East Chicago, Indiana
19 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1900 and the latest in 1998. It stands in North Township. It lies in ZIP code area 46312. The Survey maps it on the Whiting quadrangle. 26,370 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 591 feet above sea level.
On record in East Chicago
Buildings and businesses the archive holds for this place. Each opens its own page, with the source record it came from.
On the National Register 3 records
Indiana Harbor Public Librarylisted 2005
Marktown Historic Districtlisted 1975- St. Mark A.M.E. Zion Churchlisted 2025
Population over time
2 figuresEast Chicago fell from 29,698 to 26,370 between 2010 and 2020. These are the recorded population figures Wikidata holds for this place, reached through the Geographic Names Information System number this page is keyed on rather than by name, so they belong to this place and not to another of the same name. Most are census counts, but not all are: an early figure may be a founding or settlement estimate, and an estimate published within five years of a census is left out. The change column is computed, and is left blank where more than 20 years separate a figure from the one before it, because a gap that long is not a change between two counts.
| Year | People | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 29,698 | |
| 2020 | 26,370 | -3,328 (-11%) |
Topographic sheets covering this place
10 surveys from 19 printed sheetsMatched by testing this settlement's coordinate against the published boundary of every sheet in the United States Geological Survey's historical collection. Each opens the scanned sheet at the Survey.
- 1900 USGS Toleston quadrangle1:62500, 4 printings
- 1900 USGS Tolleston quadrangle1:62500, 2 printings
- 1953 USGS Chicago quadrangle1:250000, 5 printings
- 1953 USGS Whiting quadrangle1:24000
- 1957 USGS Chicago quadrangle1:250000
- 1960 USGS Whiting quadrangle1:24000
- 1968 USGS Whiting quadrangle1:24000, 2 printings
- 1980 USGS Chicago quadrangle1:100000
- 1991 USGS Whiting quadrangle1:24000
- 1998 USGS Whiting quadrangle1:24000
Fires near this place
4 since 2011Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 4 fires within 5 miles of East Chicago between 2011 and 2020, burning about 178 acres in total. None started naturally. None was recorded as arson. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a fire counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.
| Reported cause | Fires |
|---|---|
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 3 |
| Railroad operations and maintenance | 1 |
The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.
| Date | Cause | Size | Reported by | Name on the report |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 26 April 2019 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 13 acres | Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore | NORTH CLARK ROAD |
| 25 April 2019 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1.5 acres | Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore | CHEMCOATERS |
| 8 November 2020 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 4.0 acres | Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore | HOOPS |
| 18 November 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 160 acres | Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore | CLINE AVE |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Mines and quarries near this place
10 of 13 shownRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 13 workings within 5 miles of East Chicago: 5 plants, 4 producers, 2 past producers, 2 unknowns. 9 still produce. What was taken out: Sulfur, Limestone, General, Sand and Gravel, Construction, Chromium. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.
| Where | Site | Commodity | Status | Recorded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| (Facility) Us Steel Lead Smeltr & Refinery | Antimony, Lead | Plant | ||
| Buffington Cement Plant | Stone | Producer | ||
| City of Calumet - Own Crews | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Past Producer | ||
| East Chicago Plant-U.S. Gypsum Co. | Gypsum-Anhydrite, Perlite | Plant | ||
| Harbison-Walker/ Hammond, Ind. | Chromium | Producer | ||
| J & L Steel/ Indiana Harbor Works | Iron | Unknown | ||
| Natl. Briquette Corp. Plant | Fluorine-Fluorite | Producer | ||
| Samoki Brothers Sand Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | ||
| Buffington Lime Plant | Limestone, General | Producer | ||
| Indiana Harbor Limekiln | Limestone, General | Plant |
Storms near this place
12 since 2004Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names East Chicago in 12 storm reports between 2004 and 2025: 7 thunderstorm wind, 2 hail, 1 flash flood, 1 flood. No death or injury is recorded in these reports. Each account below is quoted exactly as the forecast office filed it, from the NOAA Storm Events Database, and each date opens the federal record of that event.
| When | Event | Place named | Harm | What the report says |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| August 2007 | Thunderstorm Wind | East Chicago | $1,000,000 | Widespread wind damage occurred in a three to five mile wide path from East Chicago and Gary in northeast Lake County through much of central Lake County to near Winfield and the Lake Porter County line. Numerous large trees uprooted and blown over, some falling onto buildings and cars, causing damage to roofs, siding and windows. Numerous power lines blown down. Trees were blown down on the Indiana Toll Road near milemarker 5 and on Interstate 94 near Broadway. A semi-trailer was blown over at US 30 and Indiana 51. Another semi-trailer was blown over at US 30 and Interstate 65. A large indoor horse riding arena was completed destroyed, but no horses were injured. A Merrillville police car was heavily damaged by hail. A homeless shelter in Gary suffered significant roof damage. The most intense damage was consistent with winds in excess of 100 mph. |
| July 2024 | Thunderstorm Wind | East Chicago | - | A restaurant sign was blown over. The base was set in 24 to 36 inches of concrete, which lifted and damaged a nearby sidewalk. |
| July 2024 | Thunderstorm Wind | East Chicago | - | Numerous trees were uprooted in Washington Park. Other tree limbs were blown down nearby. |
| September 2023 | Funnel Cloud | East Chicago | - | A video was shared on social media showing a funnel cloud near East Chicago. |
| March 2022 | Thunderstorm Wind | East Chicago | - | A wind gust to 62 mph was measured at the Cline Avenue Bridge. |
| June 2020 | Thunderstorm Wind | East Chicago | - | A tree was uprooted in East Chicago. |
| February 2017 | Thunderstorm Wind | East Chicago | - | A wind gust to 95 mph was measured two miles west of East Chicago. |
| July 2007 | Hail | East Chicago | - | Penny size hail reported at Cline Avenue and Riley Road. |
| September 2006 | Flood | East Chicago | - | After flash flooding across northwest Lake County during the morning and afternoon hours of September 13th, flood waters slowly receded with some areas still flooded two days later on September 15th. |
| May 2004 | Flash Flood | East Chicago | - | Several inches of water was on Indianapolis Road, north of I-80 in Hammond. |
| March 2025 | Thunderstorm Wind | East Chicago | - | no account filed |
| July 2015 | Hail | East Chicago | - | no account filed |
Nearest settlements
The eight closest, with where each one stands in the county. Distances are straight-line, computed from the Geographic Names Information System coordinates.
| Map | Place | Distance | Sheets |
|---|---|---|---|
| Indiana Harbor | 0.5 miles | 19 | |
| Buffington | 1.5 miles | 19 | |
| Clarke Junction | 2.1 miles | 19 | |
| Gibson | 2.4 miles | 20 | |
| Hessville | 3.0 miles | 20 | |
| Ivanhoe | 3.3 miles | 20 | |
| Osborn | 3.3 miles | 20 | |
| Sheffield Estates | 3.3 miles | 26 |
Elsewhere
Matched on this settlement's Geographic Names Information System number rather than its name, so it cannot be a different place of the same name in another state.
| Wikipedia article on East Chicago | An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied. |
| Wikidata item Q599694 | The structured record the population and elevation above come from. Public domain (CC0). |
Provenance
This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 433875. The sheet list is computed by point-in-boundary test against the United States Geological Survey's historical topographic inventory. Both are works of the United States government and carry no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.
Wildfire. Short, Karen C. 2022. Spatial wildfire occurrence data for the United States, 1992-2020 [FPA_FOD_20221014]. 6th Edition. Fort Collins, CO: Forest Service Research Data Archive. https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2013-0009.6 Collected with United States Government funding and usable without additional permissions or fees.
Mines and quarries. USGS Mineral Resources Data System (MRDS) https://mrdata.usgs.gov/mrds/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.
Storms. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/stormevents/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105. Narratives are quoted verbatim from the National Weather Service report and are not edited or summarised.









