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Counties with the oldest homes in Indiana
There's an undeniable charm that comes with pre-World War II American architecture, characterized by high ceilings, crown molding, hardwood floors, and ornate details. In fact, 12.8% of all housing units in America were built in 1939 or before, showing the popularity of the preservation of these units. Owning a piece of history can sometimes come with a cost: Many old homes come with asbestos, lead piping, knob-and-tube wiring, and other outdated building styles that can rack up a hefty price tag to modernize. However, with more and more modernized pre-war homes on the market, generally located just outside bustling downtown metros, investing in property that has withstood the test of time is an attractive prospect.
Stacker compiled a list of the counties in Indiana with the oldest homes using data from the U.S. Census Bureau. Counties are ranked by median year the structure was built according to 2020 5-year estimates. Ties broken by the highest percentage of homes built before 1939.
The country's domestic architecture is perhaps best characterized by a rugged individualism as opposed to the hybridization of disparate architectural elements. As Maya Angelou once perceptively observed, "the ache for home lives in all of us," a phrase that has meant very different things to different people.
Modest or palatial, there is no shortage of noteworthy homes in the U.S. Log cabins constructed by industrious pioneers have dotted the landscape alongside traditional Native American dwellings ever since immigrant Swedes introduced them to the New World in 1638. The unprecedented personal fortunes amassed by the so-called "Robber Barons" at the close of the 19th century gave way to the construction of a staggering number of Gilded Age estates.
The ravages of time spared neither the sumptuous nor the humble. Stately mansions, often prohibitively costly to maintain in the modern era, were frequently neglected; simple structures were forgotten, discarded by their owners, and damaged by natural elements. However, the tireless efforts of architectural preservationists and local historical societies have saved many of these homes from demolition, leading to their inclusion in the National Register of Historic Places and thereby safeguarding them for future generations.
Keep reading to learn more about which counties in Indiana have the oldest homes.
#50. Noble County
- Homes built 1939 or earlier: 26.9% (5,561 homes)
- Homes built since 2000: 12.6% (2,606 homes)
- Total homes built: 20,659
#49. Jefferson County
- Homes built 1939 or earlier: 18.9% (2,741 homes)
- Homes built since 2000: 12.1% (1,755 homes)
- Total homes built: 14,529
#48. Gibson County
- Homes built 1939 or earlier: 21.3% (3,266 homes)
- Homes built since 2000: 16.8% (2,576 homes)
- Total homes built: 15,337
#47. Marshall County
- Homes built 1939 or earlier: 23.3% (4,745 homes)
- Homes built since 2000: 12.6% (2,559 homes)
- Total homes built: 20,333
#46. Decatur County
- Homes built 1939 or earlier: 24.0% (2,740 homes)
- Homes built since 2000: 15.7% (1,801 homes)
- Total homes built: 11,436
#45. Parke County
- Homes built 1939 or earlier: 24.2% (1,994 homes)
- Homes built since 2000: 18.7% (1,541 homes)
- Total homes built: 8,253
#44. Starke County
- Homes built 1939 or earlier: 16.9% (1,885 homes)
- Homes built since 2000: 13.0% (1,455 homes)
- Total homes built: 11,185
#43. Pike County
- Homes built 1939 or earlier: 18.5% (1,071 homes)
- Homes built since 2000: 13.9% (806 homes)
- Total homes built: 5,787
#42. Daviess County
- Homes built 1939 or earlier: 22.3% (2,800 homes)
- Homes built since 2000: 20.4% (2,558 homes)
- Total homes built: 12,565
#41. Marion County
- Homes built 1939 or earlier: 15.6% (66,213 homes)
- Homes built since 2000: 13.3% (56,572 homes)
- Total homes built: 424,711
#40. Perry County
- Homes built 1939 or earlier: 17.9% (1,560 homes)
- Homes built since 2000: 13.3% (1,166 homes)
- Total homes built: 8,737
#39. White County
- Homes built 1939 or earlier: 18.6% (2,446 homes)
- Homes built since 2000: 11.6% (1,520 homes)
- Total homes built: 13,153
#38. Sullivan County
- Homes built 1939 or earlier: 23.1% (2,078 homes)
- Homes built since 2000: 17.2% (1,549 homes)
- Total homes built: 8,982
#37. Clay County
- Homes built 1939 or earlier: 25.6% (3,018 homes)
- Homes built since 2000: 16.2% (1,907 homes)
- Total homes built: 11,773
#36. Adams County
- Homes built 1939 or earlier: 25.2% (3,360 homes)
- Homes built since 2000: 14.3% (1,907 homes)
- Total homes built: 13,328
#35. Union County
- Homes built 1939 or earlier: 31.2% (1,019 homes)
- Homes built since 2000: 10.9% (356 homes)
- Total homes built: 3,266
#34. Wells County
- Homes built 1939 or earlier: 31.4% (3,741 homes)
- Homes built since 2000: 14.0% (1,670 homes)
- Total homes built: 11,923
#33. Vigo County
- Homes built 1939 or earlier: 24.2% (11,481 homes)
- Homes built since 2000: 13.5% (6,398 homes)
- Total homes built: 47,351
#32. Newton County
- Homes built 1939 or earlier: 25.5% (1,558 homes)
- Homes built since 2000: 11.3% (690 homes)
- Total homes built: 6,101
#31. Shelby County
- Homes built 1939 or earlier: 24.3% (4,721 homes)
- Homes built since 2000: 13.1% (2,541 homes)
- Total homes built: 19,395
#30. St. Joseph County
- Homes built 1939 or earlier: 16.3% (19,070 homes)
- Homes built since 2000: 10.9% (12,778 homes)
- Total homes built: 117,050
#29. Vanderburgh County
- Homes built 1939 or earlier: 18.6% (15,683 homes)
- Homes built since 2000: 13.6% (11,514 homes)
- Total homes built: 84,478
#28. LaPorte County
- Homes built 1939 or earlier: 21.8% (10,711 homes)
- Homes built since 2000: 12.8% (6,286 homes)
- Total homes built: 49,231
#27. Montgomery County
- Homes built 1939 or earlier: 25.8% (4,314 homes)
- Homes built since 2000: 14.1% (2,349 homes)
- Total homes built: 16,709
#26. Warren County
- Homes built 1939 or earlier: 31.5% (1,183 homes)
- Homes built since 2000: 11.1% (416 homes)
- Total homes built: 3,760
#25. Howard County
- Homes built 1939 or earlier: 19.2% (7,620 homes)
- Homes built since 2000: 11.1% (4,384 homes)
- Total homes built: 39,662
#24. Pulaski County
- Homes built 1939 or earlier: 27.2% (1,667 homes)
- Homes built since 2000: 10.7% (657 homes)
- Total homes built: 6,119
#23. Fulton County
- Homes built 1939 or earlier: 28.9% (2,811 homes)
- Homes built since 2000: 11.0% (1,067 homes)
- Total homes built: 9,743
#22. Lake County
- Homes built 1939 or earlier: 16.7% (35,729 homes)
- Homes built since 2000: 13.2% (28,300 homes)
- Total homes built: 213,679
#21. Carroll County
- Homes built 1939 or earlier: 26.9% (2,596 homes)
- Homes built since 2000: 11.9% (1,146 homes)
- Total homes built: 9,643
#20. Delaware County
- Homes built 1939 or earlier: 18.9% (9,951 homes)
- Homes built since 2000: 9.4% (4,957 homes)
- Total homes built: 52,677
#19. Madison County
- Homes built 1939 or earlier: 20.1% (11,881 homes)
- Homes built since 2000: 9.7% (5,750 homes)
- Total homes built: 59,173
#18. Grant County
- Homes built 1939 or earlier: 22.8% (6,942 homes)
- Homes built since 2000: 8.2% (2,503 homes)
- Total homes built: 30,489
#17. Knox County
- Homes built 1939 or earlier: 28.4% (4,873 homes)
- Homes built since 2000: 9.6% (1,655 homes)
- Total homes built: 17,155
#16. Fountain County
- Homes built 1939 or earlier: 32.0% (2,539 homes)
- Homes built since 2000: 9.9% (785 homes)
- Total homes built: 7,937
#15. Fayette County
- Homes built 1939 or earlier: 23.9% (2,588 homes)
- Homes built since 2000: 5.4% (580 homes)
- Total homes built: 10,818
#14. Tipton County
- Homes built 1939 or earlier: 32.8% (2,300 homes)
- Homes built since 2000: 7.1% (497 homes)
- Total homes built: 7,021
#13. Vermillion County
- Homes built 1939 or earlier: 33.3% (2,501 homes)
- Homes built since 2000: 11.0% (823 homes)
- Total homes built: 7,512
#12. Wayne County
- Homes built 1939 or earlier: 27.8% (8,742 homes)
- Homes built since 2000: 7.1% (2,221 homes)
- Total homes built: 31,446
#11. Wabash County
- Homes built 1939 or earlier: 34.2% (4,850 homes)
- Homes built since 2000: 9.5% (1,345 homes)
- Total homes built: 14,162
#10. Jay County
- Homes built 1939 or earlier: 35.6% (3,297 homes)
- Homes built since 2000: 9.1% (838 homes)
- Total homes built: 9,253
#9. Henry County
- Homes built 1939 or earlier: 29.0% (6,159 homes)
- Homes built since 2000: 8.5% (1,797 homes)
- Total homes built: 21,233
#8. Blackford County
- Homes built 1939 or earlier: 32.9% (1,979 homes)
- Homes built since 2000: 6.1% (365 homes)
- Total homes built: 6,013
#7. Huntington County
- Homes built 1939 or earlier: 39.1% (6,293 homes)
- Homes built since 2000: 11.8% (1,901 homes)
- Total homes built: 16,110
#6. Miami County
- Homes built 1939 or earlier: 38.2% (5,886 homes)
- Homes built since 2000: 6.2% (961 homes)
- Total homes built: 15,398
#5. Clinton County
- Homes built 1939 or earlier: 34.9% (4,667 homes)
- Homes built since 2000: 7.5% (1,004 homes)
- Total homes built: 13,376
#4. Cass County
- Homes built 1939 or earlier: 37.5% (6,143 homes)
- Homes built since 2000: 6.0% (982 homes)
- Total homes built: 16,362
#3. Benton County
- Homes built 1939 or earlier: 39.4% (1,542 homes)
- Homes built since 2000: 6.3% (248 homes)
- Total homes built: 3,917
#2. Randolph County
- Homes built 1939 or earlier: 41.1% (4,811 homes)
- Homes built since 2000: 7.9% (921 homes)
- Total homes built: 11,711
#1. Rush County
- Homes built 1939 or earlier: 41.8% (3,140 homes)
- Homes built since 2000: 8.4% (633 homes)
- Total homes built: 7,503