Owen County, Indiana

Organized in 1819 and named for Battle of Tippecanoe hero Colonel Abraham Owen

County Seat: Spencer

Largest City: Spencer (2025 population: 2,479)

Population per Square Mile: 56.80

Square Miles: 385.30

Go to county's in.gov site

Population over Time	Number	Rank in State	Percent of State	Indiana
Yesterday (2020)	21,321	68	0.3%	6,484,050
Today (2025)	21,886	68	0.3%	6,973,333
Tomorrow (2030 projection)*	21,307	68	0.3%	7,013,509
Percent Change 2020 to Today	2.6%	41		2.8%

*Projection based on 2020 Census population estimates.
Sources: U.S. Census Bureau; Indiana Business Research Center

Components of Population Change, 2024-2025	Number	Rank in State	Percent of State	Indiana
Net Domestic Migration	333	19		12,197
Net International Migration	8	62		17,852
Natural Increase (births minus deaths)	-108	79	-1.3%	8,561

Source: U.S. Census Bureau

Population Estimates by Age, 2025	Number	Rank in State	Pct Dist. in County	Pct Dist. in State
Preschool (0 to 4)	972	76	4.4%	5.8%
School Age (5 to 17)	3,372	71	15.4%	16.8%
College Age (18 to 24)	1,581	68	7.2%	9.8%
Young Adult (25 to 44)	5,018	70	22.9%	25.6%
Older Adult (45 to 64)	5,965	68	27.3%	23.5%
Seniors (65 and older)	4,978	67	22.7%	18.4%
Median Age	45.0			Median Age = 38.6

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau; Indiana Business Research Center

Population Estimates by Race and Hispanic Origin, 2025	Number	Rank of	Pct Dist. in County	Pct Dist. in State
American Indian or Alaska Native Alone	86	73	0.4%	0.8%
Asian Alone	122	61	0.6%	3.2%
Black Alone	184	69	0.8%	10.6%
Native Hawaiian and Other Pac. Isl. Alone	3	82	0.0%	0.1%
White	20,629	68	94.3%	81.2%
Two or More Race Groups	862	52	3.9%	4.2%
Hispanic or Latino Origin (can be of any race)
Non-Hispanic	21,436	68	97.9%	90.4%
Hispanic	450	75	2.1%	9.6%

Source: U.S. Census Bureau

Household Types	Number	Rank in State	Pct Dist. in County	Pct Dist. in State
Households in 2024 (Includes detail not shown below)	8,618	68	100.0%	100.0%
Married With Children	1,356	73	15.7%	17.9%
Married Without Children	3,059	68	35.5%	29.3%
Single Parents	585	73	6.8%	8.8%
Living Alone	2,455	67	28.5%	29.6%

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates.

Housing	Number	Rank in State	Pct Dist. in County	Pct Dist. in State
Total Housing Units in 2025 (estimate)	10,200	67	100.0%	100.0%
Total Housing Units in 2024 (includes vacant units)	9,918	67	100.0%	100.0%
Owner Occupied (Pct. distribution based on all housing units)	7,012	66	70.7%	64.4%
Median Value (2024)	$172,400	54
Renter Occupied (Pct. distribution based on all housing units)	1,606	73	16.2%	26.9%
Median Rent (2024)	$611	65

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates.

Education	Number	Rank in State	Percent of State	Indiana
School Enrollment (2025/2026 Total Reported)	2,162	80	0.2%	1,112,710
Public	2,162	78	0.2%	1,010,042
Adults (25+ in 2024 ACS)	15,704	68	0.3%	4,596,004
with High School diploma or higher	87.6%	77		90.4%
with B.A. or higher degree	16.8%	66		29.5%

Sources: Indiana Department of Education; U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates.

Income and Poverty	Number	Rank in State	Percent of State	Indiana
Per Capita Personal Income (annual) in 2024	$53,904	64	84.1%	64,077
Median Household Income in 2024	68,262	54	94.9%	$71,958
Poverty Rate in 2024	12.2%	36	100.8%	12.1%
Poverty Rate among Children under 18	17.6%	23	111.4%	15.8%
Welfare (TANF) Monthly Average Families in 2025	4	90	0.1%	4,863
Food Stamp Recipients in 2025	1,941	57	0.3%	578,293
Free and Reduced Fee Lunch Recipients in 2025/2026	1,167	75	0.2%	476,608

Sources: U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis; U.S. Census Bureau; Indiana Family Social Services Administration; Indiana Department of Education

Health and Vital Statistics	Number	Rank of	Percent of State	Indiana
Births, 2021	219	72	0.3%	79,946
Births to Teens, 2021	23	39	0.6%	3,845
Deaths, 2019	256	67	0.4%	66,005

Source: Indiana State Department of Health

Labor Force, 2025	Number	Rank in State	Percent of State	Indiana
Total Resident Labor Force	10,880	66	0.3%	3,506,284
Employed	10,477	66	0.3%	3,377,760
Unemployed	403	67	0.3%	128,524
Annual Unemployment Rate	3.7	26	100.0%	3.7
May 2026 Unemployment Rate	3.2	1	88.9%	3.6

Source: STATS Indiana, using data from the Indiana Department of Workforce Development

Employment and Earnings by Industry, 2024	Employment	Pct Dist. in County	Earnings ($000)	Pct Dist. In County	Avg. Earnings Per Job
Total by place of work	8,676	100.0%	$497,293	100.0%	$57,318
Wage and Salary	5,947	68.5%	$337,072	67.8%	$56,679
Farm Proprietors	454	5.2%	$2,992	0.6%	$6,590
Nonfarm Proprietors	2,275	26.2%	$56,505	11.4%	$24,837
Farm	505	5.8%	$4,861	1.0%	$9,626
Nonfarm	8,171	94.2%	$492,432	99.0%	$60,266
Private	7,364	84.9%	$445,168	89.5%	$60,452
Accommodation, Food Serv.	417	4.8%	$10,685	2.1%	$25,624
Arts, Ent., Recreation	113	1.3%	$1,745	0.4%	$15,442
Construction	578	6.7%	$25,052	5.0%	$43,343
Health Care, Social Serv.	471	5.4%	$26,745	5.4%	$56,783
Information	Data not available due to BEA non-disclosure requirements.
Manufacturing	2,761	31.8%	$249,806	50.2%	$90,477
Professional, Tech. Serv.	Data not available due to BEA non-disclosure requirements.
Retail Trade	767	8.8%	$22,488	4.5%	$29,319
Trans., Warehousing	225	2.6%	$8,897	1.8%	$39,542
Wholesale Trade	99	1.1%	$4,727	1.0%	$47,747
Other Private (not above)	1,043*	12.0%*	$24,943*	5.0%*	$23,915*
Government	807	9.3%	$47,264	9.5%	$58,568

Source: U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis
* These totals do not include county data that are not available due to BEA non-disclosure requirements.

Residential Building Permits, 2025	Units	Pct Dist. in County	Pct Dist. in State	Cost ($000)	State Cost ($000)
Total Permits Filed	122	100.0%	100.0%	$41,703	$8,792,236
Single-Family	122	100.0%	68.4%	$41,703	$7,272,703
2-Family	0	0.0%	1.7%	0	$80,213
3- and 4-Family	0	0.0%	0.6%	$0	$31,389
5+ Family	0	0.0%	29.3%	$0	$1,407,931

Notes: Detail cost may not sum to total due to rounding. Greene County does not currently issue building permits, so it is excluded.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau

Largest Cities and Towns in Owen County

Name	Population in 2025	Percent of County
Gosport	865	4.0%
Spencer	2,479	11.3%

Source: U.S. Census Bureau annual population estimates