Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
2.3 times the nonprofits per person than the typical Indiana town.
Trash day: look up yoursChesterton is a solid, middle-of-the-road choice. It grades A overall, ranked 103rd of 585 in Indiana, with no subject far below average. Its best mark is schools: its schools outperform 94% of the state's. A typical home there costs about $345K, 3.8 years of the Chicago metro’s $91K median household income. 13% of the land in Chesterton is conserved, above both Indiana’s towns (1.9%) and U.S. towns (4.3%). Only 19 of Indiana’s 1,098 towns score higher on the outdoors. Chesterton's civic life (library use, community groups, volunteering) is stronger than in 96% of U.S. towns.
Where Chesterton beats most towns.
Coambs, Norris and Harriet, Lustron House
Census counts: 488 in 1880, 14,241 in 2020. The archive holds 18 old photos and papers going back to 1950 and 5 maps from 1940 on.
7 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Indiana), ordered by how far Chesterton is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Chesterton. Close and well known come first.
Big draw34 mi Stadium & arenaSoldier Field
Big draw39 mi Stadium & arenaWrigley Field
Big draw30 mi MuseumBarack Obama Presidential Center
2 mi National ParkIndiana Dunes National Park2.6M visitors a year
Big draw34 mi Stadium & arenaRate Field
Big draw37 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 · Barack Obama Presidential Center: AlphaBeta135, CC0 · Indiana Dunes National Park: J. Crocker, Attribution · 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 Chesterton, 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 Chesterton.
Chesterton trades workers with Valparaiso and other neighbors, is one of Indiana’s best towns for the outdoors and looks healthier within Indiana than nationally.
Its A for the outdoors ranks #14 of 593 in Indiana.
10 miles of trail in 7 parks and preserves. Chesterton’s trail density is 1.1 miles per square mile, above both the Indiana town median (0.2) and the median of U.S. towns (0.4). Coffee Creek Watershed Preserve, at 145 acres with 4.1 miles of trail, is the biggest park or preserve.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Coffee Creek Watershed Preserve | 4.1 mi | 145 |
| 2. Dogwood Park | 0.1 mi | 55 |
| 3. Keith Richard Walner Nature Preserve | — | 47 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
The median property tax bill is $2,528, against $1,614 across Indiana, another input to its cost-of-living grade.
The typical Chesterton home is worth about $345,000, up 2.9% in a year, 34% above the Indiana typical home. The median rent in Chesterton is $1,274 a month.
| Chesterton | Indiana towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $1,274 a month | $946 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 75% | 76% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 72% of U.S. communities. Since 1980, 9 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Chesterton.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Chesterton has chilly, snowy winters and pleasant summers. Chesterton’s July high is 83°F.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Chesterton has about as many jobs (6,515) as working residents, but only 869 people both live and work here. 20.3% of workers work from home, against 10.7% across Indiana.
Most working residents leave Chesterton for work: only 14% work in town. Since 2013, Chesterton has added 1,155 jobs, to 6,515 in 2023. The top destinations are Valparaiso (11%), Portage (6%) and Michigan City (5%).
| Chesterton | Indiana towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $91,000 | $71,000 | $80,000 |
| Working residents who work in town | 14% | 11% | 8% |
| Average trip to work | 26 minutes | 24 minutes | 25 minutes |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Chesterton's reported crime rate is well below Indiana's. Most reported incidents are property crimes, mainly thefts. 13 violent crimes were reported in 2025.
| Chesterton | Indiana towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 4.9 per 1,000 residents | 8.6 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 0.9 per 1,000 residents | 1.4 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Within Indiana it is healthier than 75% of the 589 graded towns: much of Indiana scores lower on these measures.
Chesterton beats the Indiana average on 8 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 0. 30% of Chesterton adults feel lonely.
| Chesterton | Indiana towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 30% | 32% | 33% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 40% | 39% | 35% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 17% | 18% | 17% |
| Food insecurity (CDC PLACES) | 11% | 14% | 14% |
| What stands out | Chesterton | IN |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth | 11.7% | 15.4% |
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 11.3% | 14.7% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
2 within 15 miles of the center of Chesterton
About 4 of every 100 Chesterton residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Indiana.
13.1% of the town is conserved land, across 7 parks and preserves.
7 places in Chesterton on the National Register of Historic Places.
5 notable people were born in Chesterton.
Town in Indiana, United States
Chesterton is a town in Westchester, Jackson and Liberty townships in Porter County, in the U.S. state of Indiana. The population was 14,242 at the 2020 Census. The three towns of Chesterton, Burns Harbor, and Porter are known as the Duneland area.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
5 towns share a border with Chesterton.
| Town | IN rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chesterton | #103 | A | B− | — | A | B− |
| Porter | #146 | A− | B | — | A | B− |
| Liberty Township | #225 | B+ | C+ | — | A | B− |
| Westchester Township | #74 | A | B | — | A | B− |
| Burns Harbor | — | — | B | — | A | B− |
| Portage | #466 | C+ | B+ | B− | C+ | C− |
Burns Harbor has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. Chesterton, Porter, Liberty Township, Westchester Township and Burns Harbor report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Chesterton with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
By most measures, yes. Chesterton grades A overall, better than 85% of U.S. towns and #103 of 585 in Indiana. It grades B− for health and A for schools.
Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades B−.
5 notable people were born here, including Mitch McGary and Matt Nover.
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