Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Burns Harbor’s best subject grades are an A for schools and an A− for incomes and the outdoors. Only 107 of Indiana’s 1,096 towns score higher on incomes. 31% of residents are under 18 in Burns Harbor, above both the Indiana town median (23%) and the median of U.S. towns (22%). On history, just 18 of Indiana’s 1,098 towns do worse. The biggest park or preserve is Indiana Dunes National Park, at 358 acres. Only 58 of Indiana’s 1,098 towns score higher on the outdoors. Burns Harbor has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
Where Burns Harbor beats most towns.
1,156 counted in 2010 and 2,055 in 2020; an estimated 2,146 in 2025.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts · Census Bureau estimate, July 1, 2025
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Indiana), ordered by how far Burns Harbor is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 1,284 in 1970, a low of 766 in 2000, 2,055 in 2020. The archive holds 15 old photos and papers going back to 1966 and a map from 1940 on.
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Burns Harbor. Close and well known come first.
Big draw30 mi Stadium & arenaSoldier Field
Big draw36 mi Stadium & arenaWrigley Field
in town National ParkIndiana Dunes National Park2.6M visitors a year
Big draw26 mi MuseumBarack Obama Presidential Center
Big draw30 mi Stadium & arenaRate Field
Big draw34 mi Stadium & arenaUnited CenterSoldier Field: Photo by Joon Han Contact: [email protected], CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wrigley Field: Ryan Dickey, CC BY 2.0 · Indiana Dunes National Park: J. Crocker, Attribution · Barack Obama Presidential Center: AlphaBeta135, CC0 · Rate Field: User Enoch Lai on en.wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0 · United Center: User:JeremyA, CC BY-SA 2.5
Who provides power, water and the rest in Burns Harbor, and how to reach them.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Nov 18, 2024.
Ordered by what stands out in Burns Harbor.
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 82% of U.S. communities.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Burns Harbor sits above both Indiana’s towns (22%) and U.S. towns (29%) on this measure. Adults 18 to 34 are 12% of residents (23% statewide); adults 35 to 64 are 45% of residents (37% statewide). 12% of Burns Harbor residents are 65 or older.
| Burns Harbor | Indiana towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aged 65 or older | 12% | 18% | 18% |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 35% | 22% | 29% |
| Median age | 37.9 years | 39.4 years | 40.5 years |
49% women, 51% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±4.4 points. Across Indiana, 50.4% of residents are women.
| Burns Harbor | IN | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 19% | 12.4% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 11.5% | 10.9% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 3.7% | 9.6% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 8% | 13.1% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 22% | 12.7% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 13.2% | 12% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 10.2% | 12.5% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 4.7% | 10.1% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 7.6% | 6.7% | 7% |
| No diploma | 4.7% | 9.6% | 10.4% |
| High school | 26.8% | 32.5% | 26% |
| Some college | 24.8% | 19.3% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 9.1% | 9.1% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 24.9% | 18.7% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 9.7% | 10.8% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates · in a town of 2,100, single groups can be off by several points
The typical Burns Harbor home is worth about $318,000, up 1.9% in a year, 24% above the Indiana typical home. The median rent in Burns Harbor is $1,458 a month.
| Burns Harbor | Indiana towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $1,458 a month | $947 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 71% | 76% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Burns Harbor has chilly, snowy winters and pleasant summers. Burns Harbor’s July high is 83°F.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Most working residents leave Burns Harbor for work: only 2% work in town. Jobs based in Burns Harbor grew to 1,199 in 2023, 205 more than in 2013. The top destinations are Chesterton (9%), Valparaiso (9%) and Portage (8%).
| Burns Harbor | Indiana towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $99,000 | $71,000 | $80,000 |
| Working residents who work in town | 2.2% | 11% | 8% |
| Below the poverty line | 12% | 10% | 9.6% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
| Burns Harbor | Indiana towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 9.2% | 1.9% | 4.3% |
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.2 miles per square mile | 0.2 | 0.4 |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Lakewood Park | 0.3 mi | 27 |
| 2. Indiana Dunes National Park | 0.2 mi | 358 |
| 3. Imagination Glen Park | — | 1 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Burns Harbor beats the Indiana average on 5 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 1. 41% of adults have obesity in Burns Harbor.
| Burns Harbor | Indiana towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 41% | 39% | 35% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 39% | 37% | 36% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 13% | 15% | 14% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 17% | 16% | 16% |
| What stands out | Burns Harbor | IN |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults who have had a stroke | 2.8% | 3.5% |
| Fewer adults with heart disease | 5.5% | 6.8% |
| Fewer adults treating high blood pressure | 72.5% | 77.4% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
2 within 15 miles of the center of Burns Harbor
About 4 of every 100 Burns Harbor residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Indiana.
Town in Indiana, United States
Burns Harbor is a town in Westchester Township, Porter County, Indiana, United States on the shores of Lake Michigan in Northwest Indiana. It is part of the Chicago metropolitan area. As of the 2020 census, Burns Harbor had a population of 2,055. Burns Harbor is located adjacent to the Indiana Dunes, an area that conservationists have fought hard to preserve.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
7 towns share a border with Burns Harbor.
| Town | IN rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Burns Harbor | — | — | B | — | A | B− |
| Portage | #466 | C+ | B+ | B− | C+ | C− |
| Westchester Township | #74 | A | B | — | A | B− |
| Portage Township | #444 | C+ | B+ | — | C+ | C |
| Dune Acres | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Chesterton | #103 | A | B− | — | A | B− |
| Porter | #146 | A− | B | — | A | B− |
| Liberty Township | #225 | B+ | C+ | — | A | B− |
Burns Harbor has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. Burns Harbor, Westchester Township, Portage Township, Chesterton, Porter and Liberty Township report no FBI crime data of their own. Dune Acres isn’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Burns Harbor with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
That is 3.5 years of the area's median household income ($90,887 across the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN metro area). Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades B.
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