Paragon is a town in Ray Township, Morgan County, in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its so ...

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 556 at the 2020 census, down from 659 in

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

History

Paragon was founded in the early 1850s about the same time the first store was opened in the community in 1852. A post office has been in operation at Paragon since 1868.

Geography

Paragon is in southwestern Morgan County along

Indiana State Road 67 State Road 67 in the U.S. state of Indiana cuts a diagonal route from southwest to northeast across the state from the north side of Vincennes to Indianapolis to the Ohio state line, where it becomes State Route 29 east of Bryant. Route descr ...

, which leads northeast to Martinsville, the

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...

, and southwest to Spencer. According to the

U.S. Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The U.S. Census Bureau is part of the U ...

, Paragon has a total area of , all land. The town is in the valley of the White River, which passes to the south.

Demographics

2010 census

As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2010, there were 659 people, 233 households, and 172 families living in the town. 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 261 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 97.4%

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 ...

, 0.2%

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 ...

, 0.5% from other races, and 2.0% 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 0.9% of the population. There were 233 households, of which 39.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.8% 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, 15.0% had a female householder with no husband present, 6.0% had a male householder with no wife present, and 26.2% were non-families. 18.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 7.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.83 and the average family size was 3.18. The median age in the town was 33.3 years. 30.2% of residents were under the age of 18; 10.6% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 24.7% were from 25 to 44; 23.9% were from 45 to 64; and 10.6% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the town was 48.4% male and 51.6% female.

2000 census

As of the

of 2000, there were 663 people, 237 households, and 176 families living in the town. The population density was . There were 275 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 99.70%

, 0.15% from other races, and 0.15% from two or more races.

or Latino of any race were 0.60% of the population. There were 237 households, out of which 39.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 62.4% were

living together, 6.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 25.7% were non-families. 18.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.80 and the average family size was 3.18. In the town, the population was spread out, with 32.4% under the age of 18, 7.8% from 18 to 24, 29.9% from 25 to 44, 19.0% from 45 to 64, and 10.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 31 years. For every 100 females, there were 99.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 99.1 males. The median income for a household in the town was $37,333, and the median income for a family was $38,971. Males had a median income of $33,750 versus $21,354 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 $14,193. About 11.5% of families and 13.3% 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 10.8% of those under age 18 and 9.8% of those age 65 or over.

References

{{authority control Towns in Morgan County, Indiana Towns in Indiana Indianapolis metropolitan area