Gary

Population & Demographics

Gary, IN

Gary is home to 68,113 people. Explore its demographics, housing, and economy — plus how its 23,956 resident workers commute each day.

IndianaCensus ACS 5-Year · LODES 2023
68,113
people
Population

68,113 residents

Median age 36.5 · U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year (2024).

Gary population & demographics

Who lives in Gary — population, age, housing, and income, from the U.S. Census Bureau.

Population
68,113
Median age
36.5yrs
Median household income
$38,731
Median home value
$94,700
Median gross rent
$1,012/mo
Bachelor’s degree or higher
14.8%
Poverty rate
33.1%

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey (ACS) 2024 5-Year Estimates. Values shown as “—” are suppressed or unavailable for this place.

Race & ethnicity in Gary

How Gary breaks down by race and ethnicity — each bar is that group’s share of the population, from the U.S. Census Bureau ACS 5-Year (2024).

Black75.7%
Hispanic or Latino10.4%
White9.4%
Two or more races3.3%
Some other race0.7%
Asian0.4%
American Indian / Alaska Native0.1%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander0.0%

Race across Gary

Each dot is a group of people, placed in their 2020 Census block and colored by race or ethnicity — the pattern shows where groups live across Gary.

Gary at a glance
Employed Residents
23,956
Fewer than the city’s total population
Median home–work distance
8.6mi
Straight-line, not road distance
Work Locally
17.2%
Share working within the area
Work from home
6.6%
Residents who work from home (ACS)
Top destination outside city
Merrillville
Excludes local — most work in-city

These figures are for Gary proper — the Census place within its city limits — not the surrounding metro area. Metro-wide totals you’ll see elsewhere are larger because they bundle in neighboring cities and suburbs.

How Gary commutes

Every dot is a worker moving between home and job. Trace where the area pulls people in from — and where its residents head each day.

55
Commute Score

55 / 100

How short the typical commute is here, on an absolute 0–100 scale (higher is shorter). How it’s calculated.

Gary

23,956 commutes, one dot at a time

Gary

Where 23,956 workers commute

Each dot ≈ 75 workers

Where residents work

Top destinations for people who live in Gary, by worker count.

1Gary0.0 mi4,130
2Merrillville6.9 mi1,904
3Chicago25.4 mi1,739
4Hammond7.8 mi1,711
5Hobart5.7 mi1,089
6Indianapolis city (balance)139.1 mi960
7East Chicago7.0 mi937
8Portage8.6 mi918

Who commutes in

Top origin places for workers who travel into Gary.

1Gary0.0 mi4,130
2Merrillville6.9 mi1,304
3Portage8.6 mi1,302
4Hammond7.8 mi1,254
5Hobart5.7 mi935
6Crown Point11.6 mi758
7Chicago25.4 mi674
8Valparaiso16.8 mi507

Top industries

The sectors that employ Gary’s workforce. Each bar is scaled to that sector’s share of all local jobs — the top sectors shown don’t add up to 100%.

Bar length = each sector’s share of all local jobs (0–100%)
MFManufacturing21.2%
TRTransportation and Warehousing12.7%
HCHealth Care and Social Assistance11.3%
COConstruction9.1%
EDEducational Services9.1%
AFAccommodation and Food Services8.7%
RTRetail Trade5.8%
WSWholesale Trade5.8%
PAPublic Administration3.5%
Connectivity

Internet options for Gary

The biggest home-internet providers in the area — tap any to compare local plans.

4 providers · 2 with fiber
Speed availabilityshare of homes a plan reaches
1 Gbps~all homes
2 Gbps71%
5 Gbps31%
8 Gbps
See all internet providers in Gary

FindBetterInternet is a CensusFlow partner site — we link out so you can compare local plans, and CensusFlow’s Census data stays independent. Provider data is from the FCC National Broadband Map (satellite + fixed wireless excluded).