Owen County, Indiana

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

County Seat: Spencer

Largest City: Spencer (2021 population: 2,426)

Population per Square Mile: 55.75

Square Miles: 385.30

Go to county's in.gov site

Population over Time	Number	Rank in State	Percent of State	Indiana
Yesterday (2010)	21,573	68	0.3%	6,484,050
Today (2022)	21,482	68	0.3%	6,833,037
Tomorrow (2030 projection)*	20,649	71	0.3%	7,143,795
Percent Change 2010 to Today	-0.4%	48		5.4%

*Projection based on 2010 Census counts.
Sources: U.S. Census Bureau; Indiana Business Research Center

Components of Population Change, 2021-2022	Number	Rank in State	Percent of State	Indiana
Net Domestic Migration	173	29		5,230
Net International Migration	4	75		15,490
Natural Increase (births minus deaths)	-122	72	-11.9%	1,024

Source: U.S. Census Bureau

Population Estimates by Age, 2021	Number	Rank in State	Pct Dist. in County	Pct Dist. in State
Preschool (0 to 4)	1,143	71	5.3%	6.0%
School Age (5 to 17)	3,310	72	15.4%	17.3%
College Age (18 to 24)	1,485	72	6.9%	9.7%
Young Adult (25 to 44)	4,851	70	22.6%	25.7%
Older Adult (45 to 64)	6,303	67	29.4%	24.9%
Seniors (65 and older)	4,354	67	20.3%	16.4%
Median Age	44.7			Median Age = 38.1

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

Population Estimates by Race and Hispanic Origin, 2021	Number	Rank of	Pct Dist. in County	Pct Dist. in State
American Indian or Alaska Native Alone	94	63	0.4%	0.4%
Asian Alone	126	64	0.6%	2.7%
Black Alone	137	76	0.6%	10.2%
Native Hawaiian and Other Pac. Isl. Alone	1	89	0.0%	0.1%
White	20,801	68	97.0%	84.2%
Two or More Race Groups	287	68	1.3%	2.3%
Hispanic or Latino Origin (can be of any race)
Non-Hispanic	21,137	68	98.6%	92.3%
Hispanic	309	79	1.4%	7.7%

Source: U.S. Census Bureau

Household Types	Number	Rank in State	Pct Dist. in County	Pct Dist. in State
Households in 2021 (Includes detail not shown below)	8,444	68	100.0%	100.0%
Married With Children	1,300	72	15.4%	18.2%
Married Without Children	3,024	68	35.8%	29.8%
Single Parents	457	77	5.4%	9.2%
Living Alone	2,494	62	29.5%	29.1%

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 2021 (estimate)	9,845	67	100.0%	100.0%
Total Housing Units in 2021 (includes vacant units)	9,816	67	100.0%	100.0%
Owner Occupied (Pct. distribution based on all housing units)	6,718	66	68.4%	62.9%
Median Value (2021)	$134,500	49
Renter Occupied (Pct. distribution based on all housing units)	1,726	73	17.6%	27.2%
Median Rent (2021)	$551	54

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

Education	Number	Rank in State	Percent of State	Indiana
School Enrollment (2021/2022 Total Reported)	2,202	79	0.2%	1,120,155
Public	2,202	78	0.2%	1,036,519
Adults (25+ in 2021 ACS)	15,279	68	0.3%	4,501,214
with High School diploma or higher	85.9%	79		89.8%
with B.A. or higher degree	14%	77		27.8%

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 2021	$48,681	63	86.2%	56,497
Median Household Income in 2021	57,716	60	92.0%	$62,723
Poverty Rate in 2021	11.3%	45	93.4%	12.1%
Poverty Rate among Children under 18	17.9%	29	114.0%	15.7%
Welfare (TANF) Monthly Average Families in 2022	8	79	0.2%	3,933
Food Stamp Recipients in 2022	2,041	57	0.3%	611,203
Free and Reduced Fee Lunch Recipients in 2021/2022	908	79	0.2%	481,568

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, 2019	216	72	0.3%	80,851
Births to Teens, 2017	10	78	0.2%	5,152
Deaths, 2019	256	67	0.4%	66,005

Source: Indiana State Department of Health

Labor Force, 2021	Number	Rank in State	Percent of State	Indiana
Total Resident Labor Force	9,156	70	0.3%	3,355,642
Employed	8,830	70	0.3%	3,225,060
Unemployed	326	68	0.2%	130,582
Annual Unemployment Rate	3.6	23	92.3%	3.9
February 2023 Unemployment Rate	4.4	9	125.7%	3.5

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

Employment and Earnings by Industry, 2021	Employment	Pct Dist. in County	Earnings ($000)	Pct Dist. In County	Avg. Earnings Per Job
Total by place of work	8,130	100.0%	$429,473	100.0%	$52,826
Wage and Salary	5,477	67.4%	$279,170	65.0%	$50,971
Farm Proprietors	459	5.6%	$10,796	2.5%	$23,521
Nonfarm Proprietors	2,194	27.0%	$49,643	11.6%	$22,627
Farm	516	6.3%	$11,781	2.7%	$22,831
Nonfarm	7,614	93.7%	$417,692	97.3%	$54,858
Private	6,793	83.6%	$374,989	87.3%	$55,202
Accommodation, Food Serv.	372	4.6%	$8,418	2.0%	$22,629
Arts, Ent., Recreation	118	1.5%	$864	0.2%	$7,322
Construction	611	7.5%	$24,544	5.7%	$40,170
Health Care, Social Serv.	485	6.0%	$23,099	5.4%	$47,627
Information	Data not available due to BEA non-disclosure requirements.
Manufacturing	2,471	30.4%	$213,876	49.8%	$86,554
Professional, Tech. Serv.	193	2.4%	$6,278	1.5%	$32,528
Retail Trade	735	9.0%	$19,645	4.6%	$26,728
Trans., Warehousing	192	2.4%	$10,630	2.5%	$55,365
Wholesale Trade	Data not available due to BEA non-disclosure requirements.
Other Private (not above)	844*	10.4%*	$27,980*	6.5%*	$33,152*
Government	821	10.1%	$42,703	9.9%	$52,013

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, 2021	Units	Pct Dist. in County	Pct Dist. in State	Cost ($000)	State Cost ($000)
Total Permits Filed	33	100.0%	100.0%	$8,109	$7,583,249
Single-Family	29	87.9%	74.4%	$7,759	$6,692,956
2-Family	4	12.1%	2.4%	350	$117,031
3- and 4-Family	0	0.0%	0.4%	$0	$30,324
5+ Family	0	0.0%	22.7%	$0	$742,937

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 2021	Percent of County
Gosport	849	4.0%
Spencer	2,426	11.3%

Source: U.S. Census Bureau annual population estimates