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Place dossier plate
SheetIN-MICHIGAN-CITY-IN · Michigan City, IN 31,894 pop · income 24th pct · 31 tracts
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 Michigan City
Lowest/highest poles plus peers nearest Michigan City on median household income. Full ladder: /browse and /rankings.
median HH income
Pullman · lowest
45,097
Pullman · lowest
45,097 median HH income
27.6% of the leader · rank #1
Follansbee · near
52,974
Follansbee · near
52,974 median HH income
32.4% of the leader · rank #2
Polo · near
52,976
Polo · near
52,976 median HH income
32.4% of the leader · rank #3
Sequim · near
52,977
Sequim · near
52,977 median HH income
32.4% of the leader · rank #4
Michigan City · this city
52,979
Michigan City · this city
52,979 median HH income
32.4% of the leader · rank #5
Elfers · near
52,979
Elfers · near
52,979 median HH income
32.4% of the leader · rank #6
Erie · highest
163,644
Erie · highest
163,644 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 Michigan City 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: 31,894.
Agency-reported UCR totals per 100,000 population, not a neighborhood safety grade or a prediction of personal risk.
Michigan City - the verdict
Out of every US city with 1,000+ residents, Michigan City places in the 24th percentile for household income and the 24th percentile for safety. Source: Census ACS + FBI UCR.
24th
percentile, household income
20th
percentile, home value
27th
percentile, median rent
24th
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: Michigan City, IN
Indiana's Michigan City is a small city, with 31,894 residents per the latest Census Bureau ACS figures. Michigan City households earn a median of $52,979 annually, in the lower quartile of U.S. cities for household income, with a poverty rate of 15.2%. Michigan City's housing stock carries a median value of $129,000, and the median resident age is 37.8 years. 18.8% of adults here have a bachelor's degree or higher; 50.6% of working-age residents are in the labor force.
Housing supply pressure shows in Census Building Permit Survey data: 27 residential units were authorized in 2024 (Building Boom), up 59% from five years earlier. Crime here tracks close to the national norm: the FBI's Uniform Crime Reporting program logs 2406.2 total incidents per 100,000 residents here, near the national average (agency reporting is voluntary, so this measures reporting activity, not 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. Monthly utility costs average around $235 across Indiana, per EIA 2023 residential energy estimates. 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 Michigan City'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 within-city variation to comparison shortlist to population change to schools and households to reported crime to housing and income to work and mobility; another city can have a different sequence or fewer supported layers because the source joins are not uniform.
For Michigan City, city-specific coverage includes annual population history, commute-mode shares, local building permits, FBI reported-crime rates, within-city Census tract profiles, matched public-school count.
All six city-specific enrichment layers used by this profile are present.
1. Within-city variation
What can 31 Census tracts reveal inside Michigan City?
That layer breaks the citywide income, rent, and home-value medians into smaller Census geographies, which can reveal differences that one municipal median necessarily hides. A tract is a statistical area, not a locally defined neighborhood or a promise about conditions on a particular block. Start with the city profile for the broad comparison, then use the tract layer to test whether the same housing and income pattern is consistent across the city. Large within-city spreads are a reason to avoid treating any citywide median as a universal resident experience.
PlainCities matches 31 Census tracts to this city.
Which cities make useful reference points for Michigan City?
Within Indiana, the closest population matches are Zionsville (31,442 residents, $159,126 income); Brownsburg (30,310 residents, $105,435 income); Granger (30,279 residents, $117,348 income). Outside the state, the closest population matches in this dataset are Oceanside, NY (31,907 residents); Elizabethtown, KY (31,870 residents); Marrero, LA (31,866 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.
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.
Is Michigan City growing, shrinking, or holding steady?
Recent estimates point downward. A falling count can reflect migration, household size, annexation boundaries, or estimation noise, so it is a prompt to inspect the full series rather than a claim about local economic health.
Census PEP estimates show the population declined by -675 residents from 2020 to 2025, a -2.1% change. Separately, Census BPS recorded 27 housing units authorized in 2024. PEP and ACS are different Census series, so the trend is kept separate from the headline ACS population.
What does the education layer cover for Michigan City?
The NCES join finds 11 public schools within the city match. 18.8% 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.
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.
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 Michigan City?
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.
The joined FBI UCR record reports 2406.2 violent and property crimes per 100,000 residents, near the 2280.5 national reference used here. The difference is 6% higher in arithmetic terms, but agency participation is voluntary and reporting completeness varies.
Property rate
2114.6
Violent rate
291.7
Total reported rate
2406.2
FBI Uniform Crime Reporting, incidents per 100,000. Voluntary agency reporting; not a danger score.
How far does income reach against housing in Michigan City?
The home-value-to-income reference is relatively compact: the ACS median home value is 2.4 times median household income. The ACS poverty estimate is 15.2%, which keeps the citywide median from describing every household.
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. The ratio makes housing the clearest place to start this profile, but a low multiple can coexist with slow demand, older stock, or household-level hardship. Compare the home-value distribution and same-state peer table before treating it as an advantage.
Household income
$52,979
Home value
$129,000
Value / income
2.4×
City-level Census ACS 2023 medians. The ratio divides two separate medians and is descriptive only.
What does the journey to work look like in Michigan City?
Mode share answers how workers usually travel; it does not measure congestion, reliability, distance to a particular job, or the quality of transit service. No single mode completely explains the work trip here. The mix is more useful than a one-number commute grade, especially when comparing places where transit, walking, and remote work divide the non-driving share differently.
Driving alone is the largest reported mode at 79.3%. A reliable mean commute time is not available for this row, so the mode shares carry the comparison.
Public transit
2.1%
Work from home
8.0%
Drive alone
79.3%
City-level Census ACS commuting estimates covering 12,823 workers age 16+.
Near national cost · BEA RPP 2024, Indiana average
F
City profile score · Michigan City, IN
36/100
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.
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.
Violent crime F
292 /100k
FBI UCR violent offenses per 100,000 residents; lower is stronger on this axis.
Bachelor's+ share F
18.8%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or higher; ACS.
Household income F
$52,979
Median household income vs U.S. cities (pop ≥1,000); ACS.
Poverty rate F
15.2%
Share of residents below the poverty line; lower scores better on this axis.
Michigan City profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions)Read the chart values
Cost of living: 72/100 (B) · 93.3 index
Violent crime: 34/100 (F) · 292 /100k
Bachelor's+ share: 31/100 (F) · 18.8%
Household income: 24/100 (F) · $52,979
Poverty rate: 22/100 (F) · 15.2%
Where Michigan City sits on home value vs crime among peer cities
Michigan City'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 - Michigan City highlighted among 9 peers.Read the chart values
Michigan City, IN (this city): home $129,000, crime 2,406/100k
Elizabethtown, KY : home $223,200, crime 835/100k
Erie, CO : home $685,900, crime 926/100k
Pullman, WA : home $401,700, crime 952/100k
Zionsville, IN : home $543,800, crime 299/100k
Brownsburg, IN : home $282,800, crime 663/100k
Crown Point, IN : home $272,800, crime 608/100k
Hobart, IN : home $203,400, crime 2,423/100k
Schererville, IN : home $294,600, crime 1,389/100k
How does Michigan City compare to other US cities?
Here's how Michigan City stacks up against the full field of US cities (population 1,000+), computed live from Census and FBI data.
Household income24% higher than other cities
Home value20% pricier than other cities
Median rent27% pricier than other cities
Safety24% 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, Michigan City ranks #89 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 Michigan City 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 Michigan City near the bottom of Indiana's cities
Among the 850 Indiana cities PlainCities tracks with reported median gross rent data, Michigan City ranks #1 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide percentiles above: it compares Michigan City only against its own state's cities, not the full US field.
Median Household Income
#542 of 766
29th percentile in Indiana
Median Gross Rent
#1 of 850
0th percentile in Indiana
Median Home Value
#406 of 771
47th percentile in Indiana
Poverty Rate
#154 of 849
82nd percentile in Indiana
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
#315 of 850
63rd 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
24th percentile nationally for median household income · 24th percentile for safety (lower crime rate). Source: Census ACS 2023 / FBI UCR 2023.
Michigan City's profile vs. every US city
Income, affordability, and safety percentile
Michigan City'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 Michigan City's home value compares nationally
Median home value vs. every US city (population 1,000+)
$129,000Among the most affordablemore affordable than 80% 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
Michigan City's home-value-to-income ratio: 2.4×
ACS median home value divided by median household income.
Band
affordable
< 3.0×
National rank
#3,676 of 15,516
More affordable than 76% of tracked cities (pop. 1,000+)
Size class
#310 of 3,317
Small cities (10,000–49,999)
At 2.4×, Michigan City sits in the affordable band:
national rank #3,676 of 15,516 and #310 of 3,317small cities (10,000–49,999).
The multiple is comparatively compact among tracked cities, but a low ratio can still coexist with slow demand or household-level hardship.
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
$52,979Michigan City, IN median household income (Census ACS)
Show U.S. national quintile / Lorenz context Michigan City, 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 Michigan City, IN.
Key socioeconomic indicators
Bachelor's degree or higher (adults 25+)18.8%
Census ACS S1501, educational attainment
Poverty rate (households below FPL)15.2%
Census ACS S1701, poverty status
Labor force participation (adults 16+)50.6%
Census ACS S2301, share of working-age residents in the labor force
Population
31,894
Median Income
$52,979
Median Home Value
$129,000
Median Age
37.8
Poverty Rate
15.2%
Labor force participation
50.6%
Bachelor's Degree+
18.8%
Safety & Crime
Total Crime Rate
2406.2
per 100,000 residents
Violent Crime
291.7
per 100,000 residents
Property Crime
2114.6
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
11
Public schools in this city
Population Change
PEP vintage
Annual U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program (PEP) estimates, 2020–2025
Michigan City's Census PEP population estimates, 2020–2025.Read the chart as text
Period
Population
2020
32,013 residents
2021
31,889 residents
2022
31,696 residents
2023
31,563 residents
2024
31,515 residents
2025
31,338 residents
Housing Supply
BPS source
Census Bureau Building Permits Survey (BPS) - annual residential permits authorized
📈 Building Boom
Total Permits (2024)
27
housing units authorized
Single-Family
27
detached homes
Multifamily
0
apartments & condos
Supply Intensity
0.8
permits per 1,000 residents
5-Year Permit Trend (2019–2024)
Year
Total
Single-Family
Multifamily
Est. Value
2019
17
17
0
$3.9M
2020
28
28
0
$6.3M
2021
36
36
0
$10.8M
2022
28
28
0
$8.0M
2023
25
25
0
$7.2M
2024
27
27
0
$7.7M
Permit volume increased 59% from 2019 to 2024.
Commute Patterns
Commute source
How workers travel to work, Census ACS 2023
Drive Alone
79.3%
Carpool
8.2%
Public Transit
2.1%
Walk
1.2%
Work from Home
8.0%
Other
1.2%
Based on 12,823 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 Michigan City. 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 Michigan City 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 Michigan City sits in; the FEMA hazard score shown here is a statewide average of county NRI inputs, not a parcel-level reading.
How Michigan City 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.