The unfortunate fact of the matter is that some places in the Hoosier State have a larger percent of their population that never graduated from high school.
While the emphasis on going to college might be overblown, the fact is that not graduating from high school puts you at a significant disadvantage on average. Educational attainment might not be the best way to measure one person’s intelligence, but it does shine a light on the state.
We will use Saturday Night Science to determine what places in Indiana have the highest percentage of adults without a high school degree.
A recent study we published found that Indiana is the 19th smartest state in the United States, with an average IQ of 101.
But that doesn’t mean that a few cities in Indiana are a bit slower than others due to a lack of basic education.
#1 dumbest in Indiana
Located in
Lake County, Indiana
Lake Station is a city in Lake County, Indiana, United States. The population was 12,572 at the 2010 census.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
#2 dumbest in Indiana
Located in
Lake County, Indiana
East Chicago is a city in Lake County, Indiana, United States. The population was 29,698 at the 2010 census. It is the home of Marktown, Clayton Mark’s planned worker community.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
#3 dumbest in Indiana
Located in
LaPorte County, Indiana
Westville is a town in New Durham Township, LaPorte County, Indiana, United States. The population was 5,853 at the 2010 census. It is included in the Michigan City, Indiana-La Porte, Indiana Metropolitan Statistical Area. Westville is located in a part of Indiana referred to by locals as The Region.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
#4 dumbest in Indiana
Located in
Cass County, Indiana
Logansport is a city in and the county seat of Cass County, Indiana, United States. The population was 18,396 at the 2010 census. Logansport is located in northern Indiana at the junction of the Wabash and Eel rivers, northeast of Lafayette.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
#5 dumbest in Indiana
Located in
Clinton County, Indiana
Frankfort is a city in Clinton County, Indiana, United States. The population was 16,422 at the 2010 census. The city is the county seat of Clinton County.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
#6 dumbest in Indiana
Located in
Gibson County, Indiana
Princeton is a city in Patoka Township, Gibson County, Indiana, United States. The population was 8,644 at the 2010 census, and it is part of the greater Evansville, Indiana, Metropolitan Area. The city is the county seat of and the largest city in Gibson County.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
#7 dumbest in Indiana
Located in
Clay County, Indiana
Brazil is a city in Clay County, Indiana, United States. The population was 7,912 at the 2010 census. The city is the county seat of Clay County. It is part of the Terre Haute Metropolitan Statistical Area. The current chief executive of Brazil is Mayor Brian Wyndham.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
#8 dumbest in Indiana
Located in
Fayette County, Indiana
Connersville is a city in Fayette County, east central Indiana, United States, 66 miles east by southeast of Indianapolis. The population was 13,481 at the 2010 census. The city is the county seat of and the largest and only incorporated town in Fayette County. It is home to the county’s one and only high school. The economy is supported by local manufacturing, retail and healthcare.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
#9 dumbest in Indiana
Located in
Noble County, Indiana
Kendallville is a city in Wayne Township, Noble County, in the U.S. state of Indiana. The population was 9,862 at the 2010 census.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
#10 dumbest in Indiana
Located in
Jay County, Indiana
Portland is a city in and the county seat of Jay County, Indiana, United States. The population was 6,186 at the 2015 census.
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.
On the map
Where Indiana’s dumbest cities are
Saturday Night Science
Methodology: How we determined the dumbest cities in the Hoosier State
We realize that formal education is only part of it when it comes to being intelligent, but on the other hand, knowing the difference between they’re, their, and there is always going to make you look pretty stupid.
So, we used Saturday Night Science to narrow down our criteria to focus on a city’s educational opportunities and what percentage of the population takes advantage of those opportunities.
In short, we came up with these criteria to determine the dumbest cities in Indiana:
- % of the city’s population with less than a high school education (Age 25+)
- % of city’s population with a college degree (Age 25+)
We got the data from the U.S. Census 2020-2024 American Community Survey.
Then, our algorithm generates a rank for each place in these categories. After crunching all the numbers, a ranking of the cities in Indiana from dumbest to brightest.
For this ranking, we used every Indiana city with at least 5,000 residents. We updated this article for 2026, and it’s our eleventh time ranking the dumbest cities in Indiana.
The full plate
Dumbest Cities In Indiana For 2026
Click any column to sort. Search by city name.
| Rank | City | Population | % Adult High School Dropout | % Highly Educated |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lake Station | 13,185 | 22.0% | 8.0% |
| 2 | East Chicago | 26,022 | 27.0% | 10.0% |
| 3 | Westville | 5,279 | 21.0% | 8.0% |
| 4 | Logansport | 17,790 | 21.0% | 12.0% |
| 5 | Frankfort | 15,917 | 20.0% | 11.0% |
| 6 | Princeton | 8,372 | 17.0% | 8.0% |
| 7 | Brazil | 7,831 | 19.0% | 13.0% |
| 8 | Connersville | 13,109 | 20.0% | 14.0% |
| 9 | Kendallville | 10,556 | 18.0% | 13.0% |
| 10 | Portland | 6,416 | 16.0% | 13.0% |
| 11 | Martinsville | 11,933 | 15.0% | 12.0% |
| 12 | Scottsburg | 7,362 | 16.0% | 13.0% |
| 13 | Nappanee | 6,815 | 13.0% | 10.0% |
| 14 | Hammond | 76,768 | 19.0% | 16.0% |
| 15 | Washington | 12,367 | 18.0% | 16.0% |
| 16 | Salem | 6,489 | 16.0% | 15.0% |
| 17 | Crawfordsville | 16,491 | 16.0% | 15.0% |
| 18 | Linton | 5,260 | 15.0% | 14.0% |
| 19 | Huntingburg | 6,396 | 22.0% | 19.0% |
| 20 | Elkhart | 53,733 | 18.0% | 18.0% |
| 21 | Gary | 68,113 | 14.0% | 15.0% |
| 22 | Seymour | 22,371 | 16.0% | 18.0% |
| 23 | Marion | 27,531 | 15.0% | 17.0% |
| 24 | Rensselaer | 5,573 | 16.0% | 18.0% |
| 25 | Vincennes | 16,586 | 14.0% | 17.0% |
| 26 | Anderson | 55,367 | 12.0% | 16.0% |
| 27 | New Castle | 17,367 | 11.0% | 14.0% |
| 28 | Peru | 10,901 | 12.0% | 16.0% |
| 29 | Richmond | 35,581 | 15.0% | 20.0% |
| 30 | North Vernon | 7,078 | 11.0% | 15.0% |
| 31 | Plymouth | 10,664 | 17.0% | 23.0% |
| 32 | Monticello | 5,496 | 9.0% | 12.0% |
| 33 | Huntington | 17,030 | 11.0% | 16.0% |
| 34 | Winchester | 5,284 | 9.0% | 12.0% |
| 35 | Elwood | 8,356 | 8.0% | 8.0% |
| 36 | Goshen | 34,420 | 17.0% | 24.0% |
| 37 | Lebanon | 17,812 | 14.0% | 21.0% |
| 38 | Bedford | 13,837 | 12.0% | 18.0% |
| 39 | Clarksville | 22,016 | 14.0% | 22.0% |
| 40 | La Porte | 22,449 | 12.0% | 19.0% |
| 41 | Kokomo | 59,122 | 11.0% | 18.0% |
| 42 | Tipton | 5,280 | 12.0% | 21.0% |
| 43 | Rushville | 6,036 | 8.0% | 15.0% |
| 44 | Garrett | 6,642 | 8.0% | 15.0% |
| 45 | Portage | 38,082 | 10.0% | 18.0% |
| 46 | Terre Haute | 58,427 | 12.0% | 24.0% |
| 47 | Decatur | 9,811 | 6.0% | 12.0% |
| 48 | Muncie | 64,751 | 13.0% | 26.0% |
| 49 | Lawrenceburg | 5,179 | 11.0% | 21.0% |
| 50 | Rochester | 6,215 | 10.0% | 19.0% |
| 51 | Shelbyville | 20,296 | 10.0% | 19.0% |
| 52 | Beech Grove | 14,913 | 11.0% | 24.0% |
| 53 | Angola | 9,408 | 12.0% | 27.0% |
| 54 | Greensburg | 12,229 | 10.0% | 20.0% |
| 55 | Bluffton | 10,529 | 8.0% | 17.0% |
| 56 | Alexandria | 5,155 | 8.0% | 16.0% |
| 57 | Mooresville | 9,751 | 10.0% | 22.0% |
| 58 | South Bend | 103,085 | 13.0% | 29.0% |
| 59 | Charlestown | 8,294 | 11.0% | 25.0% |
| 60 | Evansville | 116,116 | 10.0% | 23.0% |
| 61 | Wabash | 10,358 | 10.0% | 24.0% |
| 62 | New Albany | 37,581 | 10.0% | 24.0% |
| 63 | Mount Vernon | 6,400 | 8.0% | 19.0% |
| 64 | Boonville | 6,702 | 11.0% | 27.0% |
| 65 | Indianapolis | 885,860 | 13.0% | 34.0% |
| 66 | New Haven | 15,698 | 9.0% | 23.0% |
| 67 | New Whiteland | 5,704 | 6.0% | 17.0% |
| 68 | Lafayette | 71,159 | 11.0% | 28.0% |
| 69 | Plainfield | 36,369 | 12.0% | 32.0% |
| 70 | Lawrence | 49,517 | 12.0% | 35.0% |
| 71 | Madison | 12,223 | 9.0% | 24.0% |
| 72 | Fort Wayne | 268,589 | 11.0% | 29.0% |
| 73 | Speedway | 13,968 | 11.0% | 33.0% |
| 74 | Greencastle | 9,864 | 8.0% | 23.0% |
| 75 | Hobart | 29,558 | 6.0% | 21.0% |
| 76 | Jasper | 15,991 | 10.0% | 29.0% |
| 77 | Franklin | 26,168 | 9.0% | 28.0% |
| 78 | Merrillville | 36,476 | 8.0% | 26.0% |
| 79 | Sellersburg | 10,137 | 10.0% | 34.0% |
| 80 | Cumberland | 6,267 | 8.0% | 28.0% |
| 81 | Jeffersonville | 51,043 | 8.0% | 28.0% |
| 82 | Auburn | 13,565 | 5.0% | 23.0% |
| 83 | Greenfield | 24,940 | 7.0% | 27.0% |
| 84 | Greenwood | 66,029 | 9.0% | 34.0% |
| 85 | Mishawaka | 51,021 | 8.0% | 29.0% |
| 86 | Whiteland | 5,173 | 8.0% | 31.0% |
| 87 | Lowell | 11,073 | 3.0% | 24.0% |
| 88 | Warsaw | 16,768 | 8.0% | 35.0% |
| 89 | Griffith | 16,273 | 4.0% | 28.0% |
| 90 | Porter | 5,217 | 3.0% | 27.0% |
| 91 | Cedar Lake | 15,295 | 3.0% | 28.0% |
| 92 | Winona Lake | 5,080 | 8.0% | 51.0% |
| 93 | Valparaiso | 34,733 | 6.0% | 40.0% |
| 94 | Avon | 23,437 | 7.0% | 41.0% |
| 95 | Pendleton | 5,321 | 5.0% | 34.0% |
| 96 | Schererville | 29,701 | 5.0% | 34.0% |
| 97 | Crown Point | 34,393 | 5.0% | 35.0% |
| 98 | Columbus | 51,824 | 6.0% | 41.0% |
| 99 | Batesville | 7,282 | 2.0% | 29.0% |
| 100 | St. John | 22,567 | 6.0% | 43.0% |
Source: U.S. Census ACS 2020-2024. 117 cities with more than 5,000 residents.
Summary
There You Have It – Now That You’re Asleep
If you’re measuring the locations in Indiana where there are a high number of dropouts and adults who never received a formal education, this is an accurate ranking.
The dumbest cities in Indiana are Lake Station, East Chicago, Westville, Logansport, Frankfort, Princeton, Brazil, Connersville, Kendallville, and Portland. Not sold on Indiana? Take the two-minute Find Your Place quiz and see which state actually fits you.
