BlockBefore

Munster, Indiana

27 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1892 and the latest in 1998. It stands in North Township. It lies in ZIP code area 46321. The Survey maps it on the Calumet City quadrangle. 23,894 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 610 feet above sea level.

Munster within Lake County

On record in Munster

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 2 records

Population over time

2 figures

Munster grew from 23,603 to 23,894 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
201023,603
202023,894+291 (+1%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

13 surveys from 27 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

3 since 2009

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 3 fires within 5 miles of Munster between 2009 and 2020, burning about 165 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/undetermined2
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
22 April 2009Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreIndiana Dunes National LakeshoreHOOSIER
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

7 within 5 miles

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 7 workings within 5 miles of Munster: 3 producers, 2 plants, 2 past producers. 5 still produce. What was taken out: Clay, Sand and Gravel, Construction, Chromium, Stone, Crushed/Broken. 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
City of Calumet - Own CrewsStone, Crushed/BrokenPast Producer
Harbison-Walker/ Hammond, Ind.ChromiumProducer
Al Sand PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer
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

32 since 1995

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Munster in 32 storm reports between 1995 and 2025: 20 thunderstorm wind, 4 hail, 4 flash flood, 3 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
September 2008FloodMunster$15,000,000Record flooding occurred along the Little Calumet River and its tributaries in northwest Indiana. A record crest of 17.32 feet was set at Munster on the 14th. Record flooding also occurred along Hart Ditch. Nearly 190 patients were evacuated from the Munster Med-Inn. Major flooding was reported in Munster with over a thousand homes evacuated as a levee along the Little Calumet River failed. Interstate 80/94 was closed in northwest Indiana when levees were topped by flood waters.
September 2008Flash FloodMunster$500,000Basement flooding was reported in Highland. Street flooding with 2 to 8 inches of water was reported on Glenwood, Laporte, Grand and Duluth Roads.
June 1995Thunderstorm WindMunster$20,000Winds damaged several buildings in Munster. Car windows were also damaged.
August 2008Thunderstorm WindMunster$10,000Several trees were blown down near Van Buren Avenue and 30th Street. One tree fell onto a car.
May 2006Thunderstorm WindMunster$8,000Large tree limbs and power lines were blown down. One tree limb landed on two cars. A roof was damaged.
March 2025Thunderstorm WindMunster-A few large trees were snapped near the base in Twin Creek Park in Munster.
March 2025Thunderstorm WindMunster-Tree damage was reported in and west of Centennial Park in Munster, including multiple evergreen trees uprooted inside the park.
July 2024Thunderstorm WindMunster-Widespread tree damage was reported in Munster including uprooted trees.
July 2023Thunderstorm WindMunster-A photo shared via social media showed a large tree uprooted in Munster.
July 2023Thunderstorm WindMunster-Sections of a roof were blown off of a home on Timrick Drive in Munster.
May 2022Thunderstorm WindMunster-Tree limbs were blown down.
May 2020Thunderstorm WindMunster-A gas station canopy was blown over.
May 2020Flash FloodMunster-A car was submerged in flood waters near Broadmoor and Manor Avenues where a water rescue was performed.
June 2020FloodMunster-Flooding was reported across some lanes of Interstate 80/94 in Hammond. Multiple additional reports of flooding were received in the vicinity.
August 2020Thunderstorm WindMunster-A private weather station measured a wind gust to 61 mph.
July 2019Thunderstorm WindMunster-A wind gust to 59 mph was measured. Several large tree limbs were blown down including 3 limbs blocking roadways.
July 2018Flash FloodMunster-Numerous roadways and intersections were closed and impassible due to standing flood waters in Munster including Fran-Lin Parkway, Broadmoor Avenue, Harrison Avenue and Garfield Avenue. The intersection of 87th Avenue and Sheffield Avenue near St. John was also impassible. Storm total rainfall amounts included 2.57 inches near St. John; 1.64 inches one mile west northwest of Dyer and 1.36 inches one and one half miles north northwest of Munster.
May 2017Thunderstorm WindMunster-Multiple trees were blown down near Columbia Avenue and Ridge Road. One tree was snapped about 5 feet from the base.
June 2014Thunderstorm WindMunster-A light pole was blown down across Ridge Road near Columbia Avenue. Trees to eight inches in diameter were blown down near Calumet Avenue and Ridge Road. A 24-inch diameter tree was split in half.
June 2014Thunderstorm WindMunster-Numerous large trees were blown down.
June 2012HailMunster-Multiple reports of hail up to golf ball size were received from Munster.
June 2010Flash FloodMunster-Several roads were flooded in the Munster area and some roads were closed including Fran Lin Parkway and Azalea Drive.
June 2010Thunderstorm WindMunster-Large tree limbs were blown down with estimated wind gusts to 65 mph.
August 2007Thunderstorm WindMunster-Tree limbs blown down.
April 2007FloodMunster-Many low lying streets closed with up to 18 inches of standing water.
May 2006LightningMunster-A large tree was struck by lightning, which caused the tree to fall, but caused no damage.
March 2025Thunderstorm WindMunster-no account filed
August 2003HailMunster-no account filed
July 2003Thunderstorm WindMunster-no account filed
July 2003Thunderstorm WindMunster-no account filed
July 2003HailMunster-no account filed
April 1999HailMunster-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
Hammond1.5 miles27
Maynard1.6 miles27
Woodmar1.8 miles20
Osborn3.0 miles20
Highland3.3 miles20
Hessville3.4 miles20
Gibson3.9 miles20
Hartsdale4.5 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 MunsterAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q973519The 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 439885. 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.