Lowell, Indiana

Area Profile

11,073 residents. Public schools, jobs, income, housing cost, climate and natural-hazard risk for Lowell, in Lake County.

72out of 100
Area Score
Top 9% of 4,196 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks

Data updated · 16 sources
OpportunityTop 40% of 4,199 cities measured61
SchoolsTop 36% of 4,162 cities measured60
GrowthTop 1% of 4,224 cities measured88
Housing affordabilityTop 11% of 4,218 cities measured81
Climate3,312th of 4,225 cities measured62
Physical resilienceTop 23% of 4,226 cities measured81
Access2,325th of 4,226 cities measured91
Economic stabilityTop 31% of 4,226 cities measured67
The quick read

Unemployment is 4.7% and median household income $84,024, putting employment conditions in the middle range of cities measured. The unemployment rate is published for Lake County, IN, which contains Lowell, rather than for Lowell alone.

In the public schools here, 53% of students met the state standard in mathematics, with 21.7 students for every teacher.

Development activity is both elevated and accelerating — 215 housing units permitted over the past twelve months, up 46% on the prior year.

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
11,073
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$84,024
Top 29% nationally
Density
1,577/sq mi
7 sq mi of land
Median age
39.2
2024 ACS 5-Year
County
Indiana
Nearest major airport
GYY
23 mi · Gary/Chicago Intl
Median home value
$248,000
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment across Lake County, IN, which contains Lowell, is 4.7% — higher than in all but 36% of the 4,226 measured US cities.

Employment across Lake County, IN, which contains Lowell, grew 0.4% over the past year, to 233,319 employed residents.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Income of new arrivalsLake County, IN’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$56,77419th percentileof 4,101filing years 2022–2023
Income of those who leftLake County, IN’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$56,51317th percentileof 4,101filing years 2022–2023
Median household income ±$2,7672024 ACS 5-Year$84,024Top 29%of 29,2232024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$2,9562024 ACS 5-Year$37,683Top 38%of 31,4202024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year5.3%Top 25%of 31,7732024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute ±3.2 min2024 ACS 5-Year35.3 minBottom 16%of 31,5432024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher ±5%2024 ACS 5-Year24.2%Top 41%of 31,9192024 ACS 5-Year
Drove alone to work ±5%2024 ACS 5-Year78.1%53rd percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year
EmploymentLake County, IN’s figureJuly 2026233,319Top 31%of 4,226July 2026
Employment change (3 years)Lake County, IN’s figureJuly 2026+3.1%Top 13%of 4,226July 2026
Employment change (year over year)Lake County, IN’s figureJuly 2026+0.4%Top 29%of 4,226July 2026
Labor forceLake County, IN’s figureJuly 2026244,85469th percentileof 4,226July 2026
Labor force participation ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year77.6%Bottom 48%of 31,5132024 ACS 5-Year
Mean annual wageChicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS$73,380Top 36%of 3,7292025 OEWS
Median annual wageChicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS$54,720Top 39%of 3,7292025 OEWS
Public transit to work ±0.4%2024 ACS 5-Year0.0%1st percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)Lake County, IN’s figureJuly 2026−0.7%Top 19%of 4,226July 2026
Unemployment rateLake County, IN’s figureJuly 20264.7%Bottom 36%of 4,226July 2026
Worked from home ±6%2024 ACS 5-Year9.1%57th percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year

Median household income, successive ACS releases

202120222023202484k71k
Each point is a separate five-year estimate, most recently $84,024 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 — Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN

OccupationPeople employedMedian annual wage
Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand157,920$40,550
General and Operations Managers122,930$109,390
Home Health and Personal Care Aides108,520$38,180
Registered Nurses100,240$100,490
Cashiers99,240$35,010
Fast Food and Counter Workers97,280$34,630

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 publishes city-level labor data only for places of 25,000 or more. This is the figure for Lake County, IN, which contains this city.

53% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 62% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.

There are 21.7 students for every full-time teacher across 5 public schools, more than in most measured places.

Public schools
5
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
21.7
across all schools here
Math proficiency
52.6%
Top 29% in Indiana
Reading proficiency
62.0%
Top 24% in Indiana
All 5 public schools on record, largest first.
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
Lowell Senior High SchoolTri-Creek School Corporation98120.932%64%
Lowell Middle SchoolTri-Creek School Corporation49822.648%61%
Oak Hill Elementary SchoolTri-Creek School Corporation48721.273%62%
Three Creeks Elem SchoolTri-Creek School Corporation47226.261%59%
Lake Prairie Elementary SchoolTri-Creek School Corporation35618.777%62%

28.6% 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 2% above the national average — the Bureau of Economic Analysis index reads 102.5, 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 Lake County-Porter County-Jasper County, IN Metropolitan Division is up 41% over five years, and up 4.1% 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 $2,197 a year in real estate taxes, about 0.89% of the median home value.

HUD’s Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom, set near the 40th percentile of recent new leases, is $1,460, some 30% above the $1,123 tenants already here pay.

At HUD’s Fair Market Rent of $1,460 a month for a two-bedroom, keeping rent to 30% of income takes a household income of about $58,400 a year, about 70% of the median household income here of $84,024.

The typical renter household here spends 26% of its income on rent, below the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened. Median gross rent runs $1,123 a month.

A median home at $248,000 costs 2.9 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $85,994, close to the historic benchmark for an affordable market.

Cost of living
102.5

Prices here run about 2% above the national average. The spread between places is driven mostly by housing — goods vary far less — and this excludes taxes.

Published for the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-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
26.4%
Below the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
2.9×
median home value ÷ owner household income
Market rent, two bedroom
$1,460
what a new lease costs · FY2026
Median gross rent
$1,123
what tenants now pay · 2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$248,000
2024 ACS 5-Year

The figures above are measured against Lowell’s median household income of $84,024, 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 Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN Metro Area’s figure2023102.5Bottom 47%of 3,7002023
Home price change (1 year)the Lake County-Porter County-Jasper County, IN Metropolitan Division’s figure2026 Q2+4.1%67th percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price change (5 years)the Lake County-Porter County-Jasper County, IN Metropolitan Division’s figure2026 Q2+40.8%45th percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price change (10 years)the Lake County-Porter County-Jasper County, IN Metropolitan Division’s figure2026 Q2+89.9%46th percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price to income ±0.32024 ACS 5-Year2.9Bottom 38%of 26,8152024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year84.3%67th percentileof 31,7172024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±3102024 ACS 5-Year4,32987th percentileof 32,1772024 ACS 5-Year
Market rent, one bedroomFY2026$1,200Top 37%of 4,072FY2026
Market rent, three bedroomFY2026$1,790Top 34%of 4,072FY2026
Market rent, two bedroomFY2026$1,460Top 37%of 4,072FY2026
Median gross rent ±$832024 ACS 5-Year$1,123Bottom 37%of 23,1202024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$15,7802024 ACS 5-Year$248,00064th percentileof 29,1112024 ACS 5-Year
Median property taxes ±$2532024 ACS 5-Year$2,19760th percentileof 26,4402024 ACS 5-Year
Owner household income ±$6,7362024 ACS 5-Year$85,994Top 41%of 27,5482024 ACS 5-Year
Property tax rate ±0.12%2024 ACS 5-Year0.89%44th percentileof 20,5432024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year26.4%Top 39%of 22,9502024 ACS 5-Year
Seasonal and second homes ±672024 ACS 5-Year5884th percentileof 32,3302024 ACS 5-Year
Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year1.3%65th percentileof 31,8952024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year1.5%19th percentileof 31,7692024 ACS 5-Year
Vacant housing units ±1342024 ACS 5-Year12570th 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

88/ 100
Top 1% of 4,224 published city profiles
The most recent move in permitting was broadly flat, in a series running from 2020 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 grown 7% since 2020, reaching 11,449 in 2024.

New construction is predominantly single-family: of 215 units permitted over the past twelve months, none were in buildings of five or more homes.

Federal tax returns show that people moving in from elsewhere in the US and people moving out roughly balanced across Lake County, which contains Lowell, in the most recent year. Households that moved in reported an average income of $56,774, close to the $56,513 of households that moved out.

At 19.4 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is above the median for measured US cities.

Units permitted
215
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
19.4
Top 3% nationally
Year over year
+46%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
0.0%
units in 5+ unit buildings

Population, annual estimates

2020202120222023202411k11k
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 rising for the last 4 years, 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
76%
of people moving in
Income of arrivals
$56,774
average per tax return
Income of those who left
$56,513
average per tax return

Where newcomers came from

  1. Cook County, IL 8,061 people · 44% of arrivals
  2. Porter County, IN 2,142 people · 12% of arrivals
  3. Will County, IL 834 people · 4.6% of arrivals
  4. Marion County, IN 557 people · 3.0% of arrivals
  5. LaPorte County, IN 345 people · 1.9% of arrivals

Where people who left went

  1. Cook County, IL 4,730 people · 27% of departures
  2. Porter County, IN 2,940 people · 17% of departures
  3. Marion County, IN 748 people · 4.2% of departures
  4. Will County, IL 480 people · 2.7% of departures
  5. LaPorte County, IN 418 people · 2.3% 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 Lake County, IN. IRS Statistics of Income, filing years 2022–2023.

Housing units permitted per year

20202021202220232024202519467
Annual totals from the Census Building Permits Survey. Permitting in 2025 was higher than 2020 (+56%).

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 52, in the Moderate band, and about 5 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, 24.2 miles from this location.

Precipitation

JFMAMJJASOND3.9"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
90th percentile air quality index2024 calendar year712024 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 year52024 calendar year
Median air quality index2024 calendar year522024 calendar year
Seasonal temperature swing1991-2020 Normals48°F1991-2020 Normals

Air quality

Median air quality index
52
Moderate on a typical day
Worst tenth of days
71
90th percentile index
Days above 100
5
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

81 / 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 47% 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 77% of measured US cities.

TornadoModerate
Heat waveModerate
EarthquakeModerate

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

Violent crime
9
per 100,000 residents · 2025 calendar year
Property crime
112
per 100,000 residents · 2025 calendar year

Below these are deaths rather than offenses, published for the county. The two measure different things and are not comparable with each other.

Lowell's police department reported 9 violent offenses per 100,000 residents, lower than most places with a department reporting. Property crime runs at 112.

Lake County records 8.4 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 15.6 per 100,000 — more than the homicide rate, since the figure counts suicides and accidents as well as homicides.

Drug overdose deaths run at 21.2 per 100,000 residents in Lake County.

Homicide
8.4
per 100,000 residents
Firearm deaths, all intents
15.6
per 100,000 residents
Drug overdose
21.2
per 100,000 residents
Suicide
15.0
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.

Offenses are reported to the FBI by Lowell’s own police department and shown only where it reported every month of the year; a partial year is withheld rather than scaled up. Reported crime is what police recorded, which is not the same as what happened. 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 Lowell (Lake County) rather than Lowell itself. Neither is part of the Area Score. How to read crime rates and 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.

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 Gary/Chicago Intl at 23 miles.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Broadband access ±0.9%2024 ACS 5-Year94.2%Top 29%of 31,5882024 ACS 5-Year
Distance to major airportNASR current cycle23 miBottom 39%of 4,226NASR current cycle
Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle5Top 45%of 4,226NASR current cycle
No internet access ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year5.1%Top 37%of 31,5882024 ACS 5-Year
AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Gary/Chicago IntlGYY23 mi8,859 ft
Chicago O'Hare IntlORD54 mi11,245 ft
South Bend IntlSBN64 mi8,412 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
72
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Other cities in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN

Same metropolitan area, measured the same way
CityCountyPopulationArea ScoreCompare
ChicagoCook County2,711,22652Chicago vs Lowell
AuroraKane County179,89864Aurora vs Lowell
NapervilleDuPage County150,69270Naperville vs Lowell
JolietWill County150,44555
ElginKane County114,93457
WaukeganLake County89,07659
CiceroCook County82,79747
SchaumburgCook County76,86862
HammondLake County76,76856
EvanstonCook County76,34064
Arlington HeightsCook County76,00565
BolingbrookWill County74,09660

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 Lowell side by side with a similar place.

Lowell vs GardnerLowell vs Derby

Moving to Lowell 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
SafetyFederal Bureau of Investigation, Crime Data Explorer
Summarized offense counts by law enforcement agency
2025 calendar year
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
Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics
2025 OEWS
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Local Area Unemployment Statistics
July 2026
DemographicsU.S. Census Bureau
Population Estimates Program
July 1, 2024 estimate
DevelopmentU.S. Census Bureau
Building Permits Survey
12 months ending July 2026
Access, Demographics, Housing, Income, JobsU.S. Census Bureau
American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File)
2024 ACS 5-Year
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 Lowell

1 ZIP area

Every ZIP area in Lowell with census figures of its own, largest first.

ZIPPopulationMedian household incomeMedian home valueArea Score
4635619,721$89,217$281,50072