Berne at a glance
- Population: about 4,227, 136th by size in Indiana of 565 places (Census Vintage 2023 subcounty estimate).
- 2020 Census base: 4,173 residents in the 2020 Census, per the US Census Bureau.
- 2020 to 2023 change: about 1.3% growth over the 2020 Census base (US Census Bureau).
- Rank among Indiana places: 136th-largest of 565 (US Census Bureau, Vintage 2023 estimate).
- Size percentile: it exceeds roughly 76% of Indiana's Census places by population (US Census Bureau).
- Coordinates: 40.6573, -84.9555 (Census Gazetteer, US Census Bureau).
- Nearest larger cities: Decatur, IN (12 mi); Bluffton, IN (13 mi); Portland, IN (15 mi); Coldwater, OH (21 mi); Celina, OH (22 mi) — straight-line distances, US Census Bureau populations.
- Nearest smaller communities: Geneva, IN (4 mi); Monroe, IN (6 mi); Vera Cruz, IN (7 mi) (Census populations).
What a personal loan costs in Berne
A personal loan is an installment loan: you receive a lump sum and repay it in fixed monthly payments over a set term, usually two to seven years.
APR is the figure that lets you compare like with like, since it wraps fees into the rate; run your own numbers with the personal loan calculator.
The offer you receive reflects the lender's read of your credit, income and debts, and the term controls the balance between payment size and total interest.
If you are consolidating debt, the loan only helps if you stop adding to the balances it clears; otherwise the total debt grows.
Indiana lending rules that apply in Berne
Where a figure is not published by the state, the row points to the source instead of guessing.
| Rule | Detail | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Small-loan / installment lender licensing | Small Loan License required (IUCCC; separate Consumer Loan License for IC 24-4.5-3 loans) Source says: "unless a person is a supervised financial organization or has first obtained a small loan license from the Department of Financial Institutions (DFI)". | Indiana Department of Financial Institutions as of 2026-09-16 |
| State lending regulator | Indiana Department of Financial Institutions (DFI), Consumer Credit Division Source says: "The industries regulated by the Consumer Credit Division are: non-depository small loan ("payday") lenders; traditional installment lenders". | Indiana Department of Financial Institutions as of 2026-09-16 |
| Small-loan size limit | $825 maximum aggregate small-loan principal per borrower Source says: "Lenders cannot have loans ... outstanding with you at any one time if the aggregate principal amount/amount financed exceeds $825". | Indiana Department of Financial Institutions as of 2026-09-16 |
| Maximum legal interest rate (usury cap) | See the latest published figure value_text left null: Indiana Code IC 24-4.5-3-508 sets tiered maximum loan finance charges for supervised loans; the official code site renders client-side and the figure could not be confirmed from a fetched page, so no figure is asserted. | Indiana General Assembly (Indiana Code) as of 2026-09-16 |
| Payday lending status | Permitted under license (small loans); finance charges capped at 15% of the first $250 (tiered above) Source says: "Finance charges on the first $250 of a small loan are limited to 15% of the principal". | Indiana Department of Financial Institutions as of 2026-09-16 |
How to compare offers in Berne
These steps are the ones that most affect the offer you receive in Berne:
- Pull your free credit reports and dispute any error — it is the cheapest way to improve the rate you are offered.
- Run your figures through the personal loan calculator on this site so you know the payment before a lender quotes one.
- Pre-qualify with at least three lenders and compare the APR, not the interest rate.
- Check that the lender is licensed in Indiana using the regulator named above.
- Read the disclosure for origination fees and any prepayment penalty before you sign.