What should you know before moving to Shorewood Forest?
Shorewood Forest’s standout strength is schools — its schools outperform 91% of the state's. At about $479K, a typical home costs 5.3 years of the Chicago metro’s $91K median household income. What counts against it is walkability. Most errands need a car: it is less walkable than 88% of U.S. towns. Overall, that makes an A−, good for 184th of 585 in Indiana. That leaves it better than just over three quarters of U.S. towns. The town’s middle household income is $166,000, where Indiana’s towns sit at $71,000 and U.S. towns at $80,000. Only 26 of Indiana’s 1,096 towns score lower on cost of living.
Figures: schools, state test and graduation results · home values, Zillow · incomes, Census ACS, 2020–24.
How Shorewood Forest grades
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Indiana), ordered by how far Shorewood Forest is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
What makes Shorewood Forest stand out
Where Shorewood Forest beats most towns.
Shorewood Forest has grown 12% from 2010 to 2020
2,708 counted in 2010 and 3,033 in 2020.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts
The data
Ordered by what stands out in Shorewood Forest.
Shorewood Forest looks healthier within Indiana than nationally, sends most of its workers to Valparaiso and beyond and has household incomes well above the Indiana norm.
Very low risk in Shorewood Forest, with inland flooding at the top
On expected storm and flood damage, Shorewood Forest sits below 90% of U.S. communities. FEMA puts 43% of the town’s expected hazard losses down to inland flooding, and 28% to tornadoes.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
For most of its workers, the job is outside Shorewood Forest
Shorewood Forest has 121 jobs for its 1,289 working residents: even if every job went to a resident, most would still commute out. The average commute takes 31.4 minutes, against 24.1 across Indiana.
Between 2013 and 2023, jobs in Shorewood Forest rose by 24, to 121. Commuting out is the norm in the town: 1% of working residents work locally. Only one of the 593 Indiana towns we compare has a higher middle household income than Shorewood Forest. Half of commuters travel less than 11 miles.
| Shorewood Forest | Typical Indiana town | Typical U.S. town | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $166,000 | $71,000 | $80,000 |
| Average trip to work | 31 minutes | 24 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Working residents who work in town | 1.1% | 11% | 8% |
| Below the poverty line | 8.6% | 10% | 9.6% |
Where working residents work
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Fewer of Shorewood Forest’s adults feel lonely than in the typical Indiana or U.S. town
Within Indiana it is healthier than 87% of the 589 graded towns: much of Indiana scores lower on these measures. Its widest gap with Indiana is food insecurity: 8.7% of its 2,401 adults worry about having enough food, against 14.7% statewide.
In Shorewood Forest, 38% of adults have obesity. Only 9 of the 589 Indiana towns we compare have a lower share of adults who report frequent mental distress than Shorewood Forest. Of 32 CDC measures, Shorewood Forest beats the Indiana average on 14 and trails it on 3.
| Shorewood Forest | Typical Indiana town | Typical U.S. town | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 28% | 32% | 33% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 18% | 17% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 12% | 17% | 14% |
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 82% | 80% | 79% |
| What stands out | Shorewood Forest | IN |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 8.7% | 14.7% |
| Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth | 9.7% | 15.4% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 10.2% | 8.3% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Snowy winters and pleasant summers: that is Shorewood Forest’s year
Shorewood Forest’s typical July afternoon high is recorded as 83°F.
Typical low → high °F
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
A larger share of households live in a home they own in Shorewood Forest than in most of Indiana or the rest of the country
The median property tax bill is $3,481, against $1,614 across Indiana, another input to its cost-of-living grade.
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Everything we know about Shorewood Forest
Soldier Field and 94 more within 40 miles
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Shorewood Forest. Close and well known come first.
Big draw37 mi Stadium & arenaSoldier Field
Big draw32 mi MuseumBarack Obama Presidential Center
Big draw36 mi Stadium & arenaRate Field
8 mi National ParkIndiana Dunes National Park2.6M visitors a year
Big draw40 mi Stadium & arenaUnited Center
Big draw38 mi MuseumArt Institute of Chicago1.5M visitors a yearPhoto credits
Soldier Field: Photo by Joon Han Contact: [email protected], CC BY-SA 3.0 · Barack Obama Presidential Center: AlphaBeta135, CC0 · Rate Field: User Enoch Lai on en.wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Indiana Dunes National Park: J. Crocker, Attribution · United Center: User:JeremyA, CC BY-SA 2.5 · Art Institute of Chicago: ajay_suresh, CC BY 2.0
_-_Chicago,_IL_-_June_2026.jpg){kind=link}
.jpg){kind=link}
Moving to Shorewood Forest: who provides what
Shorewood Forest is unincorporated, so Porter County and regional agencies provide most services.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Nov 18, 2024.
99% of working residents leave Shorewood Forest for work
Where Shorewood Forest’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
Colleges nearby
2 within 15 miles of the center of Shorewood Forest
About 6 of every 100 Shorewood Forest residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Indiana.
About Shorewood Forest
Census-designated place in Indiana, United States
Shorewood Forest is a census-designated place (CDP) in Union Township, Porter County, in the U.S. state of Indiana. The community centers on Lake Louise, an artificial water body. The population of the CDP was 3,033 at the 2020 census.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
- Area
- 2.2 sq mi
- Elevation
- 722 ft
Questions about Shorewood Forest
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Is Shorewood Forest, IN a good place to live?
By most measures, yes. Shorewood Forest grades A− overall, better than 76% of U.S. towns and #184 of 585 in Indiana. It grades B+ for health and A for schools. Walkability is its weak spot, with a D.
Is Shorewood Forest, IN expensive?
The typical home is worth about $479,000, 86% above the Indiana typical home. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C.
Say something about Shorewood Forest.
Ask a question, answer one, post a photo or an event. Free, and the parts only a neighbor would know are the parts worth reading.