The 10 Worst Places To Live In Indiana For 2023

The 10 Worst Places To Live In Indiana For 2023

The “lake” part of Lake Station comes from its position near the southern coast of Lake Michigan. “Station” is there because the town once served as the endpoint for a key railroad. These days, Lake Station still has a transportation connection, as it sits along I-90, one of the country’s main east-west arteries.

Unfortunately, while you might pass through Lake Station, you wouldn’t want to stop very long. It stands as the number 1 worst spot in Indiana.

Crime and the economy are the main problems in the area. The crime rate is 20% above normal and the poverty rate sits at 18.1%.

There’s probably not a single person in the state that would be surprised that Gary tops this list. In fact, if Gary wasn’t atop this list, most people would start to wonder if our data was accurate.

Here are the statistics. Gary has the 8th worst crime rate in Indiana. No surprises there. How dangerous is it though? There were almost 399 violent crimes in Gary in 2023. Residents here had a 1 in 174 chance of being killed, raped or attacked. Just wow.

The home values in Gary are the 4th cheapest in the state ($70,600), the unemployment rate is the 2nd highest (12.8%), and the annual household income is 4th lowest in Indiana, at $34,085. That’s basically at the poverty level for a family of four.

If there’s one bright side to Gary, it’s that the education is ranked above average. Meaning the kids at Gary public schools are getting as much attention and support as possible. Hopefully, that has an impact on the next generation that grows up here.

It’s pretty much Gary, and then everyone else on this list.

Since the southside of Chicago is one of the worst areas for crime in the nation, you can sure expect that East Chicago is going to be pretty rough. It is. In fact, East Chicago has the 16th-highest crime rate in the state. Probably no surprises there.

There were 284 violent crimes here in 2023, and residents have a 1 in 44.0 chance of being the victim of a property crime. That means, most likely, if you live in East Chicago, either you or someone on your block had their home or car broken into last year.

You can also imagine that the economy here is in the pits. It is. The only thing saving East Chicago from being higher on the list is that the public schools are well funded. They may not be safe, but at least the kids are getting as much attention as they want.

Anderson is the first of a few cities near Indianapolis to make this list. When you’re comparing things to Gary, things look a lot better here, but they still have some issues, according to science.

Anderson is the 26th most dangerous place in Indiana, according to FBI statistics. And the residents here have a hard time keeping a job — at least in comparison to the rest of the state. The unemployment rate is 7.4% — not horrible — but worse than the state average.

Home values are really low ($84,600), and residents earn just $40,632 a year.

Plus, it’s an hour drive into downtown Indy, so your entertainment options are fairly limited.

There’s absolutely nothing to do in Connersville. Located out in the boonies toward the Ohio state line, the residents are most likely bored, and probably wouldn’t have much disposable income to do much even if there was some form of entertainment. At least they can spend their Sundays with Andrew Luck.

The unemployment rate is the 26th highest in the state (6.2%), the income levels and home prices are both in the bottom five in Indiana as well.

However, the public kids get just about as much attention and support than in any other region.

Terre Haute has some nice people, that’s for sure. But if you’ve ever been there, it’s a little lacking in a strong economy.

The median income is even lower than it is in Anderson, as households have a hard time making a living with a combined $32,000 a year. The crime is 9th highest in the state, and Terre Haute residents have a 1 in 20 chance of being the victim of a property crime. Meaning lots of stolen laptops, cell phones and tractor implements.

Hammond is located in the northwest part of the state, right along the Illinois border. It’s basically a suburb of Chicago, with a 40-minute drive taking you into the Loop. Unfortunately, a prime location isn’t enough to make a town an attractive place to live.

Hammond suffers from high crime, a weak economy, and a bad educational system. The crime rate stands about 66% above the national average. The poverty rate hovers at 21.2%. Meanwhile, the best school in the area only gets a score of 5/10 from Great Schools.

The 77,491 inhabitants of Hammond have some nice things, however. With a northern border along Lake Michigan, the town boasts the Hammond Lakefront Park and Bird Sanctuary.

Linton is located in western Indiana, in a mostly rural region about two hours southwest of Indianpolis. The town suffers from a weak economy and bad school system. These factors make it one of the worst places to live in Indiana.

It’s tough to make ends meet for the town’s 5,155 inhabitants. The median income is a skimpy $38,179, meaning that 15.8% of the residents have to scrape by below the poverty line. Without much of a tax base, the educational system in the area suffers. Linton’s schools top out at 6/10 on Great Schools.

Still, the people of Linton have plenty of ways to find their joy. One attraction: the Greene Sullivan State Forest is just a 10-minute drive outside of town.