county

Starke County, IN

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

AI Overview

Starke County is a small rural Indiana county of 23,300 residents with a low college-attainment rate of 12.6%, though 85.8% hold a high school diploma and the unemployment rate sits at a modest 3.4%. Labor force participation is relatively low at 54.2%, median worker earnings are $35,282, and a GDP per capita of $22,769 points to a cost-competitive but modestly productive local economy. Housing costs are notably low—median home value of $148,400 and median gross rent of $690/month—with an 83.7% homeownership rate, and the county posted slight population growth of 1.6% over five years.

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

Population

23,300

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Household Income

$63,960

Data USA · as of 2024

Median Age

42.1 yrs

Data USA · as of 2024

Population Growth (5-year)

+1.6% since 2018

Starke County added population at this rate over the prior 5-year ACS5 window.

Demographics

Race & Ethnicity

  • White Alone21,565 (92.3%)
  • Two Races Including Some Other Race719 (3.1%)
  • Some Other Race Alone453 (1.9%)
  • Two Races Excluding Some Other Race, & Three or More Races344 (1.5%)
  • Black or African American Alone126 (0.5%)
  • American Indian & Alaska Native Alone81 (0.3%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Languages Spoken at Home

  1. 1.Spanish252
  2. 2.Other Indo-European173
  3. 3.German or other West Germanic131
  4. 4.Russian, Polish, or other Slavic125
  5. 5.Tagalog (incl. Filipino)11

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population Under 18

22.8%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Working-Age (18–64)

57.3%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population 65 and Over

19.9%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Foreign-Born Population

2.3%

Data USA · as of 2024

Veterans

1,334

Data USA · as of 2024

Economy

GDP per Capita

$22,769

Data USA · as of 2023

Cost of Living Index

—

Not yet cached

Per Capita Income

$28,895

Census ACS · as of 2023

Unemployment Rate

3.4%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Poverty Rate

14.8%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Top Industries

  1. 1.Manufacturing (Group)2,308
  2. 2.Educational Services, & Health Care & Social Assistance1,906
  3. 3.Retail Trade (Group)1,109
  4. 4.Construction (Group)994
  5. 5.Arts, Entertainment, & Recreation, & Accommodation & Food Services821

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Occupations

  1. 1.Management, Business, Science, & Arts Occupations2,710
  2. 2.Production, Transportation, & Material Moving Occupations2,633
  3. 3.Sales & Office Occupations1,767
  4. 4.Service Occupations1,625
  5. 5.Natural Resources, Construction, & Maintenance Occupations1,217

Data USA · as of 2024

Specialized Industries (Location Quotient)

  1. 1.Manufacturing (LQ 2.45×)2,377
  2. 2.Construction (LQ 1.25×)842
  3. 3.Information (LQ 1.16×)211
  4. 4.Other Services (LQ 1.11×)511
  5. 5.Transportation, Warehousing, & Utilities (LQ 1.06×)601

Census ACS · as of 2023

Housing

Median Home Value

$148,400

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Gross Rent

$690/mo

Census ACS · as of 2023

Homeownership Rate

83.0%

Data USA · as of 2024

Home Value Distribution

  • $100,000 to $124,9991,002 (13.4%)
  • $150,000 to $174,999861 (11.6%)
  • $200,000 to $249,999829 (11.1%)
  • $125,000 to $149,999698 (9.4%)
  • $300,000 to $399,999621 (8.3%)
  • $250,000 to $299,999593 (8.0%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Education

Bachelor's Degree or Higher

12.6%

Census ACS · as of 2023

High School Diploma or Higher

85.8%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Workforce

Labor Force Participation

54.2%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Worker Earnings

$35,282

Census ACS · as of 2023

Mean Commute Time

29.8 min

Data USA · as of 2024

Households Without a Vehicle

5.8%

Census ACS · as of 2023

How People Get to Work

  • Drove Alone7,855 (81.5%)
  • Carpooled1,006 (10.4%)
  • Worked At Home460 (4.8%)
  • Other151 (1.6%)
  • Walked148 (1.5%)
  • Public Transit18 (0.2%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Similar Locations

5 counties with comparable population, workforce, income, education, and cost of living. Click any to compare.

More on FDI Connect

Compare Starke County against other US geographies, save it to your shortlist, see active property listings on the interactive map, and unlock the full demographic dashboard.

Open full dashboardCreate free account

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