Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Gary grades D− overall, better than 4% of U.S. towns, mostly because of health and safety. On CDC health estimates it is near the bottom nationally. Its crime rate is higher than 98% of U.S. towns, with 934 violent crimes reported to the FBI in 2025. In its favor, a typical home costs about $88K, 1 years of the Chicago metro’s $91K median household income. 33% of residents live below the poverty line in Gary, where Indiana’s towns sit at 10% and U.S. towns at 9.6%. Gary's schools rank behind 96% of the state's. Its National Register listings include Van Buren Terrace Historic District and Miller Town Hall.
Where Gary beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
Miller Town Hall
Janet Jackson| Widest gap | Gary | IN |
|---|---|---|
| More adults facing a utility shut-off | 26.1% | 8.4% |
Its 29 National Register listings are more than in 98% of Indiana towns with a listing.
Census counts: 16,802 in 1910, a peak of 178,320 in 1960, 69,093 in 2020. The archive holds 18 old photos and papers going back to 1908 and 5 maps from 1900 on.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Indiana), ordered by how far Gary is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Gary. Close and well known come first.
Big draw23 mi Stadium & arenaSoldier Field
Big draw29 mi Stadium & arenaWrigley Field
Big draw18 mi MuseumBarack Obama Presidential Center
in town National ParkIndiana Dunes National Park2.6M visitors a year
Big draw22 mi Stadium & arenaRate Field
Big draw26 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 Gary, 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 Gary.
Gary has homes that are cheap against local pay and trades workers with Merrillville and other neighbors, but it reports violent crime at 5 times the Indiana rate.
Its A for the outdoors ranks #9 of 593 in Indiana.
49 miles of trail in 52 parks and preserves. Gary’s trail density is 1.0 miles per square mile. Indiana Dunes National Park, at 1,907 acres with 6.8 miles of trail, is the biggest park or preserve.
| Gary | Indiana towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 1.0 miles per square mile | 0.2 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 9.2% | 1.9% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Indiana Dunes National Park | 6.8 mi | 1,907 |
| 2. Marquette Park | 2.2 mi | 240 |
| 3. Pine Station Nature Preserve | 1.5 mi | 259 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
At 1 years of the Chicago metro’s $91K median household income, the typical home (about $88K) costs less against local pay than in any other Indiana town; that ratio is one input to its A− for cost of living. Its typical home is the least expensive on its borders; East Chicago is next at $130K.
49% of households own their home in Gary.
| Gary | Indiana towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 49% | 76% | 73% |
| Renters paying 30%+ of income on rent | 59% | 44% | 48% |
| Median rent | $1,012 a month | $946 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
38% of Gary adults say their health is fair or poor. Only 1 of the 589 Indiana towns we compare have a higher share of adults who report frequent physical distress than Gary. 21% of Gary adults report frequent mental distress.
| Gary | Indiana towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 38% | 21% | 19% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 26% | 17% | 14% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 52% | 39% | 35% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 25% | 13% | 12% |
| What stands out | Gary | IN |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer binge drinkers | 11.7% | 16.6% |
| Fewer adults who have had cancer | 5.9% | 8.3% |
| More adults facing a utility shut-off | 26.1% | 8.4% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Violent crime runs at 13.9 per 1,000 residents, 5 times the Indiana rate; the Safety Grade counts each violent crime four times, so this weighs most on its D−. Reported crimes rose from 2,514 to 2,931 over the last three FBI years, a rise beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
The violent crime rate in Gary is 13.9 per 1,000 residents. Only 2 of the 107 Indiana towns we compare have a higher property crime rate than Gary. Gary reports more crime per resident than most U.S. towns we grade: about 98% report less.
| Gary | Indiana towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 13.9 per 1,000 residents | 1.4 | 1.6 |
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 29.7 per 1,000 residents | 8.6 | 9.9 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
83 flood insurance claims have been filed here, and 10 properties have flooded more than once.
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 75% of U.S. communities. Since 1981, 83 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Gary.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Gary has chilly winters and pleasant summers. July afternoons reach 83°, January nights drop to 19° and about 27 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Gary has about as many jobs (22,661) as working residents, but only 3,869 people both live and work here. Jobs based here fell from 32,233 in 2013 to 22,661.
Most working residents leave Gary for work: only 18% work in town. Since 2013, Gary has lost 9,572 jobs, to 22,661 in 2023. Among 593 Indiana towns, just 4 have a lower median household income than Gary.
| Gary | Indiana towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $39,000 | $71,000 | $80,000 |
| Working residents who work in town | 18% | 11% | 8% |
| Work from home | 6.6% | 7.8% | 11% |
| Average trip to work | 26 minutes | 24 minutes | 25 minutes |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
5 within 15 miles of the center of Gary
About 3 of every 100 Gary residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Indiana.
9.2% of the town is conserved land, across 52 parks and preserves.
29 places in Gary on the National Register of Historic Places.
68 notable people were born in Gary.
City in Lake County, Indiana
Gary is a city in Lake County, Indiana, United States. The population was 69,093 at the 2020 census, making it Indiana's eleventh-most populous city. The city has been historically dominated by major industrial activity and is home to U.S. Steel's Gary Works, the largest steel mill complex in North America. Gary is located along the southern shore of Lake Michigan about 25 miles (40 km) southeast of Chicago. The city is the western gateway to the Indiana Dunes National Park, and is within the Chicago area. Gary was named after lawyer Elbert Henry Gary, who was the founding chairman of the United States Steel Corporation. U.S. Steel had established the city in 1906 as a company town to serve…
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
10 towns share a border with Gary.
All 6 graded towns on its borders grade higher than its D−; East Chicago (D) is closest.
| Town | IN rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gary | #585 | D− | A− | D− | D− | D− |
| Calumet Township | #573 | D | A− | — | D− | D− |
| Lake Station | #527 | C− | A− | — | C− | D |
| North Township | #504 | C | A− | — | C− | D |
| Hobart Township | #461 | C+ | A− | — | C+ | C− |
| Ross | — | — | B− | — | C | — |
| Hammond | #575 | D | A− | D | C− | D |
| East Chicago | #580 | D | A | D | D | D− |
Calumet Township, Lake Station, North Township, Hobart Township and Ross report no FBI crime data of their own. Ross isn’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Gary with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Gary grades D− overall, better than 4% of U.S. towns. It grades D− for health, D− for safety and D− for schools. Health is its weak spot, with a D−.
Not for the area. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades A−.
68 notable people were born here, including Janet Jackson and Paul Samuelson.
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