Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
La Porte gives you more for your money than most places: a typical home costs about $277K, 3.9 years of the Michigan City metro’s $71K median household income. It grades C+ overall, ranked 427th of 585 in Indiana. The low prices come with trade-offs. CDC estimates put its residents' health behind 77% of the country. On the plus side, it has 21 miles of trail. History is its standout character grade: an A, better than 95% of U.S. towns, with 7 places on the National Register. 31% of working residents work locally in La Porte, against 11% in Indiana’s towns and 8% across U.S. towns. Its National Register listings include Downtown LaPorte Historic District and Francis H. Morrison House. La Porte's civic life (library use, community groups, volunteering) is stronger than in 81% of U.S. towns.
Where La Porte beats most towns.
Census counts: 1,824 in 1850, 22,471 in 2020. The archive holds 18 old photos and papers going back to 1904 and 2 maps from 1958 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 La Porte is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around La Porte. Close and well known come first.
6 mi National ParkIndiana Dunes National Park2.6M visitors a year
Big draw26 mi Stadium & arenaNotre Dame Stadium
40 mi MuseumMascot Hall of Fame
25 mi CaveGrotto of Our Lady of Lourdes, Notre Dame
22 mi State parkWarren Dunes State Park
27 mi Ancient siteFort St. JosephIndiana Dunes National Park: J. Crocker, Attribution · Notre Dame Stadium: Tysto, Public domain · Mascot Hall of Fame: No machine-readable author provided. JGlover assumed (based on copyright claims), CC BY-SA 2.5 · Grotto of Our Lady of Lourdes, Notre Dame: Know1one1, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Warren Dunes State Park: hakkun, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Fort St. Joseph: Chris Light (talk), CC BY-SA 3.0
Who provides power, water and the rest in La Porte, 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 La Porte.
La Porte’s trail density is 1.4 miles per square mile. Soldiers Memorial Park, at 187 acres with 12.6 miles of trail, is the biggest park or preserve.
| La Porte | Indiana towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 1.4 miles per square mile | 0.2 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 5% | 1.9% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Soldiers Memorial Park | 12.6 mi | 187 |
| 2. Kesling Park | 1.2 mi | 93 |
| 3. Fox Memorial Park | 0.4 mi | 59 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
37% of adults feel lonely in La Porte. La Porte beats the Indiana average on 0 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 6. 14% of adults have diabetes in La Porte.
| La Porte | Indiana towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 37% | 32% | 33% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 14% | 13% | 12% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 17% | 14% |
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 23% | 21% | 19% |
| What stands out | La Porte | IN |
|---|---|---|
| More uninsured adults | 10.7% | 8.9% |
| More adults facing food insecurity | 17.2% | 14.7% |
| More smokers | 18% | 15.7% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 80% of U.S. communities. Since 1983, 12 flood insurance claims have been paid out in La Porte.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
The Laporte weather station records that 65 inches of snow fall in a normal winter, the highest of 1,972 Indiana places with climate records.
La Porte has chilly, snowy winters and pleasant summers. The July high in La Porte is 83°F.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
About one in 3 of La Porte’s working residents works in town. 16% of La Porte residents live below the poverty line. The top destinations are Michigan City (10%), South Bend (4%) and Indianapolis (3%).
| La Porte | Indiana towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below the poverty line | 16% | 10% | 9.6% |
| Median household income | $59,000 | $71,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
No broad age group is more than 4 points off the Indiana average. 20% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or more, vs 30% across Indiana.
| La Porte | Indiana towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median age | 34.6 years | 39.5 years | 40.5 years |
| Under 18 | 27% | 23% | 22% |
| Aged 65 or older | 16% | 18% | 18% |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 20% | 22% | 29% |
51% women, 49% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±2.2 points. Across Indiana, 50.4% of residents are women.
| La Porte | IN | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 14.6% | 12.4% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 12.1% | 10.9% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 9.8% | 9.6% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 14.2% | 13.1% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 11.3% | 12.7% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 10.4% | 12% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 12.1% | 12.5% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 8.4% | 10.1% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 7.1% | 6.7% | 7% |
| No diploma | 11.5% | 9.6% | 10.4% |
| High school | 39.8% | 32.5% | 26% |
| Some college | 20.8% | 19.3% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 7.8% | 9.1% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 15.1% | 18.7% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 5% | 10.8% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
The typical La Porte home is worth about $277,000, up 3.7% in a year, 8% above the Indiana typical home.
| La Porte | Indiana towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 60% | 76% | 73% |
| Median rent | $948 a month | $946 a month | $1,185 a month |
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
None within 15 miles of La Porte; the nearest are
About 4 of every 100 La Porte residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Indiana.
5% of the town is conserved land, across 17 parks and preserves.
7 places in La Porte on the National Register of Historic Places.
26 notable people were born in La Porte.
City in Indiana, United States
La Porte (from French 'the door') is a city in LaPorte County, Indiana, United States, of which it is the county seat. Its population was estimated to be 21,341 in 2022. It is one of the two principal cities of the Michigan City-La Porte, Indiana metropolitan statistical area, which is included in the Chicago–Naperville–Michigan City, Illinois–Indiana–Wisconsin combined statistical area. La Porte is located in northwest Indiana, east of Gary, and west of South Bend. It was first settled by European Americans in 1832. The city is twinned with Grangemouth in Scotland.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
La Porte grades C+ overall, better than 42% of U.S. towns and #427 of 585 in Indiana. It grades C− for health, C+ for safety and B− for schools. Health 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 A−.
26 notable people were born here, including Ashley Hinshaw and Scott Skiles.
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