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Shelbyville.

All Shelbyville data Compare Shelbyville

20,296people live here $55,602median household income▼ 31% below US $995median rent per month▼ 30% below US $174,700median home value▼ 47% below US

What it's like to live in Shelbyville

Shelbyville is a small city in Indiana with rent below the national average, home prices that remain within reach, county unemployment below the national average, and commutes that run shorter than most cities. Those factors carry real weight for anyone weighing where to move next.

The tradeoffs are worth naming plainly. Shelbyville deals with household incomes below the national average, college degree attainment below the national average, a poverty rate above the national average, and cold winters.

The good

Rent below the national average
Affordable home prices
Low unemployment in the county
Short commutes
Clean air
Growing population

The not so good

Below-average household incomes
Low college degree attainment
High poverty rate
Cold winters
Car-dependent — few commuters use transit

How Shelbyville compares

Median household income

Shelbyville$55,602

Indiana avg$71,957

US$80,734

Median rent (per month)

Shelbyville$995

Indiana avg$1,062

US$1,413

Median home value

Shelbyville$174,700

Indiana avg$218,200

US$332,700

What it takes to move to Shelbyville

Based on Shelbyville's median rent, home value and household income

To rent

$1,990

up front: first month plus a typical one-month deposit

Income to keep rent under 30%: $39,800 a year
38% of Shelbyville renters spend 30% or more of their income on rent

To buy

$34,940

a 20% down payment on the median home

With 10% down: $17,470
Homes cost 3.1× the typical local household income (US: 4.1×)

Moving costs, closing costs and taxes not included.

The details

Cost of living▼ 30% below US

$995/mo median rent

Rent here is genuinely low, with median rent around $995 a month. Factoring in local incomes, the value gets even better. Money stretches further here than in most of the country. Home prices here are genuinely accessible, with a median around $174,700. That kind of affordability is rare in today's market.

Median home value $174,700 · 38% of renters cost-burdened

Job market

3.3% county unemployment

Unemployment in Shelby County is 3.3%, a little below the national average of 4.3%. That's the county-wide rate; BLS doesn't measure a place this size on its own.

Shelby County (county-wide)

Safety▼ 26% below US

243 violent crimes per 100k

Pretty safe, all things considered. Violent crime sits below the national average, nothing alarming, just ordinary city-life awareness.

Property crime 1032/100k · Shelbyville Police Department · 2025 data

Getting around▼ 20% below US

21 min average commute

Commutes are reasonable, averaging 20.7 minutes. Nothing heroic, and there's still time left over for a life after work. 9 in 10 workers drive to work; 6% work from home.

How workers get to work

Drive alone

80%

Carpool

8.6%

Work from home

6.3%

Walk

3.3%

Other

1.9%

Climate

Summers are warm, with highs around 84°F, and winters are cold, with lows around 22°F and snow a regular occurrence. Rainfall is regular throughout the year.

Average month

High °FLow °FPrecip (in)

30-year averages, 1991–2020

Healthcare

1 hospital

There's one Medicare-certified hospital inside city limits, rated 4.0 out of 5 by Medicare. Hospitals in neighboring towns aren't counted here.

Medicare-certified hospitals

Education & workforce▼ 46% below US

19% bachelor's degree or higher

This is a working-class city, and college degree rates reflect that. Trades, manufacturing, and service industries tend to dominate the local economy, which is a strength for some fields and a real constraint for others.

Schools

9 public schools inside the boundary

There are 9 public schools inside the boundary and 1 private school. The student-to-teacher ratio is 17:1, close to the national average of 16:1.

Parks & recreation

The nearest national park or historic site is William Howard Taft National Historic Site (74 miles away). There are 2 national parks and sites within a day's drive.

Bottom line

Shelbyville's strongest points are rent below the national average and home prices that remain within reach; the main tradeoffs are household incomes below the national average and college degree attainment below the national average. A year of median rent ($995/mo) equals 21% of the median household income here, about the same as the 21% typical nationwide. It tends to suit people watching their budget, job seekers (county-wide unemployment is low), and anyone prioritizing low crime.

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