Living in Portage, IN
Small city in Indiana
Portage is a small city in Indiana, home to about 38,000 people, with 1.2 million living within 31 mi. Day to day, a car is essential. Life moves at a relaxed pace, and homes are mostly houses.
Is Portage a good place to live? Pros and cons
👍 Pros
- Affordable housing: a typical 3-bedroom home is about $260k and rents for $1,610 a month
- Mild summers: highs around 80°F
- Easy flying: MDW is 32 mi away
- Safe: violent crime is 0.5× the US rate (FBI 2019)
👎 Cons
- Cloudier than most places
- Fewer graduates: 16% of adults have a bachelor's degree or higher
- Few dog parks: 1 within 9 mi
- Quieter on culture: few museums and attractions nearby
Whether it's a good place for you depends on what you value. Take the quiz to see how Portage ranks against your own priorities.
Key facts
Living in Portage: common questions
What is the cost of living in Portage?
A typical 3-bedroom home is worth about $260k, and a 3-bedroom rents for about $1,610 a month including utilities. Overall living costs are above the US average (index 104, where the US is 100).
What are taxes like in Portage?
Indiana collects about $1,275 in state income tax per resident, and homeowners here pay about 0.82% of their home's value in property tax each year.
Is Portage safe?
Violent crime is well below the national rate (0.5× in FBI 2019 data).
How are the schools in Portage?
Public schools in Portage test close to the US average in math and reading (2018–19 state tests, put on one national scale with NAEP), with about 18 students per teacher.
What is the weather like in Portage?
Portage has cold winters: winter days average around 35°F and summer days around 80°F, with roughly 40″ of snow a year.
Does Portage get natural disasters?
Natural disaster risk is low, mainly from flooding, tornadoes and cold waves: 5 federally declared disasters have hit the county since 2000, and FEMA expects about 1.11 deaths or injuries per 100,000 residents a year.
What is the nearest major airport to Portage?
The nearest major airport is MDW, about 32 mi away.
How Portage scores
Each bar compares Portage with the other 1,990 places in Best Life Fit Me. A dot shows where it sits between two ends, such as major metro and small town; neither end is better. Coloured bars run from poor (red) to excellent (green).
Places like Portage
These places have the most similar overall profile across all 24 aspects.
The circle is each place's all-round score out of 100: the average of its 15 quality scores, from red (poor) to green (excellent).
Nearby
See all the best places to live in Indiana.
Is Portage right for you?
Answer 27 quick questions and see how it ranks against your priorities.