BlockBefore

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.

Highland within Lake County

Population over time

2 figures

Highland 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.

YearPeople Change
201023,727
202023,984+257 (+1%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

10 surveys from 20 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

6 since 1995

Regional 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/undetermined4
Railroad operations and maintenance2

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
25 April 2019Missing data/not specified/undetermined1.5 acresIndiana Dunes National LakeshoreCHEMCOATERS
22 April 2009Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreIndiana Dunes National LakeshoreHOOSIER
8 November 2020Railroad operations and maintenance4.0 acresIndiana Dunes National LakeshoreHOOPS
7 November 2020Railroad operations and maintenance3.0 acresIndiana Dunes National LakeshoreRIDGE FIRE
18 November 2011Missing data/not specified/undetermined160 acresIndiana Dunes National LakeshoreCLINE AVE
12 October 1995Missing data/not specified/undetermined14 acresIndiana Dunes National LakeshoreCLARK

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Lake County

Mines and quarries near this place

5 within 5 miles

Regional 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 SiteCommodity StatusRecorded
Buffington Lime PlantLimestone, GeneralProducer
Samoki Brothers Sand PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Gary #1 PlantClayPlant
Gary #8 PlantClayPlant
Yard M Clay PitClayProducer

Every working recorded in Lake County

Storms near this place

23 since 1996

Regional 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.

WhenEvent Place namedHarm What the report says
June 2016LightningHighland$10,000Lightning struck a store and started a fire.
June 2013Thunderstorm WindHighland$5,000A 16 inch diameter tree fell onto a house. Many branches were blown down in the area.
March 2025Tornado (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 2025Thunderstorm WindHighland-Lake County EMA reported a large tree branch down on a house in Highland.
March 2025Thunderstorm WindHighland-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 2025Thunderstorm WindHighland-A large tree branch snapped near Hart Rd and Spring St.
July 2023Thunderstorm WindHighland-A photo shared by a trained spotter showed a large tree limb which had been downed in Highland.
August 2022Thunderstorm WindHighland-A photo shared on social media showed a 6 inch diameter tree limb that was snapped.
July 2021Thunderstorm WindHighland-A photo was shared on social media of a large tree blown down.
June 2020Thunderstorm WindHighland-A large tree was uprooted near White Oak Avenue and Fisher Street.
May 2013HailHighland-Penny to nickel size hail was reported near Ridge Road and Indianapolis Boulevard.
May 2013HailHighland-Quarter size hail was reported near Interstate 80/94 and Cline Avenue.
July 2012Thunderstorm WindHighland-Wind gusts were measured to 80 mph near Cline Avenue and US 6 where tree limbs were blown down.
July 2004Flash FloodHighland-Street flooding up to the curbs with portions of 45th St. impassible.
March 2026HailHighland-no account filed
April 2020HailHighland-no account filed
January 2013HailHighland-no account filed
June 2012HailHighland-no account filed
April 2010HailHighland-no account filed
June 2010HailHighland-no account filed
August 2007HailHighland-no account filed
May 2004HailHighland-no account filed
April 1996HailHighland-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
Van Loon1.8 miles20
Griffith2.3 miles20
Gerry Park2.6 miles20
Osborn2.8 miles20
Hessville2.9 miles20
Woodmar3.0 miles20
Maynard3.1 miles27
Black Oak3.2 miles20

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 HighlandAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q932018The 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.