37,804 people (2024 Census estimate, +3.1% since 2020)
481 square miles of land · 79 people per square mile
“Highest” and “lowest” are just order, not grades: a high rank for poverty or hazard losses means more of it. Each figure's source is in its section below.
11 active community water systems list Putnam County in the area they serve, reporting 25,715 people served in all (a system that crosses county lines counts its whole population).
| GREENCASTLE DEPARTMENT OF WATER groundwater (surface-influenced) · local government · IN5267004 | 12,699 served |
| REELSVILLE WATER COMPANY groundwater · local government · IN5267006 | 2,800 served |
| PUTNAMVILLE CORRECTIONAL FACILITY buys groundwater · state · IN5267005 | 2,505 served |
| CLOVERDALE WATER WORKS groundwater · local government · IN5267003 | 2,225 served |
| SOUTH 43 WATER ASSOCIATION, INC. buys groundwater · private · IN5267009 | 1,431 served |
| ROACHDALE WATER WORKS groundwater · local government · IN5267007 | 980 served |
| BAINBRIDGE WATER WORKS groundwater · local government · IN5267001 | 830 served |
| VAN BIBBER LAKE CONSERVANCY DISTRICT groundwater · local government · IN5267010 | 830 served |
Source: U.S. EPA Safe Drinking Water Information System (SDWIS), active community systems, . Look up any system's violations and test results with EPA's search using its ID.
About 94 people were held in Putnam County's jail, in Vera's latest figure (2024), or 378 per 100,000 residents ages 15–64. In 2019 it was about 116.
Source: Vera Institute of Justice, Incarceration Trends (built from federal Bureau of Justice Statistics jail surveys). Counties without their own jail, or that share one, may show no figure.
4 school districts have their office in Putnam County. School taxes are usually the largest part of a property tax bill.
Spent $28.4 million — $22.2 million to run schools, about $12,284 per student, plus $5.1 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $8.4 million local (mostly property tax), $17.3 million state, $3.3 million federal. Long-term debt: $37.4 million.
Spent $19.5 million — $16.3 million to run schools, about $9,654 per student, plus $2.4 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $4.8 million local (mostly property tax), $12.9 million state, $1.5 million federal. Long-term debt: $7.2 million.
Spent $23.4 million — $15.7 million to run schools, about $11,437 per student, plus $6.3 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $9.5 million local (mostly property tax), $12.4 million state, $887,000 federal. Long-term debt: $30.2 million.
Spent $17.5 million — $13.4 million to run schools, about $12,141 per student, plus $3.2 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $5.8 million local (mostly property tax), $10 million state, $1.6 million federal. Long-term debt: $5.5 million.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2023 Annual Survey of School System Finances. Districts are listed by the county of their main office; some serve neighboring counties too.
Source: County Health Rankings & Roadmaps 2025 (University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute), which gathers federal data (CDC, Census, and others); measures cover different recent years. Blank lines aren't reported for small counties.
Overall risk: Relatively Low compared with other U.S. counties. FEMA estimates natural hazards cost Putnam County about $14.3 million a year on average in buildings, crops and lives. Ability to bounce back (community resilience): Relatively High; social vulnerability: Relatively Low.
Source: FEMA National Risk Index (December 2025), expected annual loss. Ratings compare counties nationwide; they're estimates, not predictions.
293 bridges in Putnam County: 90 in good condition, 152 fair, and 51 poor (17.4%). “Poor” means a main part — the deck, the beams, or the supports — is rated 4 or lower on the federal 0–9 scale. It doesn't mean unsafe to drive; unsafe bridges are closed.
| US 40 over SERVICE RD - STATE FARM · built 1985 | 5,489 vehicles a day |
| US 40 over SALLUST BRANCH · built 1921 | 5,052 vehicles a day |
| CR 500N over FALLS BRANCH CREEK · built 1940 | 1,910 vehicles a day |
| DUNBAR RD over BIG WALNUT CREEK · built 1880 | 1,400 vehicles a day |
| SR 42 over MILL CREEK · built 1940 | 1,250 vehicles a day |
| CR 1000S over HIGGINS BRANCH CREEK · built 1960 | 1,250 vehicles a day |
Source: Federal Highway Administration, National Bridge Inventory (2025 submission). Includes state, county and city bridges.
Federal grants paid for $3.1 million of work in Putnam County in fiscal 2025, about $84 per resident — to the county, cities, schools, hospitals, nonprofits and others.
Source: USAspending.gov, grants by place of performance, fiscal 2025 (Oct. 2024 to Sept. 2025). Search it by county to see each award.
From Grants.gov: posted grants listing county governments as eligible, soonest deadline first; research-only and overseas programs left out; list updated 2026-10-13, refreshed weekly. 62 are open in all. Cities, towns, school districts and nonprofits have their own lists there.
Registration deadlines, early voting and polling places for Indiana are on the federal site vote.gov, which links to the state's official election office.
The budget, property tax rates, audits, local officials and offices for Putnam County come from the county's own records, which we haven't gathered — not gathered, never hidden. See what a full county site looks like, or ask to have Putnam County built: brayden.ozark@gmail.com.
More of Indiana: the state government and every county in Indiana.
Nearby counties: Hendricks County (20 mi) · Parke County (20 mi) · Clay County (23 mi) · Owen County (24 mi) · Morgan County (25 mi) · Montgomery County (26 mi).