Housing & affordability
18% of the score · 40/100
D−
Median home value$267,300
Chicago $323,000
Median rent$1,224/mo
Chicago $1,430/mo
Cost-burdened households32%
Chicago 33%
Valparaiso
Porter County34,733 residents2 school districts
66
C+
Suburbgrade score
15th of 60 Chicago suburbs. Strong on cost of living and schools, held back by housing & affordability.
66
Chicago median 60
0 · F
A+ · 100
Launch-day rule. Residents is not counted for Valparaiso yet: no poll responses so far. The overall score of 66 is computed on the other six categories, re-normalised to 100%. Answer the poll →
What living here is actually like
Written summary in preparation This page is waiting for its written summary, and for a person to check it. Until then it is excluded from search engines.
What Valparaiso is like to live in, by category
Bars show Valparaiso against Chicago. Weights are published in full.Schools
18% of the score · 82/100
B+
Within-state proficiency94th pct
Chicago median 63rd pct
Student–teacher ratio16.0
Chicago median 13.7
Graduation rate94%
Chicago median 91%
Cost of living
14% of the score · 83/100
A−
Housing cost index77
Chicago 100
Eff. tax rate1.06%
Chicago 1.83%
Local sales tax7.00%
Chicago median 8.96%
Commute & transport
14% of the score · 61/100
C
Mean commute24.8 min
Chicago 30.3 min
Under 30 minutes64%
Chicago 51%
Transit stops / sq mi8.9
Chicago median 3.8 · within 2 miles
Amenities
12% of the score · 79/100
B+
Restaurants & cafés101
Chicago median 50 · within 2 miles
Groceries6
Chicago median 6 · within 2 miles
Parks51
Chicago median 65 · within 2 miles
Employment & income
12% of the score · 51/100
D+
Median household income$69,872
Chicago $90,887
Unemployment3.6%
Chicago 6.1%
Professional occupations43%
Chicago 45%
Residents
12% of the score · inactive
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No responses yet. Residents is excluded from the score until eight people answer.
Ask the people who live here
Twelve yes/no questions, one tap each. No dataset knows whether the yards are kept or whether anyone talks to their neighbours. Answers feed the Residents grade, which needs eight responses before it counts.
Nobody has answered for Valparaiso yet. If you live here, you can be the first.
Is it quiet at night?
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Do you feel safe walking after dark?
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Can you walk to a grocery store?
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Is it good for young children?
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Are yards and streets well kept?
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Tap either button to answer — no account neededAll twelve questions →
Better than Valparaiso on housing & affordability
Valparaiso's weakest grade is D−. Three suburbs are within 25 miles and score higher on the same four inputs.
SuburbHousingOverall
Crown Point16 mi from ValparaisoC 61 C Schererville20 mi from ValparaisoC− 59 C Portage10 mi from ValparaisoD− 47 D Median home value: ACS 2020–24 · Ownership rate: ACS 2020–24
Common questions about living in Valparaiso
Is Valparaiso, IN a good place to live?
Valparaiso scores 66 out of 100, 15th of 60 Chicago suburbs. It is strongest on cost of living and weakest on housing & affordability. Every weight behind that score is published on the methodology page.
Is Valparaiso expensive to live in?
Cost of living grades A−. The median home is $267,300, 17% below the Chicago median, and the effective property tax rate is 1.06%. $1,224/mo is the median gross rent.
How good are the schools in Valparaiso?
Schools grade B+. The districts serving Valparaiso sit at the 94th pct within-state proficiency percentile, with a 94% graduation rate and a 16.0 student–teacher ratio. Valparaiso is served by Valparaiso Community Schools and East Porter County School Corporation. Proficiency is only ever compared inside the same state.
How long is the commute from Valparaiso?
The mean commute is 24.8 min, with 64% of workers travelling under 30 minutes and 10% working from home. Transit density is 8.9 stops per square mile.
Can you walk anywhere in Valparaiso?
Within two miles there are 6 groceries, 101 restaurants and cafés and 51 parks, which grades B+ on amenities.
Are the homes in Valparaiso old or new?
The median home in Valparaiso was built in 1980 — newer than the Chicago median of 1971. That is a median, so a town can be half post-war and half new-build and still land there. 63% of homes are houses rather than flats.
Every answer is built from the figures on this page, with their sources and as-of dates on the methodology page.