Austin, Indiana
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Austin is a city in Jennings Township, Scott County, in the U.S. state of
Indiana Indiana ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Michigan to the northwest, Michigan to the north and northeast, Ohio to the east, the Ohio River and Kentucky to the s ...
. The population was 4,064 at the 2020 census, at which time it was a town; Austin became a city on January 1, 2008. The population was 4,064 at the 2020 census.


History

Austin was
plat In the United States, a plat ( or ) (plan) is a cadastral map, drawn to scale, showing the divisions of a piece of land. United States General Land Office surveyors drafted township plats of Public Lands Survey System, Public Lands Surveys to ...
ted in 1853, and named after
Austin, Texas Austin ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Texas. It is the county seat and most populous city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and W ...
. A post office has been in operation at Austin since 1854.


HIV Crisis

The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirms that Austin “contains the largest drug-fueled H.I.V. outbreak to hit rural America in recent history.” Its 5 percent infection rate “is comparable to some African nations.” According to New York Times columnist
Thomas Friedman Thomas Loren Friedman ( ; born July 20, 1953) is an American political commentator and author. He is a three-time Pulitzer Prize winner who is a weekly columnist for ''The New York Times''. He has written extensively on foreign affairs, global ...
, who visited with Austin's only doctor, Will Cooke, Austin "doesn’t just sit at the intersection between Indianapolis and Louisville but at the intersection of hopelessness and economic ruin.” In 2015, press reports indicated the city was the center of an outbreak of HIV caused by the use of Opana as an injectable recreational drug. The outbreak required emergency action by state officials. When the outbreak was first detected there were 30 HIV cases in a town that had, up until this point, only had 3 cases over several decades. After 29 days, by the time Governor
Mike Pence Michael Richard Pence (born June 7, 1959) is an American politician and lawyer who served as the 48th vice president of the United States from 2017 to 2021 under President Donald Trump. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Repub ...
determined a course of action, the number of HIV cases had skyrocketed to 79. In response to the crisis Scott County established "one-stop shop," where people could also get drug treatment referrals, free HIV testing, syringe exchanges, and other services.


Geography

According to the 2010 census, Austin has a total area of , all land.


Climate

The climate in this area is characterized by hot, humid summers and generally mild to cool winters. According to the
Köppen Climate Classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...
system, Austin has a
humid subtropical climate A humid subtropical climate is a subtropical -temperate climate type, characterized by long and hot summers, and cool to mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents (except Antarctica), generally between ...
, abbreviated "Cfa" on climate maps.Climate Summary for Austin, Indiana
/ref>


Demographics


2010 census

As of the 2010 census, there were 4,295 people, 1,674 households, and 1,178 families residing in the city. The
population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geog ...
was . There were 1,908 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 97.1%
White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...
, 0.3%
African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...
, 0.3% Native American, 0.2% Asian, 0.7% from other races, and 1.2% from two or more races.
Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...
or Latino of any race were 2.1% of the population. There were 1,674 households, of which 37.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 43.2% were
married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...
living together, 18.8% had a female householder with no husband present, 8.4% had a male householder with no wife present, and 29.6% were non-families. 25.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.56 and the average family size was 3.00. The median age in the city was 36.7 years. 25.9% of residents were under the age of 18; 9.7% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 27% were from 25 to 44; 25.3% were from 45 to 64; and 12.3% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 48.6% male and 51.4% female.


2000 census

As of the 2000 census, there were 4,724 people, 1,793 households, and 1,308 families residing in the town. The population density was . There were 1,967 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 98.20%
White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...
, 0.06%
African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...
, 0.15% Native American, 0.19% Asian, 0.78% from other races, and 0.61% from two or more races.
Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...
or Latino of any race were 1.52% of the population. There were 1,793 households, out of which 36.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.0% were
married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...
living together, 16.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.0% were non-families. 22.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.63 and the average family size was 3.06. In the town the population was spread out, with 29.1% under the age of 18, 10.5% from 18 to 24, 30.0% from 25 to 44, 20.6% from 45 to 64, and 9.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 32 years. For every 100 females, there were 97.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.4 males. The median income for a household in the town was $28,495, and the median income for a family was $33,267. Males had a median income of $28,468 versus $21,580 for females. The
per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...
for the town was $12,431. About 16.6% of families and 19.1% of the population were below the
poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...
, including 29.0% of those under age 18 and 15.6% of those age 65 or over.


Notable residents

* Albert E. Wiggam - Psychologist and eugenicist


References


External links

* {{authority control Cities in Scott County, Indiana Cities in Indiana