Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 5,601. Public schools that outperform most of Indiana.
Jackson Township gives you more for your money than most places: a typical home costs about $415K, 4.6 years of the Chicago metro’s $91K median household income. It grades A overall, 98th among Indiana's 585 graded towns. On the plus side, its schools rank ahead of 94% of Indiana towns. Jackson Township’s median household income is $133,000, against $71,000 in Indiana’s towns and $80,000 across U.S. towns. On history, just 96 of Indiana’s 1,098 towns do worse. Most errands need a car: it is less walkable than 80% of U.S. towns.
Where Jackson Township beats most towns.
Where Jackson Township’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Indiana), ordered by how far Jackson Township is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 1,009 in 1890, a low of 656 in 1930, 5,573 in 2020. The archive holds 15 old photos and papers going back to 2003 and 2 maps from 1953 on.
Explore the history →Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Jackson Township. Close and well known come first.
Big draw39 mi Stadium & arenaSoldier Field
Big draw35 mi MuseumBarack Obama Presidential Center
5 mi National ParkIndiana Dunes National Park2.6M visitors a year
Big draw39 mi Stadium & arenaRate Field
Big draw40 mi Stadium & arenaNotre Dame Stadium
39 mi MuseumField Museum of Natural History1.4M visitors a yearSoldier Field: Photo by Joon Han Contact: [email protected], CC BY-SA 3.0 · 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 · Notre Dame Stadium: Tysto, Public domain · Field Museum of Natural History: Sea Cow, CC BY-SA 4.0
Who provides power, water and the rest in Jackson Township, 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 Jackson Township.
Jackson Township pairs an A for schools with modest home prices and sends most of its workers to Valparaiso and beyond, but it trails even towns with similar incomes on health.
Its A for schools comes with a B+ for cost of living: the typical home is worth about $415K.
Its public schools are run by Duneland School Corporation. Its one school is below.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jackson Elementary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades K–4 | Grades K–4 | 348 | A |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within IN on state tests and graduation
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 87% of U.S. communities.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Jackson Township has 268 jobs for its 2,304 working residents: even if every job went to a resident, most would still commute out.
Most working residents leave Jackson Township for work: only 3% work in town. 3.3% of Jackson Township residents live below the poverty line. The top destinations are Valparaiso (14%), Chesterton (8%) and Porter (6%).
| Jackson Township | Indiana towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below the poverty line | 3.3% | 10% | 9.6% |
| Working residents who work in town | 2.6% | 11% | 8% |
| Average trip to work | 26 minutes | 24 minutes | 25 minutes |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
The median household earns $132,961, against $71,957 across Indiana, one input to its A for jobs and income.
Adults 18 to 34 are 10% of residents (23% statewide); people 65 and older are 25% of residents (17% statewide). The median age in Jackson Township is 46.9 years. 34% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or more, vs 30% across Indiana.
| Jackson Township | Indiana towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median age | 46.9 years | 39.4 years | 40.5 years |
| Aged 65 or older | 25% | 18% | 18% |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 34% | 22% | 29% |
| Under 18 | 25% | 23% | 22% |
47% women, 53% men
About 111 men for every 100 women (the survey’s margin: ±2.6 points). Across Indiana, 50.4% of residents are women.
| Jackson Township | IN | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 11% | 12.4% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 13.6% | 10.9% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 2.9% | 9.6% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 6.7% | 13.1% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 14.7% | 12.7% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 11.3% | 12% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 15.2% | 12.5% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 18.4% | 10.1% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 6.2% | 6.7% | 7% |
| No diploma | 2.9% | 9.6% | 10.4% |
| High school | 28.2% | 32.5% | 26% |
| Some college | 21.7% | 19.3% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 12.9% | 9.1% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 22.3% | 18.7% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 12% | 10.8% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
4.4 miles of trail in 2 parks and preserves. The biggest place to walk is Moraine Nature Preserve, 461 acres with 3.1 miles of trail.
| Jackson Township | Indiana towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 5.8% | 1.9% | 4.3% |
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.2 miles per square mile | 0.2 | 0.4 |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Moraine Nature Preserve | 3.1 mi | 461 |
| 2. Zona Wildlife Refuge | 1.4 mi | 88 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Against the 4,260 U.S. towns with household incomes like Jackson Township’s, it is less healthy than 98%, so it trails even them.
Jackson Township beats the Indiana average on 1 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 3. 18% of adults smoke cigarettes in Jackson Township.
| Jackson Township | Indiana towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 17% | 14% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 40% | 39% | 35% |
| Food insecurity (CDC PLACES) | 17% | 14% | 14% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 38% | 37% | 36% |
| What stands out | Jackson Township | IN |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth | 12.4% | 15.4% |
| More adults facing a utility shut-off | 10% | 8.4% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Jackson Township has chilly, snowy winters and pleasant summers. Jackson Township’s July high is 83°F.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
1 within 15 miles of the center of Jackson Township
About 2 of every 100 Jackson Township residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Indiana.
Township in Indiana, United States
Jackson Township is one of twelve townships in Porter County, Indiana. As of the 2010 census, its population was 5,328.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
5 towns share a border with Jackson Township.
| Town | IN rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jackson Township | #98 | A | B+ | — | A | C |
| Liberty Township | #225 | B+ | C+ | — | A | B− |
| New Durham Township | #344 | B− | B | — | B | C− |
| Pine Township | — | — | B+ | — | B+ | C |
| Washington Township | #123 | A− | B− | — | A | B− |
| Westchester Township | #74 | A | B | — | A | B− |
Pine Township has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. Jackson Township, Liberty Township, New Durham Township, Pine Township, Washington Township and Westchester Township report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Jackson Township with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
By most measures, yes. Jackson Township grades A overall, better than 86% of U.S. towns and #98 of 585 in Indiana. It grades C for health and A for schools. Walkability is its weak spot, with a C−.
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 B+.
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