Carmel, IN: Raise Your Family in One of America’s Best Cities

If you are looking for a five-star city to live in and raise a family, you have found it in Carmel, Indiana.

Carmel is located right outside of Indianapolis. Some refer to it as a bedroom community of Indianapolis, but Carmel has a unique identity and is truly one of the fastest growing communities in our country. In 2012, Carmel was named by CNN Money Magazine as the Best Place to Live in the US. Carmel is the fifth largest city in Indiana.

A brief history of Carmel

Carmel’s original name was Bethlehem and was established in 1837. The land was taken over by the original settlers after signing a treaty with local Delaware Indians. The early settlers were predominantly Quakers.

In 1874 a post office was established, and the name of this community was changed. The city of Carmel was incorporated.

The addition of the Monon Railroad brought prosperity to Carmel and to many of the surrounding towns. An interesting historical note, the first automatic traffic signal in America was installed in Carmel in 1924. You will see this event had implications for Carmel in the future and you will discover why if you read on.

A Few Supporting Statistics

It’s always helpful to know a few statistics.  In the vicinity of 86,000 people call Carmel, Indiana home.  The unemployment rate is 4.5% which falls below the Indiana average of 5.2% and well below the national average of 6.3%.

On the March 2016 Cost of Living Index, Carmel score 90.2 compared with the national average which is 100. What does this mean?  It costs less to live in Carmel than in other parts of the USA.  Also, the per capita income, as of the 2010 Census, was $85,320. And the median household income was $101,500.

Carmel also received the City Livability Award for developing a transportation system that removed 78 sets of traffic lights and replaced them with roundabouts. Roundabouts proved to be less expensive and statistically much safer. The irony of this story, if you remember, is that Carmel was the first city in America to use electric traffic lights, installing its first light in 1924.

Kids are an Important Part of Carmel

The Carmel public school system has been continually hailed as exceptional.  Awards and recognitions have been presented throughout the entire system. Carmel schools score, on average, 30 to 50 points higher than the other schools in the state in both math and verbal skills.  There are eleven elementary schools, three middle schools and one public high school in Carmel.

Carmel High school has almost 90 state athletic championships on  record.  In addition, there are eleven private schools which include University High School. You can see that this is a highly rated school system.

There are extensive parks and recreational areas available to everyone in Carmel. The huge family favorite would be Central Park. Central Park consists of a network of trails that lead into the Monon Greenway.  The Greenway, which is a walking, biking and running trail, extends from Indianapolis to Carmel and ends in Westfield. Over 4,000 use this trail each day. The Greenway is part of the Rails to Trails movement.

The are all kinds of arts and sports offerings for the kids of Carmel. The Laser Flash Center is a popular place for a  birthday party or any other celebration for the kids.

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