Highland, Indiana
20 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 46322. The Survey maps it on the Highland quadrangle. 23,984 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 623 feet above sea level.
Population over time
2 figuresHighland grew from 23,727 to 23,984 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 | 23,727 | |
| 2020 | 23,984 | +257 (+1%) |
Topographic sheets covering this place
10 surveys from 20 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 Highland quadrangle1:24000
- 1957 USGS Chicago quadrangle1:250000
- 1959 USGS Highland quadrangle1:24000
- 1968 USGS Highland quadrangle1:24000, 3 printings
- 1980 USGS Chicago quadrangle1:100000
- 1991 USGS Highland quadrangle1:24000
- 1998 USGS Highland quadrangle1:24000
Fires near this place
6 since 1995Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 6 fires within 5 miles of Highland between 1995 and 2020, burning about 184 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 | 4 |
| Railroad operations and maintenance | 2 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 25 April 2019 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1.5 acres | Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore | CHEMCOATERS |
| 22 April 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore | HOOSIER |
| 8 November 2020 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 4.0 acres | Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore | HOOPS |
| 7 November 2020 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 3.0 acres | Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore | RIDGE FIRE |
| 18 November 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 160 acres | Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore | CLINE AVE |
| 12 October 1995 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 14 acres | Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore | CLARK |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Mines and quarries near this place
5 within 5 milesRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 5 workings within 5 miles of Highland: 2 producers, 2 plants, 1 past producer. 4 still produce. What was taken out: Clay, Sand and Gravel, Construction, Limestone, General. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Buffington Lime Plant | Limestone, General | Producer | ||
| Samoki Brothers Sand Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | ||
| Gary #1 Plant | Clay | Plant | ||
| Gary #8 Plant | Clay | Plant | ||
| Yard M Clay Pit | Clay | Producer |
Storms near this place
23 since 1996Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Highland in 23 storm reports between 1996 and 2026: 11 hail, 9 thunderstorm wind, 1 flash flood, 1 lightning. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| June 2016 | Lightning | Highland | $10,000 | Lightning struck a store and started a fire. |
| June 2013 | Thunderstorm Wind | Highland | $5,000 | A 16 inch diameter tree fell onto a house. Many branches were blown down in the area. |
| March 2025 | Tornado (EF0) | Highland | - | A tornado touched down just northwest of the intersection of US-41 and 45th Street in Highland. This tornado first caused damage to the roof of a commercial building on US-41, then continued east northeast into a residential area near Merkley Elementary School where damage was mostly small branches broken and a few instances of shingle damage. The tornado briefly intensified as it neared Forrest Drive and Sac Drive, with a few trees uprooted and multiple large branches broken. One large tree was uprooted onto a house, causing roof damage. Winds were estimated at 85 mph in this neighborhood. Fences were also damaged in the vicinity. The tornado continued northeast toward the residential area near Southridge Elementary School, where damage was mostly confined to small branches. The tornado dissipated near Wirth Road just west of Kleinman Road. |
| March 2025 | Thunderstorm Wind | Highland | - | Lake County EMA reported a large tree branch down on a house in Highland. |
| March 2025 | Thunderstorm Wind | Highland | - | After an EF-0 tornado lifted near Wirth Rd and Orchard Dr, sporadic tree damage continued east for a few blocks down to Cline Ave. |
| March 2025 | Thunderstorm Wind | Highland | - | A large tree branch snapped near Hart Rd and Spring St. |
| July 2023 | Thunderstorm Wind | Highland | - | A photo shared by a trained spotter showed a large tree limb which had been downed in Highland. |
| August 2022 | Thunderstorm Wind | Highland | - | A photo shared on social media showed a 6 inch diameter tree limb that was snapped. |
| July 2021 | Thunderstorm Wind | Highland | - | A photo was shared on social media of a large tree blown down. |
| June 2020 | Thunderstorm Wind | Highland | - | A large tree was uprooted near White Oak Avenue and Fisher Street. |
| May 2013 | Hail | Highland | - | Penny to nickel size hail was reported near Ridge Road and Indianapolis Boulevard. |
| May 2013 | Hail | Highland | - | Quarter size hail was reported near Interstate 80/94 and Cline Avenue. |
| July 2012 | Thunderstorm Wind | Highland | - | Wind gusts were measured to 80 mph near Cline Avenue and US 6 where tree limbs were blown down. |
| July 2004 | Flash Flood | Highland | - | Street flooding up to the curbs with portions of 45th St. impassible. |
| March 2026 | Hail | Highland | - | no account filed |
| April 2020 | Hail | Highland | - | no account filed |
| January 2013 | Hail | Highland | - | no account filed |
| June 2012 | Hail | Highland | - | no account filed |
| April 2010 | Hail | Highland | - | no account filed |
| June 2010 | Hail | Highland | - | no account filed |
| August 2007 | Hail | Highland | - | no account filed |
| May 2004 | Hail | Highland | - | no account filed |
| April 1996 | Hail | Highland | - | 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.
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 Highland | An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied. |
| Wikidata item Q932018 | 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 436149. 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.









