Granger, Indiana

Area Profile

30,321 residents. Public schools, jobs, income, housing cost, climate and natural-hazard risk for Granger, in St. Joseph County.

78out of 100
Area Score
Top 2% of 4,196 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks

Data updated · 14 sources
OpportunityTop 16% of 4,199 cities measured74
SchoolsTop 8% of 4,162 cities measured84
GrowthTop 23% of 4,224 cities measured64
Housing affordabilityTop 21% of 4,218 cities measured76
Climate3,494th of 4,225 cities measured61
Physical resilienceTop 4% of 4,226 cities measured95
AccessTop 9% of 4,226 cities measured99
Economic stabilityTop 9% of 4,226 cities measured77
The quick read

Granger ranks in the top 16% of cities measured for employment opportunity, with unemployment at 4.1% and median household income of $123,318. The unemployment rate is published for St. Joseph County, IN, which contains Granger, rather than for Granger alone.

Public schools test above most of the state: 80% of students met the mathematics standard, placing the area in the top 8% of published profiles for schools.

Rent takes 28% of renter income here, below the 30% threshold conventionally called cost-burdened, and the median home is 2.6 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
30,321
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$123,318
Top 9% nationally
Density
1,234/sq mi
24.6 sq mi of land
Median age
40.4
2024 ACS 5-Year
County
Indiana
Nearest major airport
SBN
10 mi · South Bend Intl
Median home value
$331,100
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment across St. Joseph County, IN, which contains Granger, is 4.1%, lower than in 58% of the 4,226 measured US cities.

Employment across St. Joseph County, IN, which contains Granger, grew 1.1% over the past year, to 125,611 employed residents.

56% of adults hold a four-year degree, higher than 92% of measured US cities.

Median household income of $123,318 is higher than in 91% of measured US cities.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Income of new arrivalsSt. Joseph County, IN’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$57,83422nd percentileof 4,101filing years 2022–2023
Income of those who leftSt. Joseph County, IN’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$63,85533rd percentileof 4,101filing years 2022–2023
Median household income ±$5,2782024 ACS 5-Year$123,318Top 9%of 29,2232024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$4,4482024 ACS 5-Year$57,489Top 11%of 31,4202024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year4.5%Top 22%of 31,7732024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute ±1.1 min2024 ACS 5-Year23.5 minTop 33%of 31,5432024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year56.3%Top 8%of 31,9192024 ACS 5-Year
Drove alone to work ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year80.0%59th percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year
EmploymentSt. Joseph County, IN’s figureJuly 2026125,611Top 40%of 4,226July 2026
Employment change (3 years)St. Joseph County, IN’s figureJuly 2026−0.1%Top 47%of 4,226July 2026
Employment change (year over year)St. Joseph County, IN’s figureJuly 2026+1.1%Top 15%of 4,226July 2026
Labor forceSt. Joseph County, IN’s figureJuly 2026130,93460th percentileof 4,226July 2026
Labor force participation ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year84.5%Top 26%of 31,5132024 ACS 5-Year
Mean annual wageSouth Bend-Mishawaka, IN-MI Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS$58,230Bottom 10%of 3,7292025 OEWS
Median annual wageSouth Bend-Mishawaka, IN-MI Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS$46,540Bottom 12%of 3,7292025 OEWS
Public transit to work ±0.1%2024 ACS 5-Year0.1%74th percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)St. Joseph County, IN’s figureJuly 2026−0.7%Top 19%of 4,226July 2026
Unemployment rateSt. Joseph County, IN’s figureJuly 20264.1%Top 42%of 4,226July 2026
Worked from home ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year13.3%71st percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year

Median household income, successive ACS releases

2021202220232024123k108k
Each point is a separate five-year estimate, most recently $123,318 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 — South Bend-Mishawaka, IN-MI

OccupationPeople employedMedian annual wage
Fast Food and Counter Workers4,240$28,140
Retail Salespersons4,000$30,930
Registered Nurses3,370$93,540
Home Health and Personal Care Aides3,240$34,790
Cashiers2,820$28,970
Office Clerks, General2,770$41,590

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.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics does not publish a labor-market series for this place — true of a consolidated city-county, a city and county sharing one government, or a Puerto Rico municipio, regardless of population. This is the figure for St. Joseph County, IN, which contains this city.

80% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 78% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.

There are 18.9 students for every full-time teacher across 7 public schools, more than in most measured places.

Public schools
7
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
18.9
across all schools here
Math proficiency
80.1%
Top 1% in Indiana
Reading proficiency
78.1%
Top 1% in Indiana
All 7 public schools on record, largest first.
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
Discovery Middle SchoolPenn-Harris-Madison School Corp94120.974%77%
Horizon Elementary SchoolPenn-Harris-Madison School Corp67920.085%79%
Northpoint Elementary SchoolPenn-Harris-Madison School Corp57719.288%87%
Prairie Vista Elementary SchoolPenn-Harris-Madison School Corp51317.786%84%
Paramount School of Excellence South Bend · charterParamount School of Excellence South Bend47617.0——
Mary Frank Harris Elementary SchPenn-Harris-Madison School Corp47122.482%82%
Swanson Traditional SchoolSouth Bend Community School Corp39914.365%54%

26.3% 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 9% below the national average — the Bureau of Economic Analysis index reads 91.4, 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 South Bend-Mishawaka, IN-MI Metro Area is up 54% over five years, and up 6.7% 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 $2,747 a year in real estate taxes, about 0.83% of the median home value.

HUD’s Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom, set near the 40th percentile of recent new leases, is $1,292, below the $1,656 tenants already here pay.

At HUD’s Fair Market Rent of $1,292 a month for a two-bedroom, keeping rent to 30% of income takes a household income of about $51,700 a year, about 42% of the median household income here of $123,318.

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 $1,656 a month.

A median home at $331,100 costs 2.6 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $126,607, close to the historic benchmark for an affordable market.

Cost of living
91.4

Prices here run about 9% below the national average. The spread between places is driven mostly by housing — goods vary far less — and this excludes taxes.

Published for the South Bend-Mishawaka, IN-MI 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
28.3%
Below the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
2.6×
median home value ÷ owner household income
Market rent, two bedroom
$1,292
what a new lease costs · FY2026
Median gross rent
$1,656
what tenants now pay · 2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$331,100
2024 ACS 5-Year

The figures above are measured against Granger’s median household income of $123,318, 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 South Bend-Mishawaka, IN-MI Metro Area’s figure202391.4Top 10%of 3,7002023
Home price change (1 year)the South Bend-Mishawaka, IN-MI Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+6.7%96th percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price change (5 years)the South Bend-Mishawaka, IN-MI Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+53.8%88th percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price change (10 years)the South Bend-Mishawaka, IN-MI Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+114.3%81st percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price to income ±0.22024 ACS 5-Year2.6Bottom 46%of 26,8152024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year95.3%87th percentileof 31,7172024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±3292024 ACS 5-Year10,86994th percentileof 32,1772024 ACS 5-Year
Market rent, one bedroomFY2026$1,105Top 30%of 4,072FY2026
Market rent, three bedroomFY2026$1,567Top 21%of 4,072FY2026
Market rent, two bedroomFY2026$1,292Top 28%of 4,072FY2026
Median gross rent ±$5352024 ACS 5-Year$1,656Bottom 15%of 23,1202024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$10,9072024 ACS 5-Year$331,10076th percentileof 29,1112024 ACS 5-Year
Median property taxes ±$802024 ACS 5-Year$2,74770th percentileof 26,4402024 ACS 5-Year
Owner household income ±$7,6482024 ACS 5-Year$126,607Top 13%of 27,5482024 ACS 5-Year
Property tax rate ±0.04%2024 ACS 5-Year0.83%40th percentileof 20,5432024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income ±32%2024 ACS 5-Year28.3%Top 50%of 22,9502024 ACS 5-Year
Seasonal and second homes ±542024 ACS 5-Year7186th percentileof 32,3302024 ACS 5-Year
Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year0.7%58th percentileof 31,8952024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year2.2%22nd percentileof 31,7692024 ACS 5-Year
Vacant housing units ±1252024 ACS 5-Year30984th percentileof 32,3302024 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

64/ 100
Top 23% of 4,224 published city profiles

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.

Federal tax returns show St. Joseph County, which contains Granger, lost about 0.4% of its residents through moves within the US in the most recent year, counting those who arrived against those who left. Households that moved in reported an average income of $57,834, below the $63,855 of households that moved out.

At 3.4 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is above the median for measured US cities. The permit rate is published for St. Joseph County, IN, which contains Granger, rather than for Granger alone.

Units permitted
926
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
3.4
Top 41% nationally
Year over year
+27%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
54.4%
units in 5+ unit buildings

People moving in and out

Net migration
−0.4%
of residents, in a year
Arrivals from another state
56%
of people moving in
Income of arrivals
$57,834
average per tax return
Income of those who left
$63,855
average per tax return

Where newcomers came from

  1. Elkhart County, IN 2,065 people · 20% of arrivals
  2. Berrien County, MI 634 people · 6.2% of arrivals
  3. LaPorte County, IN 455 people · 4.5% of arrivals
  4. Marshall County, IN 455 people · 4.5% of arrivals
  5. Cook County, IL 379 people · 3.7% of arrivals

Where people who left went

  1. Elkhart County, IN 1,980 people · 18% of departures
  2. Berrien County, MI 662 people · 6.0% of departures
  3. Cook County, IL 461 people · 4.2% of departures
  4. Marshall County, IN 450 people · 4.1% of departures
  5. Cass County, MI 441 people · 4.0% 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. This is the figure for St. Joseph County, IN. IRS Statistics of Income, filing years 2022–2023.

The Census Bureau's Building Permits Survey lists only jurisdictions that issue their own permits, and Granger, IN is not one. This is the figure for St. Joseph County, IN, which contains this city.

Weather & climate

5 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 83°F and January a low of 17°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 39.2 inches, including 64.5 inches of snow.

Air quality measures a median index of 45, 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 SOUTH BEND MICHIANA RGNL AP, 9.6 miles from this location.

Precipitation

JFMAMJJASOND4.2"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
90th percentile air quality index2024 calendar year642024 calendar year
Annual precipitation1991-2020 Normals39.2"1991-2020 Normals
Annual snowfall1991-2020 Normals64.5"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low1991-2020 Normals17°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high1991-2020 Normals83°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months1991-2020 Normals51991-2020 Normals
Days above AQI 1002024 calendar year22024 calendar year
Median air quality index2024 calendar year452024 calendar year
Seasonal temperature swing1991-2020 Normals48°F1991-2020 Normals

Air quality

Median air quality index
45
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

95 / 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 46% 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 96% of measured US cities.

HailModerate
TornadoModerate
LightningModerate
Heat waveModerate

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

Hazard ratings are AreaProfile calculations derived from the FEMA National Risk Index v1.20.0 (December 2025). FEMA publishes at county level. City values are the population-weighted mean of the counties the city overlaps, using AreaProfile place-to-county land-area weights. 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.

St. Joseph County records 6.6 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 16.1 per 100,000 — more than the homicide rate, since the figure counts suicides and accidents as well as homicides.

Drug overdose deaths run at 16.5 per 100,000 residents in St. Joseph County.

Homicide
6.6
per 100,000 residents
Firearm deaths, all intents
16.1
per 100,000 residents
Drug overdose
16.5
per 100,000 residents
Suicide
14.3
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 the county around Granger (St. Joseph County) rather than Granger itself. 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. Either no municipal department reports for this place — many smaller communities are policed by the county — or its department did not report every month of the year. Either way there is no figure to show. 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

6 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest South Bend Intl at 10 miles.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Broadband access ±0.5%2024 ACS 5-Year96.4%Top 19%of 31,5882024 ACS 5-Year
Distance to major airportNASR current cycle10 miTop 25%of 4,226NASR current cycle
Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle6Top 27%of 4,226NASR current cycle
No internet access ±0.9%2024 ACS 5-Year2.4%Top 21%of 31,5882024 ACS 5-Year
AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
South Bend IntlSBN10 mi8,412 ft
Battle Creek Exec At Kellogg FldBTL60 mi10,004 ft
Gary/Chicago IntlGYY67 mi8,859 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
78
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Other cities in South Bend-Mishawaka, IN-MI

Same metropolitan area, measured the same way
CityCountyPopulationArea ScoreCompare
South BendSt. Joseph County103,08562South Bend vs Granger
MishawakaSt. Joseph County51,02167Mishawaka vs Granger

Every city here is measured on the same scale from the same source releases, so the comparison is like for like. A higher Area Score reflects AreaProfile’s standardized weighting rather than a judgment about which is the better place to live.

Compare

Put Granger side by side with a similar place.

Granger vs AvonGranger vs Johnston

Moving to Granger from somewhere else?

You get the difference in prices, rent and weather, and the income that would keep pace.

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
HousingU.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
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics
2025 OEWS
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
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 codes in Granger

2 ZIP areas

Every ZIP area in Granger with census figures of its own, largest first. The ones linked below diverge enough from the city as a whole to carry a full profile; the rest track Granger closely, so their figures are here rather than on a page that would repeat this one. An Area Score is calculated for published profiles only, which is why it is blank on those rows.

ZIPPopulationMedian household incomeMedian home valueArea Score
4653031,598$122,129$345,400—
466356,410$81,944$208,40076