Portage, Indiana

Population

Growing. Up 1.8% since 2020.

38,634

people, the 24th-largest of Indiana's cities and towns.

Census Population Estimates, 2025. Rank among Indiana's cities and towns computed by the Almanac. Sources: Census Population Estimates

The workday

8 in 10 jobs here go to people who live somewhere else.

83.2%

of 16,303 jobs located in Portage are filled by in-commuters.

Census LEHD LODES, 2023. Sources: Census LEHD LODES

Unemployment, 2026

The low came in April: 3.7%.

4.2%

in August 2026, the latest month released. A year earlier it was 4.3%.

BLS Local Area Unemployment Statistics, monthly, through August 2026. Not seasonally adjusted, so compare with the same month a year earlier. Sources: BLS Local Area Unemployment Statistics

Rent

Median rent is up 59% since the 2005–2009 survey, before inflation.

$1,231

a month. Indiana's median is $1,062.

Census ACS 5-year, 2020-2024 (latest), with earlier 5-year windows. Sources: Census ACS 5-year

The seam

Cross one tract line and median rent doubles.

A $960 gap between neighbors, the sharpest rent edge between adjacent tracts in Porter County.

• $896 Tract 506.03
• $1,856 Tract 506.06

Census ACS 5-year, 2020-2024, adjacent tracts compared by the Almanac. Tract estimates carry wide margins of error. Sources: Census ACS 5-year

Room to build

The median rent sits inside what local wages can carry.

$981–$1,472

is the monthly rent range local workforce wages support.

• $1,231 median

Supportable rent computed by the Almanac from 2023 source wage data. Median rent: Census ACS 5-year, 2020-2024. Sources: Computed by the Almanac, Census ACS 5-year

Building

Most of the housing here is older than 2000.

• 1,151 homes permitted in ten years, 2016–2025
• 0% of those were in multifamily buildings
• 77% of all homes were built before 2000

Census Building Permits Survey, 2016–2025; Census ACS 5-year, 2020-2024. Sources: Census Building Permits Survey, Census ACS 5-year

Units needed

Closing the gap would add 0.3–1.0% to the 15,790 homes here.

43–163

is the estimated number of missing housing units, from the lowest to the highest of three estimates.

Range computed by the Almanac from 2023 jobs and household data, using three demand models: 1% of jobs located here, 1% of renter households, and a rate by town size applied to renters. The low end is the lowest of the three and the high end the highest. It is an estimate, not a count. Sources: Computed by the Almanac

Home value

A median home costs 3% more than Indiana's.

$224,200

median home value in Portage.

• $224,200 Portage
• $218,200 Indiana
• $332,700 U.S.

Census ACS 5-year, 2020-2024. Sources: Census ACS 5-year