Lake Station, IN vs Portage, IN

Side-by-side comparison from the latest government data.

MetricLake Station, INPortage, IN
Population13,18538,082
Median Household Income$59,591$76,276
Median Rent$1,124/mo$1,231/mo
Median Home Value$137,400$224,200
Cost of Living (US = 100)104104
Renters Paying 30%+ of Income43.4%50.8%
Poverty Rate15.4%11.6%
Unemployment Rate5.1% (county)4.6%
Violent Crime Rate /100k261251
Property Crime Rate /100k2,7361,134
Median AQI5344
Good AQI Days /yr152226
Summer Highs80°F80°F
Winter Lows21°F21°F
Snowfall40 in/yr40 in/yr
Avg Commute26.8 min27.3 min
Hospitals——
Avg Hospital Rating——
Students per Teacher1715.8
College Degree Rate7.4%18.4%
Foreign-Born %9.8%4.1%
Population Growth (2020–2025)-2.2%+1.8%

Green = clearly better (more than 5% apart). Population, growth, weather, hospital count and foreign-born share aren’t scored.