Photo: WeaponizingArchitecture · CC BY-SA 4.0Households in Gary have lower incomes than those in 97% of U.S. towns
About one in five stay in Gary for work; outside it, Merrillville is the main destination (8%, 8 miles). 33.1% of residents live below the poverty line, against 12.3% across Indiana. The two grades for Gary are C− for jobs and income and B for walkability.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What sets Gary apart on work
Gary trades workers with the towns around it
Gary has about as many jobs (22,661) as working residents (22,043), but they are mostly different people: 18,174 residents leave for work each day while 18,792 people come in. Only 17% of the jobs in Gary are held by people who live here. Day and night ↓
The jobs in Gary pay better than its residents’ jobs
69% of the jobs based in Gary pay over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year), against 41% of the jobs Gary residents hold. 83% of the jobs here are held by people who live outside Gary. The jobs ↓
Fewer jobs are based in Gary than ten years ago
Jobs counted in Gary fell from 32,233 in 2013 to 22,661 in 2023, −30%. That can be real closings or a large employer now reporting its workers at another address; the data can’t tell the two apart. The jobs ↓
Written from the Census figures on this page. Commute flows, distances and jobs are Census LEHD 2023, primary jobs only (the self-employed aren’t counted); commute time and working from home are from the Census American Community Survey.
Income, poverty and work: Gary’s grade explained
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Gary is better than 16% of U.S. towns, #559 of 593 in Indiana. Job access by car holds Gary’s grade up (ahead of 90% of U.S. towns); the poverty rate pulls it down.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Gary could be anywhere from D to C−.
Gary on a workday afternoon
On a workday 18,174 residents head out to work, 3,869 work right here, and 18,792 people come in from elsewhere.
About as many people by day as by night: the people who leave are replaced by the people who come in.
About as many jobs as working residents (1.03 per resident).
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
In Gary, 32% of jobs are in factories, building or farming
22,661 jobs are based in Gary.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Gary, 2013 → 2023: 32,233 → 22,661. Big swings can come from how a large employer reports its locations, not only from real openings or closings.
Primary jobs covered by unemployment insurance (not the self-employed). Pay is monthly earnings. LEHD 2023.
Here is what they are, next to the jobs Gary’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Commuting out of Gary: the destinations
Where Gary clocks in
8% of workers
7% of workers
7% of workersLines run between town centers. The top 10 towns each way; “Everywhere else” is the rest, including other states.
A thicker line means more commuters. Switch between where residents work and where the people who work here live.
About 26 minutes each way for Gary’s commuters
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.3 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Gary workers work from home, vs 11% across Indiana. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 20,259 commuters (the 7% who work from home are left out). Across Indiana: 85% drive alone, 1% take transit; U.S.: 81% and 4%. Census ACS 2020–24.
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
Where in the region Gary works
About 16% show a job over 50 miles away. Some of that is real, and some is employers that report every worker at a head office, so a few long commutes are on paper only.
Straight-line distance from each worker’s home block to their main job’s block. LEHD 2023.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
Driving is how Gary gets around
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Gary is more walkable than 65% of U.S. towns, #150 of 593 in Indiana. Both inputs place Gary near the same point nationally.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 21,695 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 6% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 0% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 0.3 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 47% of the 9,825 U.S. towns with transit data.
Transit at the evening rush trips an hour stopping within ¼ mile of the typical resident, EPA 2020
Households without a car (shown, not graded). 13.6% of Gary households have no vehicle (Indiana 6.2%, U.S. 8.4%). 2% of Gary’s commuters take a bus or train.
How Gary compares with U.S. towns of 47,000 to 91,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | McLean VA | 49,627 | $250K | 2.9% | 2.3% | 6% | A+ |
| 2 | Lakeville MN | 79,270 | $139K | 2.9% | 2.0% | 11% | A+ |
| 3 | Fulshear TX | 64,630 | $187K | 1.6% | 2.8% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 9 | Fall Creek Township IN | 75,188 | $146K | 3.2% | 2.4% | 9% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 18 | Westfield IN | 66,258 | $123K | 3.6% | 2.8% | 10% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 28 | Westfield Washington Township IN | 70,020 | $121K | 4.4% | 2.8% | 11% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 644 | Wilson NC | 49,572 | $52K | 23.0% | 6.7% | 40% | C− |
| 645 | Springfield OH | 58,281 | $47K | 23.1% | 9.4% | 34% | C− |
| 646 | Gary IN | 67,289 | $39K | 33.1% | 11.0% | 18% | C− |
| 647 | Porterville CA | 63,088 | $60K | 17.3% | 10.1% | 31% | C− |
| 648 | Lawton OK | 90,503 | $54K | 21.1% | 8.1% | 55% | D |
| … | |||||||
| 660 | Pahrump NV | 47,347 | $62K | 13.7% | 8.5% | 28% | D |
Census ACS 2020–24 (income, poverty, unemployment), Census LEHD (work in town), TownRatings Jobs & income grades. Each town links to its Work & commute page.
Ranked on the Jobs & income grade: the towns either side of Gary, the top three, the last and three more from Indiana.
24% of Gary works in a town next door
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Gary workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gary | – | C− | B | 26 min | $38,731 |
| Calumet Township | under 3% | C− | B | 27 min | $46,882 |
| Lake Station | under 3% | C | B− | 27 min | $59,591 |
| North Township | under 3% | C+ | A− | 26 min | $61,798 |
| Hobart Township | under 3% | C+ | B− | 27 min | $70,273 |
| Ross | under 3% | C | C | 28 min | $54,563 |
| Hammond | 7% | C | A− | 26 min | $55,504 |
| East Chicago | 4% | C− | A− | 21 min | $42,125 |
| Hobart | 5% | B | B− | 27 min | $75,160 |
| Ross Township | under 3% | B− | B+ | 32 min | $72,416 |
| Merrillville | 8% | C+ | B+ | 32 min | $67,587 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Merrillville. Darker towns draw more of Gary’s workers. Tap a town to see its commute.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Two sources, two years. Trips, distances and jobs based here: Census LEHD 2023, primary jobs, where the employer reports them. Income, poverty, unemployment, commute time and how people travel: Census ACS 2020–24 averages.
- Straight lines, older transit. Miles are as the crow flies. EPA’s walkability and transit files use 2017–20 inputs.
Jobs and commuting in Gary: questions
What is the median household income in Gary?
$38,731 (±$2,687) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $71,957 across Indiana and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Gary?
33.1%, against 12.3% across Indiana and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Gary?
26 minutes each way on average, against 24 across Indiana and 26 nationally. 7% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Gary work?
18% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Merrillville (8%, 8 mi), Chicago (7%, 24 mi), Hammond (7%, 8 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Gary walkable?
Gary is more walkable than 65% of U.S. towns (Walkability B): an EPA walkability index of 7.5 out of 20, and 3% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Gary without a car?
2% of commuters take transit and 14% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Gary, from the people who make the trip.
More of Gary
Flows, distances and jobs: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2023, primary jobs. Commute time, working from home and working out of state: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates. Distances are straight lines between home and work; real drives run longer. Walkability index, job access and transit service: U.S. EPA Smart Location Database. The two grades are our own summaries of these figures, not official ratings.