At a glance
Since enumerators began counting residents across the United States in 1790, the U.S. Census has been considered a snapshot of communities and its people. In this series, Times reporter Joyce Russell takes a look at the data to answer questions about the Region, its communities and its residents.
It might come as a surprise that little Dune Acres, a town of 188 people nestled on Lake Michigan’s shoreline in Porter County, has the highest median household income in Northwest Indiana at $143,125.
That’s nearly three times the median household income of the state ($49,255) and more than double that of Porter County ($63,926).
Median household income means that half of the households in that particular community make more than that amount and half make less.
On the other end of the scale, can you guess which municipality has the lowest median household income? That would be Lake County’s East Chicago at $26,486, according to the U.S. Census 2015 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates. Hebron ($47,880) takes that designation in Porter County and LaPorte ($34,900) has the lowest in LaPorte County.
Here’s some more tidbits:
- People make more money in Porter County than in their two counterparts, with Porter County’s median household income at $63,926; Lake County’s $50,135 and LaPorte County’s $46,872.
- After Dune Acres, Porter County’s Ogden Dunes gets second place in the area with $101,250. The top number in Lake County comes from St. John at $95,771, followed by Winfield at $82,193. Pottawattamie Park, a tiny town of 266, earns the top spot in LaPorte County at $87,188.
- According to the U.S. Census, in 2016, the median earnings of women working full time, year around, was $41,554 while men earned $51,640.
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