Cost of living in Gary, Indiana
Simple answer
Typical rent is $1,012 a month.
Gary is a city in Indiana. That rent number includes utilities. A typical household earns $38,731 a year.
- People
- 68,113
- Census average, 2020–2024
- Typical rent
- $1,012
- Median gross rent, includes utilities
- Typical pay
- $38,731
- Median household income, yearly
- Typical home
- $94,700
- Median home value
- 2-bedroom fair rent
- $1,429
- Gary, IN HUD Metro FMR Area
Gary, Indiana has about 68,113 people. That count is a 2020–2024 Census average, not a headcount from one day.
A typical home is worth about $94,700.
HUD's fair-market rent for a 2-bedroom in Lake County is $1,429 a month. That is the county number, not an apartment listing in Gary. It runs from October 2026 through September 2027.
In the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN metro area, prices sit at 103.6 when the U.S. average is 100. That is a 2024 BEA index.
Indiana taxes wages. A typical combined sales tax is 7.0% as of January 1, 2026. That mix is statewide, not Gary's exact store tax.
Some places in Indiana add a local wage tax. In 2023 the state average was about 0.35% of income. That is not a Gary bill.
In July 2026, a typical Indiana home paid 16.73¢ per kilowatt-hour. That is a state average from EIA, not Gary's bill.
EIA did not publish a 2025 all-grades gas price for Indiana in the table we use.
Among 320 places we list in Indiana with a rent figure, 103 have higher typical rent than Gary.
Nearby places
- Ross
Typical rent $1,101
Compare with Gary - New Chicago
Typical rent $1,141
Compare with Gary - Lake Station
Typical rent $1,124
Compare with Gary - Griffith
Typical rent $1,235
Compare with Gary - Hobart
Typical rent $1,206
Compare with Gary - Highland
Typical rent $1,230
Compare with Gary - East Chicago
Typical rent $854
Compare with Gary - Hammond
Typical rent $1,134
Compare with Gary
EBT nearby
USDA has a live map of stores that take SNAP. We did not copy that store list here. The downloadable file is a history file for 2005 through 2025, so the live map is the one to use.
Locator page updated 2026-09-11. Last checked 2026-10-16.
Food stamps (SNAP) tools in Indiana
Bigger places in Indiana
Census 2020-2024. HUD rents for October 2026–September 2027. BEA prices for 2024. Taxes as of January 1, 2026. Checked 2026-10-16. 15,000 places are in this guide.