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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.

East Chicago within Lake County

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

Population over time

2 figures

East 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.

YearPeople Change
201029,698
202026,370-3,328 (-11%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

10 surveys from 19 printed sheets

Matched 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.

Fires near this place

4 since 2011

Regional 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/undetermined3
Railroad operations and maintenance1

The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.

DateCause SizeReported by Name on the report
26 April 2019Missing data/not specified/undetermined13 acresIndiana Dunes National LakeshoreNORTH CLARK ROAD
25 April 2019Missing data/not specified/undetermined1.5 acresIndiana Dunes National LakeshoreCHEMCOATERS
8 November 2020Railroad operations and maintenance4.0 acresIndiana Dunes National LakeshoreHOOPS
18 November 2011Missing data/not specified/undetermined160 acresIndiana Dunes National LakeshoreCLINE AVE

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Lake County

Mines and quarries near this place

10 of 13 shown

Regional 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 SiteCommodity StatusRecorded
(Facility) Us Steel Lead Smeltr & RefineryAntimony, LeadPlant
Buffington Cement PlantStoneProducer
City of Calumet - Own CrewsStone, Crushed/BrokenPast Producer
East Chicago Plant-U.S. Gypsum Co.Gypsum-Anhydrite, PerlitePlant
Harbison-Walker/ Hammond, Ind.ChromiumProducer
J & L Steel/ Indiana Harbor WorksIronUnknown
Natl. Briquette Corp. PlantFluorine-FluoriteProducer
Samoki Brothers Sand PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Buffington Lime PlantLimestone, GeneralProducer
Indiana Harbor LimekilnLimestone, GeneralPlant

Every working recorded in Lake County

Storms near this place

12 since 2004

Regional 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.

WhenEvent Place namedHarm What the report says
August 2007Thunderstorm WindEast Chicago$1,000,000Widespread 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 2024Thunderstorm WindEast 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 2024Thunderstorm WindEast Chicago-Numerous trees were uprooted in Washington Park. Other tree limbs were blown down nearby.
September 2023Funnel CloudEast Chicago-A video was shared on social media showing a funnel cloud near East Chicago.
March 2022Thunderstorm WindEast Chicago-A wind gust to 62 mph was measured at the Cline Avenue Bridge.
June 2020Thunderstorm WindEast Chicago-A tree was uprooted in East Chicago.
February 2017Thunderstorm WindEast Chicago-A wind gust to 95 mph was measured two miles west of East Chicago.
July 2007HailEast Chicago-Penny size hail reported at Cline Avenue and Riley Road.
September 2006FloodEast 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 2004Flash FloodEast Chicago-Several inches of water was on Indianapolis Road, north of I-80 in Hammond.
March 2025Thunderstorm WindEast Chicago-no account filed
July 2015HailEast Chicago-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Lake County

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 PlaceDistance Sheets
Indiana Harbor0.5 miles19
Buffington1.5 miles19
Clarke Junction2.1 miles19
Gibson2.4 miles20
Hessville3.0 miles20
Ivanhoe3.3 miles20
Osborn3.3 miles20
Sheffield Estates3.3 miles26

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 ChicagoAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q599694The 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.