county

Parke County, IN

Demographic and economic profile of Parke County, IN, sourced from the US Census Bureau (American Community Survey) via Data USA.

AI Overview

Parke County is a small rural Indiana county of 16,346 residents with a low college-attainment rate of 14.2% and median worker earnings of $40,507, pointing to a workforce oriented toward manual and trade occupations. Housing costs are low—median home value of $139,300 and median gross rent of $731/month—alongside an 82.4% homeownership rate, though a 17.2% poverty rate and 51.9% labor force participation rate indicate constrained economic activity. The county's population declined 3.8% over five years, and a GDP per capita of $24,963 against a median household income of $68,485 reflects limited local output relative to resident earnings.

Claude Sonnet 4.6 · generated Jul 6, 2026 · derived from cached Census, BEA & ACS data on this page

Population

16,346

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Household Income

$68,485

Data USA · as of 2024

Median Age

41.6 yrs

Data USA · as of 2024

Population Growth (5-year)

-3.8% since 2018

Parke County lost population at this rate over the prior 5-year ACS5 window.

Demographics

Race & Ethnicity

  • White Alone15,503 (94.5%)
  • Two Races Excluding Some Other Race, & Three or More Races495 (3.0%)
  • Black or African American Alone261 (1.6%)
  • Two Races Including Some Other Race90 (0.5%)
  • Some Other Race Alone51 (0.3%)
  • American Indian & Alaska Native Alone6 (0.0%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Languages Spoken at Home

  1. 1.German or other West Germanic942
  2. 2.Spanish192
  3. 3.French (incl. Cajun, Haitian)66

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population Under 18

22.2%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Working-Age (18–64)

57.6%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population 65 and Over

20.2%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Foreign-Born Population

0.3%

Data USA · as of 2024

Veterans

1,058

Data USA · as of 2024

Economy

GDP per Capita

$24,963

Data USA · as of 2023

Cost of Living Index

—

Not yet cached

Per Capita Income

$31,264

Census ACS · as of 2023

Unemployment Rate

5.2%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Poverty Rate

17.2%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Top Industries

  1. 1.Manufacturing (Group)1,583
  2. 2.Educational Services, & Health Care & Social Assistance1,266
  3. 3.Retail Trade (Group)770
  4. 4.Construction (Group)475
  5. 5.Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing & Hunting, & Mining418

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Occupations

  1. 1.Management, Business, Science, & Arts Occupations1,849
  2. 2.Production, Transportation, & Material Moving Occupations1,588
  3. 3.Sales & Office Occupations1,093
  4. 4.Natural Resources, Construction, & Maintenance Occupations1,053
  5. 5.Service Occupations956

Data USA · as of 2024

Specialized Industries (Location Quotient)

  1. 1.Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing & Hunting, & Mining (LQ 4.36×)451
  2. 2.Manufacturing (LQ 2.16×)1,395
  3. 3.Wholesale Trade (LQ 1.23×)184
  4. 4.Public Administration (LQ 1.17×)359
  5. 5.Construction (LQ 1.07×)480

Census ACS · as of 2023

Housing

Median Home Value

$139,300

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Gross Rent

$731/mo

Census ACS · as of 2023

Homeownership Rate

82.4%

Data USA · as of 2024

Home Value Distribution

  • $200,000 to $249,999523 (10.3%)
  • $150,000 to $174,999442 (8.7%)
  • $300,000 to $399,999400 (7.9%)
  • $60,000 to $69,999356 (7.0%)
  • $250,000 to $299,999350 (6.9%)
  • $100,000 to $124,999343 (6.8%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Education

Bachelor's Degree or Higher

14.2%

Census ACS · as of 2023

High School Diploma or Higher

84.1%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Workforce

Labor Force Participation

51.9%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Worker Earnings

$40,507

Census ACS · as of 2023

Mean Commute Time

30.4 min

Data USA · as of 2024

Households Without a Vehicle

9.2%

Census ACS · as of 2023

How People Get to Work

  • Drove Alone4,682 (72.2%)
  • Worked At Home759 (11.7%)
  • Carpooled748 (11.5%)
  • Walked204 (3.1%)
  • Other60 (0.9%)
  • Bicycle18 (0.3%)

Data USA · as of 2024

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Data: US Census Bureau American Community Survey, served via Data USA and the Census Bureau API. See each metric tile for the specific dataset.