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Place dossier plate
SheetIN-PORTER-IN · Porter, IN 5,208 pop · income 55th 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 Porter
Lowest/highest poles plus peers nearest Porter on median household income. Full ladder: /browse and /rankings.
median HH income
Linton · lowest
41,968
Linton · lowest
41,968 median HH income
47.7% of the leader · rank #1
Matamoras · near
74,145
Matamoras · near
74,145 median HH income
84.3% of the leader · rank #2
Porter · this city
74,155
Porter · this city
74,155 median HH income
84.3% of the leader · rank #3
Haslett · near
74,164
Haslett · near
74,164 median HH income
84.3% of the leader · rank #4
Cedar Falls · near
74,165
Cedar Falls · near
74,165 median HH income
84.3% of the leader · rank #5
Red Mesa · near
74,167
Red Mesa · near
74,167 median HH income
84.3% of the leader · rank #6
Pendleton · highest
87,971
Pendleton · highest
87,971 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 Porter 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: 5,208.
Agency-reported UCR totals per 100,000 population, not a neighborhood safety grade or a prediction of personal risk.
Porter - the verdict
Nationally, Porter sits in the 55th percentile for household income and the 96th percentile for safety among US cities with a population of 1,000 or more. Source: Census ACS + FBI UCR.
55th
percentile, household income
58th
percentile, home value
27th
percentile, median rent
96th
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: Porter, IN
Porter is a small town in Indiana, home to 5,208 residents per U.S. Census Bureau ACS 2023 estimates. Median household income here is $74,155 per year, above the median for U.S. cities on this measure, with a poverty rate of 1.5%. Home values in Porter run a median of $259,700, and the median resident age is 41.8 years. About 26.3% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, while 57.0% of working-age residents are in the labor force.
The Census Building Permit Survey recorded 5 residential units authorized here in 2024 (Construction Slowdown), down 62% from five years earlier. Porter reports a comparatively low crime rate: the FBI's Uniform Crime Reporting program logs 211.3 total incidents per 100,000 residents here, below 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). A typical two-bedroom carries a HUD Fair Market Rent of $1,096 per month statewide. EIA 2023 residential energy data puts Indiana's average monthly utility costs around $235 (state average). On FEMA's National Risk Index, this area rates 45.5 out of 100 for natural-hazard exposure (Low).
A decision-led reading path
Useful questions to ask of Porter'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 population change to reported crime to work and mobility to schools and households to comparison shortlist to housing and income; another city can have a different sequence or fewer supported layers because the source joins are not uniform.
For Porter, city-specific coverage includes matched public-school count, local building permits, annual population history, FBI reported-crime rates, commute-mode shares.
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. Population change
Is Porter growing, shrinking, or holding steady?
The recent population line is broadly flat. That makes the composition of change more important than the headline count: housing turnover, household size, and age structure can shift even when the total barely moves.
Census PEP estimates show the population declined by -36 residents from 2020 to 2025, a -0.7% change. Separately, Census BPS recorded 5 housing units authorized in 2024. PEP and ACS are different Census series, so the trend is kept separate from the headline ACS population.
What can the FBI record say about safety in Porter?
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 211.3 violent and property crimes per 100,000 residents, below the 2280.5 national reference used here. The difference is 91% lower in arithmetic terms, but agency participation is voluntary and reporting completeness varies.
What does the journey to work look like in Porter?
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 78.1%. A reliable mean commute time is not available for this row, so the mode shares carry the comparison.
Which cities make useful reference points for Porter?
Within Indiana, the closest population matches are Tipton (5,255 residents, $64,709 income); Lawrenceburg (5,155 residents, $52,778 income); Linton (5,153 residents, $41,968 income). Outside the state, the closest population matches in this dataset are Chadron, NE (5,207 residents); Pleasant Run, OH (5,211 residents); Nassau Bay, TX (5,211 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.
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.
Schools and households
What does the education layer cover for Porter?
The NCES join finds 2 public schools within the city match. 26.3% 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 matched institution count is small, so district boundaries and schools outside the city line may matter more than the municipal count suggests. Use the number as a coverage cue, then verify attendance zones with the district before making a household decision.
Matched public schools
2
Bachelor's degree+
26.3%
Poverty estimate
1.5%
NCES Common Core of Data school locations plus Census ACS resident characteristics.
How far does income reach against housing in Porter?
The home-value-to-income reference sits in a middle range: the ACS median home value is 3.5 times median household income. The ACS poverty estimate is 1.5%, 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. 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.
Household income
$74,155
Home value
$259,700
Value / income
3.5×
City-level Census ACS 2023 medians. The ratio divides two separate medians and is descriptive only.
Near national cost · BEA RPP 2024, Indiana average
B
City profile score · Porter, IN
72/100
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.
Violent crime A+
19 /100k
FBI UCR violent offenses per 100,000 residents; lower is stronger on this axis.
Poverty rate A
1.5%
Share of residents below the poverty line; lower scores better 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-
$74,155
Median household income vs U.S. cities (pop ≥1,000); ACS.
Bachelor's+ share C-
26.3%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or higher; ACS.
Porter profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions)Read the chart values
Violent crime: 92/100 (A+) · 19 /100k
Poverty rate: 89/100 (A) · 1.5%
Cost of living: 72/100 (B) · 93.3 index
Household income: 54/100 (C-) · $74,155
Bachelor's+ share: 52/100 (C-) · 26.3%
Where Porter sits on home value vs crime among peer cities
Porter'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 - Porter highlighted among 27 peers.Read the chart values
Porter, IN (this city): home $259,700, crime 211/100k
Chadron, NE : home $153,300, crime 2,123/100k
Nassau Bay, TX : home $339,400, crime 1,705/100k
Brady, TX : home $102,900, crime 1,096/100k
Tipton, IN : home $148,800, crime 478/100k
Linton, IN : home $86,800, crime 2,129/100k
Pendleton, IN : home $236,200, crime 84/100k
New York, NY : home $751,700, crime 3,039/100k
Los Angeles, CA : home $879,500, crime 2,212/100k
Chicago, IL : home $315,200, crime 4,012/100k
Houston, TX : home $253,400, crime 5,442/100k
Phoenix, AZ : home $381,900, crime 3,125/100k
Philadelphia, PA : home $232,400, crime 5,457/100k
San Antonio, TX : home $219,700, crime 5,218/100k
San Diego, CA : home $848,500, crime 2,082/100k
Dallas, TX : home $295,300, crime 4,010/100k
San Jose, CA : home $1,187,800, crime 3,195/100k
Austin, TX : home $512,700, crime 3,709/100k
Fort Worth, TX : home $277,300, crime 3,158/100k
Columbus, OH : home $234,500, crime 3,088/100k
Indianapolis, IN : home $207,000, crime 4,214/100k
San Francisco, CA : home $1,380,500, crime 4,526/100k
Seattle, WA : home $912,100, crime 5,783/100k
Denver, CO : home $586,700, crime 5,755/100k
Oklahoma City, OK : home $215,100, crime 3,570/100k
El Paso, TX : home $171,700, crime 1,772/100k
Washington, DC : home $724,600, crime 4,514/100k
How does Porter compare to other US cities?
Where Porter sits among all US cities (population 1,000+) on each measure, computed live from Census and FBI data.
Household income55% higher than other cities
Home value58% pricier than other cities
Median rent27% pricier than other cities
Safety96% safer than other cities
"Safer than" reflects total crime rate from FBI UCR; the others use Census ACS estimates.
National percentiles can mask local variation. Looking only at Indiana, Porter ranks #4 of 110 Indiana cities by lowest crime rate - a narrower, more locally useful cut than the national comparison above.
How we calculate these percentiles & ranks
Each percentile compares Porter 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 Porter near the bottom of Indiana's cities
Among the 850 Indiana cities PlainCities tracks with reported median gross rent data, Porter ranks #1 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide percentiles above: it compares Porter only against its own state's cities, not the full US field.
Median Household Income
#221 of 766
71st percentile in Indiana
Median Gross Rent
#1 of 850
0th percentile in Indiana
Median Home Value
#79 of 771
90th percentile in Indiana
Poverty Rate
#614 of 849
27th percentile in Indiana
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
#178 of 850
79th 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
55th percentile nationally for median household income · 96th percentile for safety (lower crime rate). Source: Census ACS 2023 / FBI UCR 2023.
Porter's profile vs. every US city
Income, affordability, and safety percentile
Porter'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 Porter's home value compares nationally
Median home value vs. every US city (population 1,000+)
$259,70042nd 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
Porter's home-value-to-income ratio: 3.5×
ACS median home value divided by median household income.
Band
moderate
3.0–5.0×
National rank
#8,968 of 15,516
More affordable than 42% of tracked cities (pop. 1,000+)
Size class
#7,239 of 11,323
Micro cities (under 10,000)
At 3.5×, Porter sits in the moderate band:
national rank #8,968 of 15,516 and #7,239 of 11,323micro cities (under 10,000).
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
$74,155Porter, IN median household income (Census ACS)
Show U.S. national quintile / Lorenz context Porter, 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 Porter, IN.
Key socioeconomic indicators
Bachelor's degree or higher (adults 25+)26.3%
Census ACS S1501, educational attainment
Poverty rate (households below FPL)1.5%
Census ACS S1701, poverty status
Labor force participation (adults 16+)57.0%
Census ACS S2301, share of working-age residents in the labor force
Population
5,208
Median Income
$74,155
Median Home Value
$259,700
Median Age
41.8
Poverty Rate
1.5%
Labor force participation
57.0%
Bachelor's Degree+
26.3%
Safety & Crime
Total Crime Rate
211.3
per 100,000 residents
Violent Crime
19.2
per 100,000 residents
Property Crime
192.1
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
2
Public schools in this city
Population Change
PEP vintage
Annual U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program (PEP) estimates, 2020–2025
Porter's Census PEP population estimates, 2020–2025.Read the chart as text
Period
Population
2020
5,203 residents
2021
5,233 residents
2022
5,212 residents
2023
5,192 residents
2024
5,178 residents
2025
5,167 residents
Housing Supply
BPS source
Census Bureau Building Permits Survey (BPS) - annual residential permits authorized
📉 Construction Slowdown
Total Permits (2024)
5
housing units authorized
Single-Family
5
detached homes
Multifamily
0
apartments & condos
Supply Intensity
1
permits per 1,000 residents
5-Year Permit Trend (2019–2024)
Year
Total
Single-Family
Multifamily
Est. Value
2019
13
11
2
$1.9M
2020
16
6
10
$2.4M
2021
9
9
0
$2.1M
2022
5
1
4
$0.7M
2023
7
7
0
$3.2M
2024
5
5
0
$1.6M
Permit volume decreased 62% from 2019 to 2024.
Commute Patterns
Commute source
How workers travel to work, Census ACS 2023
Drive Alone
78.1%
Carpool
9.1%
Public Transit
0.8%
Walk
0.0%
Work from Home
12.0%
Based on 2,490 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 Porter. 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 Porter 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 Porter sits in; the FEMA hazard score shown here is a statewide average of county NRI inputs, not a parcel-level reading.
How Porter 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.