Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Yes, by almost any measure. Cedar Lake earns an A+, ranked 24th of 585 in Indiana. Its public schools beat 92% of Indiana towns on state tests and graduation, crime is low: it reports less per resident than 90% of U.S. towns, and natural-hazard risk is low. Its lowest mark, a B, is in cost of living. On health, just 106 of Indiana’s 1,086 towns do better. Cedar Lake has 2 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them Lassen Hotel and Monon Park Dancing Pavillion. Among 107 Indiana towns, just 10 have a lower property crime rate than Cedar Lake.
Where Cedar Lake beats most towns.
Lassen Hotel11,560 counted in 2010 and 14,106 in 2020; an estimated 16,789 in 2025.
Growth hasn’t slowed: 19% since 2020, after 22% in the decade before.
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 Cedar Lake is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 3,907 in 1950, 14,106 in 2020. The archive holds 12 old photos and papers going back to 1920 and 4 maps from 1953 on.
2 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Cedar Lake. Close and well known come first.
Big draw35 mi Stadium & arenaSoldier Field
Big draw30 mi MuseumBarack Obama Presidential Center
Big draw33 mi Stadium & arenaRate Field
Big draw37 mi Stadium & arenaUnited Center
9 mi National ParkIndiana Dunes National Park2.6M visitors a year
Big draw36 mi MuseumArt Institute of Chicago1.5M visitors a yearSoldier Field: Photo by Joon Han Contact: [email protected], CC BY-SA 3.0 · 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 · Indiana Dunes National Park: J. Crocker, Attribution · Art Institute of Chicago: ajay_suresh, CC BY 2.0
Who provides power, water and the rest in Cedar Lake, 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 Cedar Lake.
Cedar Lake sends many workers across the state line to Chicago, looks healthier within Indiana than nationally and sees little violent crime.
Violent crime is rare: 13 reported in 2025, 0.8 per 1,000 residents.
At 0.8 per 1,000 residents, Cedar Lake’s violent crime rate is where Indiana’s towns sit at 1.4 and U.S. towns at 1.6.
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 83% of U.S. communities. Since 1983, 2 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Cedar Lake.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
27% of working residents cross a state line to work, Chicago among the top destinations. Cedar Lake has 1,899 jobs for its 7,304 working residents: even if every job went to a resident, most would still commute out.
Most working residents leave Cedar Lake for work: only 6% work in town. At 32 minutes, Cedar Lake’s average trip to work is against 24 minutes in Indiana’s towns and 25 minutes across U.S. towns. 3.5% of residents live below the poverty line in Cedar Lake.
| Cedar Lake | Indiana towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 32 minutes | 24 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Below the poverty line | 3.5% | 10% | 9.6% |
| Work from home | 7% | 7.8% | 11% |
| Working residents who work in town | 6.2% | 11% | 8% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
The median property tax bill is $2,688, against $1,614 across Indiana, another input to its cost-of-living grade.
The typical Cedar Lake home is worth about $336,000, up 2.3% in a year, 31% above the Indiana typical home. Cedar Lake’s median rent is $1,350 a month.
| Cedar Lake | Indiana towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 85% | 76% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,350 a month | $946 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Cedar Lake has chilly winters and pleasant summers. July afternoons reach 84°, January nights drop to 17° and about 27 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Within Indiana it is healthier than 86% of the 589 graded towns: much of Indiana scores lower on these measures.
Cedar Lake beats the Indiana average on 15 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 1. 21% of Cedar Lake adults binge drink.
| Cedar Lake | Indiana towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 21% | 16% | 16% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 32% | 39% | 35% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 40% | 37% | 36% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 21% | 26% | 25% |
| What stands out | Cedar Lake | IN |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 11.2% | 14.7% |
| Fewer uninsured adults | 6.9% | 8.9% |
| More binge drinkers | 20.8% | 16.6% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
No broad age group is more than 4 points off the Indiana average. Cedar Lake has grown 19% since 2020, to 16,789 residents in the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate. 27% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or more, vs 30% across Indiana.
| Cedar Lake | Indiana towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aged 65 or older | 16% | 18% | 18% |
| Under 18 | 24% | 23% | 22% |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 27% | 22% | 29% |
53% women, 47% men
About 90 men for every 100 women (the survey’s margin: ±2.2 points). Across Indiana, 50.4% of residents are women. Median age: women 39.9, men 40.5.
| Cedar Lake | IN | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 12.9% | 12.4% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 10.8% | 10.9% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 9.4% | 9.6% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 10.4% | 13.1% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 14.8% | 12.7% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 15.6% | 12% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 10.4% | 12.5% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 8.7% | 10.1% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 7% | 6.7% | 7% |
| No diploma | 4.8% | 9.6% | 10.4% |
| High school | 35.5% | 32.5% | 26% |
| Some college | 21.6% | 19.3% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 10.7% | 9.1% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 14.7% | 18.7% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 12.7% | 10.8% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Cedar Lake Marsh Fish and Wildlife Area | — | 158 |
| 2. E. Hanover Park | — | 16 |
| 3. Centennial Playground | — | 11 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
3 within 15 miles of the center of Cedar Lake
About 5 of every 100 Cedar Lake residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Indiana.
Where Cedar Lake’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
2 places in Cedar Lake on the National Register of Historic Places.
Town in Indiana, United States
Cedar Lake is a town in Hanover and Center townships, Lake County, Indiana, United States. It is near the Illinois state line. Its population was 14,106 at the 2020 census. The town is notable for its location on Cedar Lake, the Lake of the Red Cedars museum. Cedar Lake is also bordered to Crown Point, Indiana.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
5 towns share a border with Cedar Lake.
| Town | IN rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cedar Lake | #24 | A+ | B | A | A | B |
| Lake Dalecarlia | — | — | B | — | A | C+ |
| Cedar Creek Township | #73 | A | A− | — | A | B |
| West Creek Township | #141 | A− | B | — | A | B |
| Hanover Township | #52 | A | B− | — | A | B+ |
| Center Township | #19 | A+ | B | — | A | B+ |
Lake Dalecarlia has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. Lake Dalecarlia, Cedar Creek Township, West Creek Township, Hanover Township and Center Township report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Cedar Lake with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Yes, by almost any measure. Cedar Lake grades A+ overall, better than 96% of U.S. towns and #24 of 585 in Indiana. It grades B for health, A for safety and A for schools.
That is 3.7 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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