LaPorte County, IN

County Profile

111,917 residents. Safety, jobs, income, housing cost, climate and natural-hazard risk for LaPorte County, IN.

Several figures AreaProfile publishes are measured by county and nowhere finer — death rates by intent among them. On this page those describe the geography they are printed on, which is not true of the city and ZIP pages that inherit them.

66out of 100
Area Score
Top 27% of 1,453 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks

Data updated · 14 sources
OpportunityTop 35% of 1,463 counties measured62
Schools740th of 1,377 counties measured48
Growth850th of 1,453 counties measured45
Housing affordabilityTop 37% of 1,462 counties measured76
Climate1,020th of 1,463 counties measured62
Physical resilienceTop 5% of 1,463 counties measured93
AccessTop 28% of 1,463 counties measured90
Economic stability1,051st of 1,463 counties measured43
The quick read

Unemployment is 3.8% and median household income $71,055, putting employment conditions in the middle range of counties measured.

In the public schools here, 42% of students met the state standard in mathematics, with 15.5 students for every teacher.

Rent takes 28% of renter income here, below the 30% threshold conventionally called cost-burdened, and the median home is 2.4 times what its owners earn.

These sentences are written by fixed rules from the measurements below — a statement appears because a number crossed a stated threshold, and the values behind it are stored with it. No figure anywhere on this site is invented, estimated or inferred to fill a gap. How this works.

At a glance

Population
111,917
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$71,055
Top 35% nationally
Density
187/sq mi
598.3 sq mi of land
Median age
41.1
2024 ACS 5-Year
County
LaPorte County
Indiana
Nearest major airport
SBN
25 mi · South Bend Intl
Median home value
$195,500
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment of 3.8%, lower than in 61% of the 1,467 measured US counties.

Employment grew 0.3% over the past year, to 50,738 employed residents.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Income of new arrivalsfiling years 2022–2023$59,83353rd percentileof 1,417filing years 2022–2023
Income of those who leftfiling years 2022–2023$54,18738th percentileof 1,417filing years 2022–2023
Median household income ±$2,2412024 ACS 5-Year$71,055Top 35%of 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$9362024 ACS 5-Year$35,395Top 48%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Per-capita personal income2023$53,587Bottom 40%of 1,3892023
Poverty rate ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year13.5%Bottom 46%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute ±0.9 min2024 ACS 5-Year26.3 minBottom 46%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year22.7%Top 48%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Drove alone to work ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year83.4%88th percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
EmploymentJuly 202650,738Top 39%of 1,467July 2026
Employment change (3 years)July 2026+1.1%Top 36%of 1,467July 2026
Employment change (year over year)July 2026+0.3%Top 32%of 1,467July 2026
Labor forceJuly 202652,72361st percentileof 1,467July 2026
Labor force participation ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year69.7%Bottom 25%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Public transit to work ±0.3%2024 ACS 5-Year0.5%74th percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)July 2026−0.4%Top 32%of 1,467July 2026
Unemployment rateJuly 20263.8%Top 39%of 1,467July 2026
Worked from home ±0.9%2024 ACS 5-Year7.2%36th percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year

Unemployment rate

2021/072022/072023/072024/072025/072026/075.33.0
Monthly unemployment rate from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, most recent value 3.8% in July 2026. It has been holding roughly steady, over a series running from 2020-01 to 2026-07. A break in the line is a month the Bureau of Labor Statistics did not publish for this area — it is left empty rather than estimated.

Median household income, successive ACS releases

202120222023202471k60k
Each point is a separate five-year estimate, most recently $71,055 in the 2024 ACS 5-Year. Consecutive releases share four years of sample, so AreaProfile shows them as a record of successive estimates and does not compute a year-over-year change from them.

Largest occupations — Michigan City-La Porte, IN

OccupationPeople employedMedian annual wage
Fast Food and Counter Workers1,520$28,250
Retail Salespersons1,460$29,840
Cashiers1,040$28,520
Home Health and Personal Care Aides930$35,170
Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand870$37,820
Miscellaneous Assemblers and Fabricators850$41,060

Searches the 40 largest occupations here that have a published wage.

Occupational employment and wages are published for metropolitan areas rather than for individual cities or ZIP areas, so these describe the wider labor market this location sits in. 2025 OEWS, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

42% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 52% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.

There are 15.5 students for every full-time teacher across 33 public schools, more than in most measured places.

Public schools
35
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
15.5
across 33 of them
Math proficiency
42.3%
Bottom 44% in Indiana
Reading proficiency
51.5%
Top 42% in Indiana
The 12 largest of 35 public schools, by enrollment.
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
LaPorte High SchoolLa Porte Community School Corp1,80716.629%58%
Michigan City High SchoolMichigan City Area Schools1,50616.020%49%
New Prairie High SchoolNew Prairie United School Corp94518.537%70%
LaPorte Middle SchoolLa Porte Community School Corp86214.6——
Kesling Intermediate SchoolLa Porte Community School Corp84713.447%55%
New Prairie Middle SchoolNew Prairie United School Corp66719.151%63%
South Central Elementary SchoolSouth Central Com School Corp52319.448%46%
Westville Elementary SchoolMSD of New Durham Township49915.639%51%
South Central Jr-Sr High SchoolSouth Central Com School Corp46317.134%62%
F Willard Crichfield ElementaryLa Porte Community School Corp45917.769%65%
Joy Elementary SchoolMichigan City Area Schools41614.355%44%
Rolling Prairie Elementary SchoolNew Prairie United School Corp41418.063%50%

49.6% of students here are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. That describes the circumstances families arrive with, not how the schools perform, so it is shown and not scored.

Public schools only, from the NCES Common Core of Data, placed by ZIP code — which schools are in this place, not which one a particular address is zoned for. A dash in a proficiency column is a gap in the federal file, not a bad result. Proficiency is measured against Indiana’s own standard, so it is ranked within state. How to read school figures.

Prices for everything a household buys run about 8% below the national average — the Bureau of Economic Analysis index reads 92.0, against 100 for the nation. Nationally, housing drives most of the spread between places in this index; other goods vary far less.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency’s house price index for the Michigan City-La Porte, IN Metro Area is up 55% over five years, and up 6.6% over the last year. It follows repeat sales of the same homes, so it measures price change rather than which homes happened to sell.

Homeowners here who pay a tax bill pay a median of $1,503 a year in real estate taxes, about 0.77% of the median home value.

HUD’s Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom, set near the 40th percentile of recent new leases, is $1,152, some 18% above the $976 tenants already here pay.

At HUD’s Fair Market Rent of $1,152 a month for a two-bedroom, keeping rent to 30% of income takes a household income of about $46,100 a year, about 65% of the median household income here of $71,055.

The typical renter household here spends 28% of its income on rent, below the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened. Median gross rent runs $976 a month.

A median home at $195,500 costs 2.4 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $82,005, close to the historic benchmark for an affordable market.

Cost of living
92.0

Prices here run about 8% below the national average. The spread between places is driven mostly by housing — goods vary far less — and this excludes taxes.

Published for the Michigan City-La Porte, IN Metro Area as a whole. Prices are regional — people shop, commute and rent across a metropolitan area rather than within a city boundary — so this describes the cost of living around this place better than a figure drawn to its own limits would.

Rent as a share of income
28.4%
Below the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
2.4×
median home value ÷ owner household income
Market rent, two bedroom
$1,152
what a new lease costs · FY2026
Median gross rent
$976
what tenants now pay · 2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$195,500
2024 ACS 5-Year

The figures above are measured against LaPorte County’s median household income of $71,055, which describes the place rather than you. Enter your own and the ratio is recomputed against it. It stays in this browser.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Cost of living indexthe Michigan City-La Porte, IN Metro Area’s figure202392.0Top 34%of 8872023
Home price change (1 year)the Michigan City-La Porte, IN Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+6.6%94th percentileof 1,4312026 Q2
Home price change (5 years)the Michigan City-La Porte, IN Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+55.3%87th percentileof 1,4312026 Q2
Home price change (10 years)the Michigan City-La Porte, IN Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+114.1%82nd percentileof 1,4312026 Q2
Home price to income ±0.12024 ACS 5-Year2.4Top 44%of 3,2172024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year74.7%51st percentileof 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±542024 ACS 5-Year50,03883rd percentileof 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
Market rent, one bedroomFY2026$953Top 49%of 1,423FY2026
Market rent, three bedroomFY2026$1,454Top 43%of 1,423FY2026
Market rent, two bedroomFY2026$1,152Top 47%of 1,423FY2026
Median gross rent ±$302024 ACS 5-Year$976Bottom 33%of 3,2152024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$5,7942024 ACS 5-Year$195,50055th percentileof 3,2192024 ACS 5-Year
Median property taxes ±$552024 ACS 5-Year$1,50346th percentileof 3,1722024 ACS 5-Year
Owner household income ±$2,1872024 ACS 5-Year$82,005Top 38%of 3,2182024 ACS 5-Year
Property tax rate ±0.04%2024 ACS 5-Year0.77%47th percentileof 3,1262024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year28.4%Bottom 44%of 3,2162024 ACS 5-Year
Seasonal and second homes ±3812024 ACS 5-Year2,58887th percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year5.2%66th percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year7.6%38th percentileof 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
Vacant housing units ±5622024 ACS 5-Year6,40584th percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year

These measures come from the same ACS release as the income they are compared with. They compare housing cost with local earnings only: transport, groceries, healthcare, insurance and taxes are not in them. How to read affordability, the two rent figures and the cost-of-living index.

Development Momentum

45/ 100
Ranks 850 of 1,453 published county profiles
The most recent move in permitting was upward, in a series running from 2022 to 2025. That is the direction of the recent run. The chart below compares the first year with the last, which can point the other way.

An AreaProfile calculation combining permit volume per resident, its direction over one and three years, population change and employment growth. Permit volume alone is not the measure.

Population has fallen 1% since 2020, to 111,348 in 2024.

Permitting has turned upward after moving the other way the year before: 268 units authorized in 2025, up 24% on the prior year.

Federal tax returns show that people moving in from elsewhere in the US and people moving out roughly balanced across LaPorte County in the most recent year. Households that moved in reported an average income of $59,833, above the $54,187 of households that moved out.

At 2.6 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is below the median for measured US counties.

Units permitted
286
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
2.6
Bottom 46% nationally
Year over year
+18%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
29.4%
units in 5+ unit buildings

Population, annual estimates

20202021202220232024113k111k
Census Population Estimates Program, July 1 of each year. These annual estimates are designed for year-over-year comparison, unlike the ACS five-year figure shown as this profile's population. It has been holding roughly steady, over a series running from 2020 to 2024.

People moving in and out

Net migration
−0.1%
of residents, in a year
Arrivals from another state
42%
of people moving in
Income of arrivals
$59,833
average per tax return
Income of those who left
$54,187
average per tax return

Where newcomers came from

  1. Porter County, IN 791 people · 21% of arrivals
  2. Lake County, IN 418 people · 11% of arrivals
  3. St. Joseph County, IN 390 people · 10% of arrivals
  4. Cook County, IL 343 people · 8.9% of arrivals
  5. Berrien County, MI 156 people · 4.1% of arrivals

Where people who left went

  1. Porter County, IN 744 people · 19% of departures
  2. St. Joseph County, IN 455 people · 12% of departures
  3. Lake County, IN 345 people · 8.7% of departures
  4. Cook County, IL 222 people · 5.6% of departures
  5. Berrien County, MI 162 people · 4.1% of departures

Based on the address on federal tax returns, compared with the same filers a year earlier. It counts people who file, and sees a move only when the address on a return changes. Domestic moves only: people arriving from abroad are left out. IRS Statistics of Income, filing years 2022–2023.

Housing units permitted per year

2022202320242025313216
Annual totals from the Census Building Permits Survey. Permitting in 2025 was lower than 2022 (−14%).

Weather & climate

5 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 85°F and January a low of 18°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 33.4 inches.

Air quality measures a median index of 41, in the Good band, and about 2 days a year pass 100, the threshold at which the air is unhealthy for sensitive groups.

10°30°50°70°90°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station VALPARAISO PORTER CO MUNI AP, 15.1 miles from this location.

Precipitation

JFMAMJJASOND3.9"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
90th percentile air quality index2024 calendar year642024 calendar year
Annual precipitation1991-2020 Normals33.4"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low1991-2020 Normals18°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high1991-2020 Normals85°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months1991-2020 Normals51991-2020 Normals
Days above AQI 1002024 calendar year22024 calendar year
Median air quality index2024 calendar year412024 calendar year
Seasonal temperature swing1991-2020 Normals48°F1991-2020 Normals

Air quality

Median air quality index
41
Good on a typical day
Worst tenth of days
64
90th percentile index
Days above 100
2
unhealthy for sensitive groups

A comfortable median and a bad tail are different problems. Wildfire smoke and summer ozone show up in the worst tenth of days, not in the middle of the year.

Climate figures are thirty-year normals, not current conditions. Air quality is measured by EPA monitors and published by county only where a monitor sits; a county without one shows nothing rather than an estimate, and a county reading is still the county’s. How to read climate and air quality.

Physical risk

93 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are inland flooding, cold wave and tornado, with inland flooding alone responsible for 40% of it. Inland flooding and cold wave are independently rated low or minimal nationally, so this describes how the loss is composed, not how large those hazards are.

Overall hazard risk is lower than 95% of measured US counties.

TornadoModerate
HailModerate
Strong windModerate
EarthquakeModerate
Heat waveModerate

Low or minimal exposure: cold wave, winter weather, inland flooding, lightning, landslide, ice storm, wildfire, coastal flooding, hurricane, drought, volcanic activity, tsunami, avalanche.

Hazard ratings are AreaProfile calculations derived from the FEMA National Risk Index v1.20.0 (December 2025). These are FEMA’s own figures for this county rather than a value derived from surrounding geographies. FEMA does not endorse this presentation. Higher physical resilience means lower exposure.

These are deaths, not offenses — they say nothing about burglary, theft or assault.

LaPorte County records 9.0 homicide deaths per 100,000 residents a year, higher than most counties measured. The CDC does not publish this below county level.

Firearm deaths of all intents run at 26.0 per 100,000 — more than the homicide rate, since the figure counts suicides and accidents as well as homicides.

Drug overdose deaths run at 18.8 per 100,000 residents in LaPorte County.

Homicide
9.0
per 100,000 residents
Firearm deaths, all intents
26.0
per 100,000 residents
Drug overdose
18.8
per 100,000 residents
Suicide
30.4
per 100,000 residents

Firearm deaths count every intent together, and nationally the majority are suicides rather than homicides, so the firearm figure and the homicide figure above it count some of the same deaths twice over. They overlap and should not be added together.

Death rates are crude rates — deaths divided by population, not adjusted for age — except where a count was too small for the CDC to publish and it modeled the rate, which the card marks. They come from provisional death certificate records, published by the CDC by county and not below it. So they describe LaPorte County as a whole. They are shown and not scored. How to read death rates.

What this profile does not cover

Each of these is absent for a reason, not by oversight. The Area Score is calculated without them; the weighting is on the methodology page.

Reported crime
Offenses reported to police are published by department rather than by town, so AreaProfile shows a rate only on city profiles, and only where that city’s department submitted every month of a year. City profiles inside this area carry their own figure where their department reported a full year. A partial year is never scaled up to look complete, and arrest counts or news volume are never substituted for it.
Taxes
Income and sales taxes are not published: no source covers them nationally with a method open enough to check. Property taxes are shown in the housing section but are not part of the score. The cost-of-living index above is a price level for all consumption, not a household budget, and it excludes taxes. Nothing here is individualized tax advice.
Anything about a specific address
Every figure describes an area, not a street or a house.

Access

5 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest South Bend Intl at 25 miles.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Broadband access ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year90.2%Top 25%of 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
Distance to major airportNASR current cycle25 miTop 34%of 1,463NASR current cycle
Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle5Top 26%of 1,463NASR current cycle
No internet access ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year7.9%Top 30%of 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
South Bend IntlSBN25 mi8,412 ft
Gary/Chicago IntlGYY35 mi8,859 ft
Chicago O'Hare IntlORD67 mi11,245 ft

Airport identity, position and runway data come from the FAA. “Major airport” is an AreaProfile classification — a public-use civil airport with a paved runway of at least 8,000 feet — not an FAA hub designation. Distances are straight-line, not driving distance.

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Area Score
66
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Data & methodology

Used forSourceSource period
AccessFederal Aviation Administration
Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service
NASR current cycle
Physical riskFederal Emergency Management Agency
National Risk Index
National Risk Index December 2025 (v1.20.0)
Demographics, IncomeInternal Revenue Service, Statistics of Income Division
U.S. Population Migration Data (county to county)
filing years 2022–2023
ClimateNOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Monthly)
1991-2020 Normals
Housing, IncomeU.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis
Regional price parities and county personal income
2023
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Local Area Unemployment Statistics
July 2026
Access, Demographics, Housing, Income, JobsU.S. Census Bureau
American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File)
2024 ACS 5-Year
DevelopmentU.S. Census Bureau
Building Permits Survey
12 months ending July 2026
DemographicsU.S. Census Bureau
Population Estimates Program
July 1, 2024 estimate
SafetyU.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics
Provisional county-level mortality by intent
March 2025 to February 2026; May 2025 to April 2026
SchoolsU.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics
Common Core of Data and EDFacts assessments
2018-19 school year; 2024-25 school year
HousingU.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Policy Development and Research
Fair Market Rents
FY2026
ClimateU.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Air Quality System
Daily Air Quality Index by county
2024 calendar year
HousingU.S. Federal Housing Finance Agency
House Price Index (traditional, all-transactions)
2026 Q2
Current conditionsNOAA National Weather Service
National Weather Service current conditions
Live observation, read when the page opens

Profile recalculated October 8, 2026. Recalculation is not the same as new source data — each figure above shows the period its source actually covers. Read the full methodology, or every source with how often each updates.

ZIP areas

Only ZIP areas whose income or home value differ from their city’s by at least ten percent get a profile of their own, so this is a selection rather than every ZIP code in the county.