Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Dyer is one of the best-graded places in America: an A+, 10th among Indiana's 585 graded towns. It reports less crime per resident than 96% of U.S. towns, its public schools beat 87% of Indiana towns on state tests and graduation, and the median household earns $107K. Its lowest mark, a B−, is in cost of living. Dyer’s concentration of trails is 1.7 miles per square mile, above both Indiana’s towns (0.2) and U.S. towns (0.4). On health, just 81 of Indiana’s 1,086 towns do better. Joseph Ernest Meyer House is on the National Register of Historic Places.
Where Dyer beats most towns.
11.2% of the town is conserved land, across 7 parks and preserves.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Indiana), ordered by how far Dyer is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 545 in 1910, 16,517 in 2020. The archive holds 24 old photos and papers going back to 1963 and 2 maps from 1984 on.
1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Dyer. Close and well known come first.
Big draw26 mi Stadium & arenaSoldier Field
Big draw32 mi Stadium & arenaWrigley Field
Big draw20 mi MuseumBarack Obama Presidential Center
Big draw24 mi Stadium & arenaRate Field
3 mi National ParkIndiana Dunes National Park2.6M visitors a year
Big draw28 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 · Rate Field: User Enoch Lai on en.wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Indiana Dunes National Park: J. Crocker, Attribution · United Center: User:JeremyA, CC BY-SA 2.5
Who provides power, water and the rest in Dyer, 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 Dyer.
Dyer sends many workers across the state line, is one of Indiana’s best towns for the outdoors and looks healthier within Indiana than nationally.
Its A for the outdoors ranks #12 of 593 in Indiana.
Central Park, at 71 acres with 1.6 miles of trail, is the biggest park or preserve. 10 miles of trail in 7 parks and preserves. Parks and preserves in Dyer: 7, covering 115 acres.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Central Park | 1.6 mi | 71 |
| 2. Northgate Community Park | 0.5 mi | 23 |
| 3. Pheasant Hills Park | 0.2 mi | 11 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Violent crime is rare: 4 reported in 2025, 0.2 per 1,000 residents.
Dyer’s level of violent crime stands at 0.2 per 1,000 residents, where Indiana’s towns sit at 1.4 and U.S. towns at 1.6. Only 7 of the 107 Indiana towns we compare have a lower level of property crime than Dyer.
| Dyer | Indiana towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 1.7 per 1,000 residents | 8.6 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 0.2 per 1,000 residents | 1.4 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
74.9% of renter households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, against 48.1% across Indiana. The median property tax bill is $3,163, against $1,614 across Indiana, another input to its cost-of-living grade.
On the market in Dyer: a median 24 days to sell. Over the 12 months to September 2026, the typical home gained 1.8% in value. For households locally, the share who live in a home they own is 88%.
| Dyer | Indiana towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 88% | 76% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,225 a month | $946 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
32% of working residents cross a state line to work.
Dyer’s average trip to work is 29 minutes. Most people who work leave Dyer to do it: just 7% work in town. In Dyer, 6.2% of residents live below the poverty line. Half the trips to work are shorter than 10 miles.
| Dyer | Indiana towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $107,000 | $71,000 | $80,000 |
| Average trip to work | 29 minutes | 24 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Below the poverty line | 6.2% | 10% | 9.6% |
| Work from home | 12% | 7.8% | 11% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Within Indiana it is healthier than 89% of the 589 graded towns: much of Indiana scores lower on these measures. Against the 7,584 U.S. towns with household incomes like Dyer’s, it is less healthy than 53%: its national edge comes with its incomes.
Among adults in Dyer, 29% feel lonely. On the CDC’s 32 measures, Dyer is ahead of Indiana on 16 and behind on 1.
| Dyer | Indiana towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 21% | 26% | 23% |
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 29% | 32% | 33% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 18% | 17% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 16% | 16% |
| What stands out | Dyer | IN |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth | 10.8% | 15.4% |
| Fewer adults facing housing insecurity | 8.2% | 11.2% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 9.8% | 8.3% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
People 65 and older are 26% of residents (17% statewide); adults 18 to 34 are 15% of residents (23% statewide). The median age in Dyer is 47.1 years. A bachelor’s degree or higher: nearly two in five adults 25 and older, vs 30% across Indiana. Dyer: 19% of residents are under 18.
| Dyer | Indiana towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aged 65 or older | 26% | 18% | 18% |
| Median age | 47.1 years | 39.4 years | 40.5 years |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 39% | 22% | 29% |
| Under 18 | 19% | 23% | 22% |
54% women, 46% men
About 86 men for every 100 women (the survey’s margin: ±3.3 points). Across Indiana, 50.4% of residents are women.
| Dyer | IN | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 11.5% | 12.4% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 7.7% | 10.9% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 6.5% | 9.6% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 8.8% | 13.1% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 13.3% | 12.7% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 13% | 12% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 13.7% | 12.5% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 15.8% | 10.1% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 9.7% | 6.7% | 7% |
| No diploma | 4.8% | 9.6% | 10.4% |
| High school | 25.3% | 32.5% | 26% |
| Some college | 24.3% | 19.3% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 7.2% | 9.1% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 23% | 18.7% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 15.5% | 10.8% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
96 flood insurance claims have been filed here, and 12 properties have flooded more than once.
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 60% of U.S. communities. Paid flood insurance claims in Dyer since 1979: 96. FEMA puts just over three fifths of the town’s expected hazard losses down to inland flooding, and 18% to cold waves. Households in the town have drawn federal disaster aid in 9 declared disasters, most recently in 2026.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA disaster declarations and aid · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
7 within 15 miles of the center of Dyer
About 4 of every 100 Dyer residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Indiana.
Where Dyer’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
Town in Indiana, United States
Dyer ( DY-ər) is a town in St. John Township, Lake County, Indiana, United States. The population was 16,517 at the 2020 census. It is a southeastern suburb of Chicago.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
4 towns share a border with Dyer.
At #10 in IN, it grades higher overall than all 4 graded towns on its borders; St. John Township (A) comes closest. North Township next door grades lower for schools (C− to Dyer’s A) and higher for cost of living (A− to B−).
| Town | IN rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dyer | #10 | A+ | B− | A+ | A | B+ |
| Schererville | #97 | A | B− | B | A | B+ |
| St. John Township | #36 | A | B− | — | A | B+ |
| Munster | #44 | A | C+ | B+ | A+ | A− |
| North Township | #504 | C | A− | — | C− | D |
St. John Township and North Township report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Dyer with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Yes, by almost any measure. Dyer grades A+ overall, better than 98% of U.S. towns and #10 of 585 in Indiana. It grades B+ for health, A+ for safety and A for schools.
Yes, by national standards. Dyer reports less crime per resident than 96% of U.S. towns, an A+ Safety Grade: 4 violent and 28 property crimes in 2025.
That is 4 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−.
2 notable people were born here, including Jack Chevigny and Mike Miklusak.
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