Photo: Chris Light · CC BY-SA 3.0Living in Porter, IN: what to set up and who to call
All of Porter gets its mail under one ZIP code, 46304. Hageman Memorial Library, at 100 Francis Street, is the library in town.
I’m new in town
What to set up in Porter, and who provides it. Tap an answer for the details and where they come from.
Power, water and internet
Who to call to start service at a new address in Porter.
Power comes from NIPSCO
NIPSCO (Northern Indiana Public Service Co.), an investor-owned utility, serves all of Porter. Its homes paid an average of 22.1¢ per kWh in 2025, about $148 a month (its average across Indiana).
Service territory: HIFLD Electric Retail Service Territories (map dated Aug 2023). Prices and customers: EIA-861, 2025.
Water comes from Indiana American Water - Northwest
Indiana American Water - Northwest supplies Porter: about 91% of residents live in its service area. About 9% of homes are outside any mapped community water system, most likely on private wells, which EPA doesn’t regulate. It draws surface water and serves 210,510 people in all.
No health-based violations reported to EPA in the five years to October 2026, like 86% of the 332 systems serving 100,001–250,000 people.
The latest lead result on file, the 90th percentile of homes sampled in Jan 2022–Dec 2024, was 3.0 ppb, below the 15 ppb action level that applied. The highest in five years was 5.0 ppb. That’s higher than 77% of similar systems’ latest results.
The system’s full record: EPA ECHO report
EPA SDWIS via Envirofacts (violations pulled Oct 9, 2026) and ECHO (lead samples, 2026Q3); service area: EPA Community Water System Service Area Boundaries v3.0. Violations are counted by the start of their compliance period. IN5245015.
6 home internet providers serve Porter
100% of 1,971 addresses can get 100/20 Mbps; 90% can get fiber.
| Provider | Technology | Addresses | Fastest (Mbps) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Xfinity | Cable | 98% | 2,000/250 |
| Frontier | Fiber, DSL | 91% | 7,000/7,000 |
| NITCO | Fiber | 14% | 1,000/1,000 |
| T-Mobile | Fixed wireless | 64% | 100/20 |
| Verizon | Fixed wireless | 59% | 25/6 |
| AT&T | Fixed wireless | 53% | 25/3 |
FCC National Broadband Map, as of December 2025. Availability as providers report it, not speeds people get.
Trash day in Porter depends on your street
Pickup days, the drop-off and recycling in Porter, from the town’s own site.
Your pickup week
- TrashEvery week, on your street’s dayFind your street’s day on in.gov →
- RecyclingEvery week, day by address
When a holiday falls on a weekday, pickup slides one day later for the rest of that week.
Single-stream recycling
All your recyclables go in one bin, no sorting.
- Aluminum, tin and metal cans
- Plastic bottles and containers
- Glass bottles and jars
- Cartons: Milk, juice, broth, soup, and other
- File folders, office paper, envelopes
- Junk mail, glossy paper, magazines
- Flattened cardboard boxes
- Paperboard boxes: cereal, tissue and frozen food boxes
- Newspapers, catalogs, phone books, paper bags
From in.gov, the town’s official site, checked Oct 21, 2026; pages dated 2025-09-11T11:00:36-04:00, 2026-05-21, 2026-05-21T11:37:53-04:00. Rules change: the town’s page is the last word. .
Where your child goes to school
Public school districts and the school path by grade.
Porter is in Duneland School Corporation.
ASchool gradeSee Schools →U.S. Department of Education, NCES Common Core of Data, 2024–25. Enrollment rules and registration are the district’s.
Town hall and registering to vote
Who to call, and how to register.
Election office: FVAP local election office directory, updated Aug 2026; jurisdictions: EAC EAVS 2024. Registration rules and links: vote.gov, updated Nov 18, 2024.
Porter is in ZIP code 46304
ZIP codes where Porter residents live, with the share of the town in each.
| ZIP | Post office name | Share of Porter | ZIP’s residents in Porter |
|---|---|---|---|
| 46304 | Chesterton, IN | 100% | 19% |
Census 2020 ZIP Code Tabulation Areas, by census block; post office names: GeoNames (CC BY 4.0). ZIPs created since 2020 are missing.
Getting around, the ER and the library
One line each; the subject pages have the rest.
ER: CMS hospital data. Library: IMLS Public Libraries Survey, FY2024.
Questions about living in Porter
Who supplies Porter’s drinking water, and has it had violations?
Indiana American Water - Northwest (EPA ID IN5245015). It reported no health-based violations to EPA in the five years to October 2026; 86% of systems its size had none. Its latest lead 90th percentile was 3.0 ppb (Jan 2022–Dec 2024), against a 15 ppb action level.
Who provides electricity in Porter?
NIPSCO (Northern Indiana Public Service Co.), an investor-owned utility. Its homes paid about 22.1¢ per kWh in 2025 (EIA).
What internet providers serve Porter?
Xfinity, Frontier, NITCO, T-Mobile, Verizon, AT&T (FCC, as of December 2025).
What ZIP codes are in Porter?
46304. Census 2020 ZIP Code Tabulation Areas.
What school district is Porter in?
Duneland School Corporation.
How do I register to vote in Porter?
In Indiana you can register online until 29 days before Election Day, in person until 29 days before Election Day, or by mail (postmarked 29 days before). Elections here are run by the Porter County Board of Elections & Registration. Check your registration at indianavoters.in.gov.
Sources & dates
Every answer above names its source. Here they are with their dates.
- Water: EPA SDWIS (Envirofacts, pulled Oct 9, 2026), ECHO SDWA 2026Q3, EPA CWS Service Area Boundaries v3.0.
- Power: HIFLD Electric Retail Service Territories (map Aug 2023); EIA-861 final 2025.
- Trash: Porter’s own website (in.gov), read Oct 21, 2026, pickup and drop-off facts extracted and checked against the page they came from.
- ZIP codes: Census 2020 ZCTA relationship files; GeoNames postal codes (CC BY 4.0).
- Schools: NCES Common Core of Data, 2024–25.
- Registration: vote.gov, updated Nov 18, 2024 (read Oct 10, 2026). Official sites and area codes: Wikidata.
- Election office: FVAP local election office directory (fetched Oct 10, 2026; each record dated), EAC EAVS 2024 jurisdictions; registration and lookup links from vote.gov’s state data, checked Oct 10, 2026.
- Internet: FCC National Broadband Map, as of December 2025.