Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Portage Township gives you more for your money than most places: a typical home costs about $122K, 1.8 years of the South Bend metro’s $67K median household income. It grades C overall, 515th among Indiana's 585 graded towns. The low prices come with trade-offs. CDC estimates put its residents' health behind 87% of the country and its schools rank behind 82% of the state's. On the plus side, natural-hazard risk is low. History is its standout character grade: an A+, better than 96% of U.S. towns, with 1 place on the National Register. 23% of residents live below the poverty line in Portage Township, above both the Indiana town median (10%) and the median of U.S. towns (9.6%). Only 25 of Indiana’s 1,097 towns score higher on walkability. Portage Township is home to University of Notre Dame.
Where Portage Township beats most towns.
University of Notre Dame: Main and South Quadrangles3 colleges in town.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Indiana), ordered by how far Portage Township is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
The archive holds 3 maps from 1958 on.
1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Portage 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 Portage Township.
Portage Township carries less natural-hazard risk than nearly all of Indiana (mostly inland flooding), is healthier than towns with similar incomes and trades workers with South Bend and other neighbors.
27 miles of trail in 41 parks and preserves. Portage Township’s trail density is 0.8 miles per square mile. Rum Village Park, at 159 acres with 2.9 miles of trail, is the biggest park or preserve.
| Portage Township | Indiana towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.8 miles per square mile | 0.2 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 5.3% | 1.9% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Rum Village Park | 2.9 mi | 159 |
| 2. Potawatomi Park | 1.1 mi | 29 |
| 3. Southeast Park | 0.5 mi | 11 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Its public schools are run by South Bend Community School Corp. Two of its 45 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Success Academy Primary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades K–5 | Grades K–5 | 610 | D− |
| Adams High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 1,966 | B |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within IN on state tests and graduation
FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk lower than 96% of Indiana towns, with expected losses of about $217 per resident a year; that rating is what its A+ for hazard risk is built on.
The FEMA risk score in Portage Township is 7 of 100. Since 1982, 42 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Portage Township.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Against the 6,744 U.S. towns with household incomes like Portage Township’s, it is less healthy than 72%, so its D isn’t only a matter of income.
24% of Portage Township adults worry about having enough food. Portage Township beats the Indiana average on 1 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 15. 27% of Portage Township adults say their health is fair or poor.
| Portage Township | Indiana towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Food insecurity (CDC PLACES) | 24% | 14% | 14% |
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 27% | 21% | 19% |
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 36% | 32% | 33% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 20% | 18% | 17% |
| What stands out | Portage Township | IN |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults who have had cancer | 7.2% | 8.3% |
| More adults facing a utility shut-off | 14.1% | 8.4% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Portage Township has chilly, snowy winters and pleasant summers. July afternoons reach 83°, January nights drop to 18° and about 65 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Portage Township has about as many jobs (39,083) as working residents, but only 9,377 people both live and work here.
About one in 4 of Portage Township’s working residents works in town. The top destinations are South Bend (34%), Mishawaka (13%) and Elkhart (7%). Half commute less than 5 miles.
| Portage Township | Indiana towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 26% | 11% | 8% |
| Average trip to work | 20 minutes | 24 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $53,000 | $71,000 | $80,000 |
| Work from home | 11% | 7.8% | 11% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
23.2% of residents live below the poverty line, against 12.3% across Indiana, which weighs on its C− for jobs and income.
Adults 18 to 34 are 29% of residents (23% statewide). 14% of residents are 65 or older in Portage Township. 27% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or more, vs 30% across Indiana.
| Portage Township | Indiana towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median age | 32.5 years | 39.5 years | 40.5 years |
| Aged 65 or older | 14% | 18% | 18% |
| Under 18 | 24% | 23% | 22% |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 27% | 22% | 29% |
51.1% women, 48.9% men
About 96 men for every 100 women. Across Indiana, 50.4% of residents are women. Median age: women 33.2, men 31.7.
| Portage Township | IN | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 13.1% | 12.4% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 11.1% | 10.9% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 14.9% | 9.6% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 14.1% | 13.1% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 12.5% | 12.7% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 10.6% | 12% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 10.2% | 12.5% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 8.8% | 10.1% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 4.8% | 6.7% | 7% |
| No diploma | 13.7% | 9.6% | 10.4% |
| High school | 32.5% | 32.5% | 26% |
| Some college | 18.9% | 19.3% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 8.2% | 9.1% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 15.6% | 18.7% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 11.1% | 10.8% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Portage Township. Close and well known come first.
Big draw3 mi Stadium & arenaNotre Dame Stadium
in town CaveGrotto of Our Lady of Lourdes, Notre Dame
29 mi National ParkIndiana Dunes National Park2.6M visitors a year
in town MuseumStudebaker National Museumin town Zoo & aquariumPotawatomi Zoo
10 mi Ancient siteFort St. JosephNotre Dame Stadium: Tysto, Public domain · Grotto of Our Lady of Lourdes, Notre Dame: Know1one1, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Indiana Dunes National Park: J. Crocker, Attribution · Studebaker National Museum: Unknown, Public domain · Fort St. Joseph: Chris Light (talk), CC BY-SA 3.0
6 within 15 miles of the center of Portage Township
About 11 of every 100 Portage Township residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Indiana.
Township in Indiana, United States
Portage Township is one of thirteen townships in St. Joseph County, in the U.S. state of Indiana. As of the 2020 census, its population was 94,571.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
9 towns share a border with Portage Township.
| Town | IN rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Portage Township | #515 | C | B+ | — | C− | D |
| Centre Township | #381 | B− | B+ | — | C− | B− |
| German Township | #552 | C− | C+ | — | C− | C− |
| Clay Township | #397 | B− | C+ | — | C− | B+ |
| South Bend | #579 | D | B+ | D | C− | D |
| Penn Township | #147 | A− | B | — | A+ | C+ |
| Mishawaka | #432 | C+ | B− | C− | A− | C |
| Warren Township | #576 | D | C+ | — | C− | C− |
Portage Township, Centre Township, German Township, Clay Township, Penn Township and Warren Township report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Portage Township with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Portage Township grades C overall, better than 25% of U.S. towns and #515 of 585 in Indiana. It grades D for health and C− 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 B+.
