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Place dossier plate
SheetIN-CEDAR-LAKE-IN · Cedar Lake, IN 14,686 pop · income 61st pct
Instrument codes from this place’s ACS population and household income, BEA state COL, FBI safety, national income percentile, photo-finish peer city, home-value band, and matched Census-tract book - not a moving recommendation.
Income neighbourhood around Cedar Lake
Lowest/highest poles plus peers nearest Cedar Lake on median household income. Full ladder: /browse and /rankings.
median HH income
Alexander City · lowest
42,367
Alexander City · lowest
42,367 median HH income
18.0% of the leader · rank #1
Red Rock CDP… · near
79,167
Red Rock CDP… · near
79,167 median HH income
33.6% of the leader · rank #2
Montpelier · near
79,175
Montpelier · near
79,175 median HH income
33.6% of the leader · rank #3
Chickamauga · near
79,176
Chickamauga · near
79,176 median HH income
33.6% of the leader · rank #4
Cedar Lake · this city
79,177
Cedar Lake · this city
79,177 median HH income
33.6% of the leader · rank #5
Wesley · near
79,179
Wesley · near
79,179 median HH income
33.6% of the leader · rank #6
Broadlands · highest
235,491
Broadlands · highest
235,491 median HH income
100.0% of the leader · rank #7
What this shows Neighbourhood peers only - not a full nationwide city board. Open a near peer when the gap is small; open the poles when the spread is wide.
Compare beyond this state
Nationwide peers by population, income, and FBI crime rate
Out-of-state nearest neighbors for Cedar Lake on ACS population and median household income
, plus FBI UCR reporting rate when the extract covers this place. Link sets are deduped so each column is a distinct comparison path, not a forecast that peers share a labor market or climate.
Similar population
Nearest out-of-state cities by ACS population. This city: 14,686.
Agency-reported UCR totals per 100,000 population, not a neighborhood safety grade or a prediction of personal risk.
Cedar Lake - the verdict
Out of every US city with 1,000+ residents, Cedar Lake places in the 61st percentile for household income and the 92nd percentile for safety. Source: Census ACS + FBI UCR.
61st
percentile, household income
58th
percentile, home value
27th
percentile, median rent
92nd
percentile, safety
📝 How we sourced this
Population, income, and housing-cost figures come from the U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-year estimates (B-series tables). Crime data uses FBI UCR; climate uses NOAA Climate Normals; school counts come from NCES Common Core of Data; permits use the Census Building Permits Survey (BPS). See our methodology page for the full ETL pipeline and OMB / FIPS join keys.
Data Snapshot: Cedar Lake, IN
14,686 people live in Cedar Lake, Indiana - a small town by U.S. Census Bureau ACS 2023 estimates. Median household income here is $79,177 per year, above the median for U.S. cities on this measure, with a poverty rate of 2.1%. Cedar Lake's housing stock carries a median value of $259,900, and the median resident age is 40.3 years. About 24.8% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, while 62.5% of working-age residents are in the labor force.
Housing supply pressure shows in Census Building Permit Survey data: 188 residential units were authorized in 2024 (Stable), up 0% from five years earlier. Cedar Lake reports a comparatively low crime rate: FBI UCR figures show 328.4 crimes per 100,000 residents, below the national average (reporting is voluntary across agencies, so treat this as reporting activity rather than a definitive danger score).
Living costs in Indiana run below the national norm: BEA Regional Price Parities 2024 puts Indiana at 93.3 on a 100-equals-national-average scale (Below Average). HUD Fair Market Rent for a typical two-bedroom in this state is $1,096 per month. Statewide, average monthly utility bills in Indiana run around $235, per EIA 2023 residential energy data. Natural-hazard exposure scores 45.5 out of 100 on FEMA's National Risk Index (Low).
A decision-led reading path
Useful questions to ask of Cedar Lake's data
How this reading path is ordered
This is not a composite city score. It is a city-specific route through the available public records, ordered for this profile so the page starts with questions the joined data can actually answer. The route here runs from housing and income to population change to comparison shortlist to work and mobility to reported crime to schools and households; another city can have a different sequence or fewer supported layers because the source joins are not uniform.
For Cedar Lake, city-specific coverage includes annual population history, matched public-school count, local building permits, commute-mode shares, FBI reported-crime rates.
No matched row is reported here for within-city Census tract profiles; the page leaves those layers out instead of substituting a statewide or national value.
1. Housing and income
How far does income reach against housing in Cedar Lake?
This is a citywide price-to-income reference, not a mortgage-affordability test; it does not include interest rates, taxes, insurance, household size, or an individual buyer's down payment. Income and home value move within the same broad scale here. The useful next check is not a generic affordability label, but whether similar-size cities offer a materially different income, housing, or commute trade-off.
The home-value-to-income reference sits in a middle range: the ACS median home value is 3.3 times median household income. The ACS poverty estimate is 2.1%, which keeps the citywide median from describing every household.
Is Cedar Lake growing, shrinking, or holding steady?
Census PEP estimates show the population grew by +2,585 residents from 2020 to 2025, a +18.2% change. Separately, Census BPS recorded 188 housing units authorized in 2024. PEP and ACS are different Census series, so the trend is kept separate from the headline ACS population.
Recent estimates point upward. Growth can increase housing demand and service needs, but the permit record must move in the same direction before calling it a supply response; the two series measure different things.
Which cities make useful reference points for Cedar Lake?
Use the in-state set to hold state policy and broad price conditions more nearly constant. Use the nationwide size set to ask whether cities with a similar resident count produce different housing, income, or commute outcomes. The income set is a third lens, deliberately separate from population matching. The nationwide peer panel below adds a fourth FBI UCR reporting-rate lens, not personal risk.
Within Indiana, the closest population matches are Chesterton (14,326 residents, $88,536 income); Beech Grove (15,082 residents, $49,452 income); New Haven (15,339 residents, $67,121 income). Outside the state, the closest population matches in this dataset are Alexander City, AL (14,686 residents); Glens Falls, NY (14,678 residents); Broadlands, VA (14,673 residents). A third, income-matched reference set of 6 out-of-state cities sits in the income neighbourhood chart near the Place Dossier plate. These are mechanical peer sets, not claims that the places share a labor market, climate, culture, or metro context.
What does the journey to work look like in Cedar Lake?
Driving alone is the largest reported mode at 85.2%. A reliable mean commute time is not available for this row, so the mode shares carry the comparison.
Mode share answers how workers usually travel; it does not measure congestion, reliability, distance to a particular job, or the quality of transit service. The profile is strongly car-oriented, so a relocation comparison should put trip distance, vehicle access, and household fuel costs ahead of a citywide commute average. The same-state peer links offer a more relevant benchmark than a national label.
These joined records add useful context, but they do not need another full-size panel. Each remains a separate measure with its own geography and source boundary.
Reported crime
What can the FBI record say about safety in Cedar Lake?
The joined FBI UCR record reports 328.4 violent and property crimes per 100,000 residents, below the 2280.5 national reference used here. The difference is 86% lower in arithmetic terms, but agency participation is voluntary and reporting completeness varies.
Treat this as a reporting-rate comparison, not a prediction of personal risk or a neighborhood-level safety grade. Tourism, daytime population, reporting practices, and variation inside the city are not adjusted away. The state rank and same-state peer table are the narrower comparisons available on this page.
Total reported rate
328.4
Violent rate
65.7
Property rate
262.7
FBI Uniform Crime Reporting, incidents per 100,000. Voluntary agency reporting; not a danger score.
What does the education layer cover for Cedar Lake?
The city has a broader matched school footprint, but count alone does not describe performance, capacity, program availability, or attendance boundaries. This profile deliberately avoids converting it into an unsupported family-friendliness score.
The NCES join finds 6 public schools within the city match. 24.8% of adults age 25+ hold a bachelor's degree or higher in the ACS estimate. These measures answer different questions: the school count describes local institutions, while adult attainment describes residents and cannot be used as a school-quality rating.
Poverty estimate
2.1%
Bachelor's degree+
24.8%
Matched public schools
6
NCES Common Core of Data school locations plus Census ACS resident characteristics.
Near national cost · BEA RPP 2024, Indiana average
B-
City profile score · Cedar Lake, IN
69/100
5 published dimensions · ACS/FBI 2023
Comparative score against U.S. cities with population of 1,000 or more on Census ACS medians
(income, poverty, bachelor's share, cost of living) and FBI UCR violent-crime rates when
published. Higher means a stronger standing on those published figures, not a livability
rating, not a recommendation to move, buy, or pick a "best" city. Missing inputs drop out
and redistribute weight.
How it is calculated.
Poverty rate A
2.1%
Share of residents below the poverty line; lower scores better on this axis.
Violent crime A-
66 /100k
FBI UCR violent offenses per 100,000 residents; lower is stronger on this axis.
Cost of living B
93.3 index
BEA state Regional Price Parities index (100 ≈ national average); lower is stronger on this axis. Same value for every city in the state.
Household income C
$79,177
Median household income vs U.S. cities (pop ≥1,000); ACS.
Bachelor's+ share D
24.8%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or higher; ACS.
Cedar Lake profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions)Read the chart values
Poverty rate: 85/100 (A) · 2.1%
Violent crime: 80/100 (A-) · 66 /100k
Cost of living: 72/100 (B) · 93.3 index
Household income: 59/100 (C) · $79,177
Bachelor's+ share: 48/100 (D) · 24.8%
Where Cedar Lake sits on home value vs crime among peer cities
Cedar Lake's median home value and FBI crime rate plotted with similar-size and
same-state peers (padded with large cities when the peer set is thin). The second
read: pricey does not always mean safer, check which quadrant this city lands in.
Census ACS median home value vs FBI UCR crime rate - Cedar Lake highlighted among 10 peers.Read the chart values
Cedar Lake, IN (this city): home $259,900, crime 328/100k
Alexander City, AL : home $135,900, crime 4,612/100k
Glens Falls, NY : home $195,800, crime 819/100k
Sterling, IL : home $107,800, crime 1,653/100k
Lockhart, TX : home $218,400, crime 1,706/100k
Beech Grove, IN : home $169,500, crime 1,932/100k
New Haven, IN : home $151,200, crime 1,292/100k
Frankfort, IN : home $122,800, crime 1,171/100k
Bedford, IN : home $136,900, crime 303/100k
Speedway, IN : home $209,400, crime 2,776/100k
How does Cedar Lake compare to other US cities?
Cedar Lake measured against every US city with 1,000+ residents, computed live from the same Census and FBI data shown throughout this page.
Household income61% higher than other cities
Home value58% pricier than other cities
Median rent27% pricier than other cities
Safety92% safer than other cities
"Safer than" reflects total crime rate from FBI UCR; the others use Census ACS estimates.
A national percentile can hide a lot of local variation: narrowed to Indiana alone, Cedar Lake ranks #14 of 110 Indiana cities by lowest crime rate - a different, more locally useful comparison than stacking it against the entire country.
How we calculate these percentiles & ranks
Each percentile compares Cedar Lake against every qualifying US city; each in-state rank narrows that to Indiana only. Full formula and direction notes: methodology.
Indiana-relative analysis
Median Gross Rent places Cedar Lake near the bottom of Indiana's cities
Among the 850 Indiana cities PlainCities tracks with reported median gross rent data, Cedar Lake ranks #1 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide percentiles above: it compares Cedar Lake only against its own state's cities, not the full US field.
Median Household Income
#179 of 766
77th percentile in Indiana
Median Gross Rent
#1 of 850
0th percentile in Indiana
Median Home Value
#78 of 771
90th percentile in Indiana
Poverty Rate
#599 of 849
29th percentile in Indiana
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
#202 of 850
76th percentile in Indiana
How in-state ranks are ordered
Ranked by raw value (highest first); a higher rank is not automatically "better" for every measure, see each metric's own context above. This is a comparison within Indiana only, not a livability score. See the methodology for the source and calculation.
Gauge source note
61st percentile nationally for median household income · 92nd percentile for safety (lower crime rate). Source: Census ACS 2023 / FBI UCR 2023.
Cedar Lake's profile vs. every US city
Income, affordability, and safety percentile
Cedar Lake's percentile rank on 3 favorable-direction measures (income, affordability, safety) vs. every tracked US city -- higher on every axis is more favorable. Not a composite quality score, just the arithmetic mean of the axes shown.
How Cedar Lake's home value compares nationally
Median home value vs. every US city (population 1,000+)
$259,90042nd percentilemore affordable than 42% of 15,600 US cities
Show national distribution
Each bar is a $25K-wide band; taller bars hold more US cities. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source U.S. Census Bureau ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2023
Cedar Lake's home-value-to-income ratio: 3.3×
ACS median home value divided by median household income.
Band
moderate
3.0–5.0×
National rank
#8,041 of 15,516
More affordable than 48% of tracked cities (pop. 1,000+)
Size class
#1,269 of 3,317
Small cities (10,000–49,999)
At 3.3×, Cedar Lake sits in the moderate band:
national rank #8,041 of 15,516 and #1,269 of 3,317small cities (10,000–49,999).
Income and home value move in the same broad scale; check same-state peers before treating the multiple as an advantage or a warning.
How this ratio is calculated
Ratio = Census ACS 2023 median home value ÷ median household income for cities with both fields and population ≥ 1,000.
Rank 1 = lowest ratio (most compact). Bands match the fleet affordability thresholds used on guides (<3.0 / 3.0–5.0 / >5.0).
This is not a mortgage payment estimate and does not include rates, taxes, insurance, or down payment.
Income distribution context
$79,177Cedar Lake, IN median household income (Census ACS)
Show U.S. national quintile / Lorenz context Cedar Lake, IN median household income (Census ACS 5-year) with U.S. national quintile shares for context. Diagonal = equality; the curve is national, not computed for Cedar Lake, IN.
Key socioeconomic indicators
Bachelor's degree or higher (adults 25+)24.8%
Census ACS S1501, educational attainment
Poverty rate (households below FPL)2.1%
Census ACS S1701, poverty status
Labor force participation (adults 16+)62.5%
Census ACS S2301, share of working-age residents in the labor force
Population
14,686
Median Income
$79,177
Median Home Value
$259,900
Median Age
40.3
Poverty Rate
2.1%
Labor force participation
62.5%
Bachelor's Degree+
24.8%
Safety & Crime
Total Crime Rate
328.4
per 100,000 residents
Violent Crime
65.7
per 100,000 residents
Property Crime
262.7
per 100,000 residents
Crime reporting caveat
Reflects incidents reported to the FBI's Uniform Crime Reporting program — agency participation is voluntary and reporting completeness varies by jurisdiction and year, so this reflects reporting activity, not a definitive danger score. Not adjusted for tourism, commuter, or daytime population.
Schools
Total Schools
6
Public schools in this city
Population Change
PEP vintage
Annual U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program (PEP) estimates, 2020–2025
Cedar Lake's Census PEP population estimates, 2020–2025.Read the chart as text
Period
Population
2020
14,204 residents
2021
14,770 residents
2022
15,582 residents
2023
16,067 residents
2024
16,405 residents
2025
16,789 residents
Housing Supply
BPS source
Census Bureau Building Permits Survey (BPS) - annual residential permits authorized
🏗️ Stable
Total Permits (2024)
188
housing units authorized
Single-Family
188
detached homes
Multifamily
0
apartments & condos
Supply Intensity
12.8
permits per 1,000 residents
5-Year Permit Trend (2019–2024)
Year
Total
Single-Family
Multifamily
Est. Value
2019
188
188
0
$32.0M
2020
279
279
0
$60.5M
2021
394
394
0
$90.9M
2022
243
243
0
$60.6M
2023
152
152
0
$37.5M
2024
188
188
0
$51.5M
Permit volume increased 0% from 2019 to 2024.
Commute Patterns
Commute source
How workers travel to work, Census ACS 2023
Drive Alone
85.2%
Carpool
5.6%
Public Transit
0.5%
Walk
0.7%
Work from Home
4.4%
Other
3.6%
Based on 7,062 workers 16 and over.
Monthly Utility Costs
Indiana statewide monthly utility average (EIA 2023): $235
EIA 2023 residential energy data puts average monthly utilities across Indiana at $235 (electricity about $110 , water and sewer about $45 ).
These are Indiana statewide averages, not a meter reading for Cedar Lake. Actual bills vary by home size, usage, and local rates. Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) 2023.
Living Costs & Risk
Indiana's BEA cost-of-living index is 93.3 (Below Average; US average = 100, RPP 2024). HUD Fair Market Rent for a typical two-bedroom in the county around Cedar Lake is $1,096/mo. FEMA's National Risk Index, averaged to Indiana statewide on PlainCities, rates natural-hazard exposure at 45.5 / 100 (Low).
Cost/risk geography note
Cost of living is a Indiana statewide BEA average; rent is a county-level HUD Fair Market Rent for the county Cedar Lake sits in; the FEMA hazard score shown here is a statewide average of county NRI inputs, not a parcel-level reading.
How Cedar Lake compares to similar-size Indiana cities
Same-state peer method
Closest same-state population matches, not geographic neighbors. Population + median household income come from Census Bureau ACS 5-year B01001 and B19013.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau ACS 5-Year 2023, FBI UCR, NCES CCD, Census BPS 2024, Census ACS B08301/B08136, U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) 2023, BEA Regional Price Parities 2024, HUD Fair Market Rents 2026, FEMA National Risk Index.