | $75,160 | $238,196 | 26.5% |
| 65 | Evansville | 116,116 | $53,387 | $198,977 | 25.4% |
| 66 | Clarksville | 22,016 | $60,467 | $203,069 | 26.6% |
Source: U.S. Census data via Saturday Night Science. 66 Indiana cities with more than 10,000 residents.
Summary
Summary: The Best Places To Raise A Family In Indiana
If you’re looking for a breakdown of cities in Indiana ranked by criteria that most agree make a place a great spot for families, this is an accurate list.
The best places for families in Indiana are Zionsville, Auburn, Franklin, Danville, Huntington, Carmel, Westfield, Brownsburg, Noblesville, and Crown Point.
