Lake and Porter counties experienced an increase in population in 2025, according to U.S. Census data estimates, which county and regional planners said impacts infrastructure planning and potentially state and federal funding.
On Wednesday night, the U.S. Census Bureau released its 2025 estimates of total population and components of change for U.S. counties and metropolitan and micropolitan statistical areas, and total population for Puerto Rico municipios and metropolitan and micropolitan statistical areas. The estimates reflect population changes between April 1, 2020, and July 1, 2025.
Lake County saw an increase from 502,497 residents in 2024 to 504,612 residents in 2025, while Porter County will see an increase in population from 175,420 residents in 2024 to 176,049 residents in 2025, according to census data.
Both counties have seen consistent population growth since 2020, according to the census data.
In Lake County, the population has grown from 498,943 residents in 2020, 499,015 residents in 2021, 499,630 residents in 2022 and 500,134 residents in 2023, according to the census data.
Crown Point Mayor Peter Land said in a statement the city uses census data when making plans for projects 5 to 10 years in the future.
“We always keep our current population at the forefront and address today’s needs first while planning for future growth. Data from the census bureau is a great tool to help us predict population growth, but we also work collaboratively with local partners to forecast the future,” Land said.
Lake County Plan Director Ned Kovachevich said the plan commission reviews census data “from time to time” but the data doesn’t impact the commission’s plans for large tracts of land, mainly farmland in rural unincorporated Lake County.
Lake County’s cities and towns utilize the census data more when considering housing and infrastructure needs, Kovachevich said.
In Porter County, the population has grown from 173,319 residents in 2020, 174,457 residents in 2021, 174,767 residents in 2022 and 174,845 residents in 2023, according to the census data.
Porter County Surveyor Kevin Breitzke said county officials “were expecting” to see a slight increase in population from 2024 to 2025.
“We see a continual inflow of people. The quality in Porter County is pretty good, so a lot of people are attracted to this place,” Breitzke said.
The census data helps county applications for state or federal funding because population growth indicates an area’s expansion and financial needs for more infrastructure, Breitzke said.
Porter County uses the census data to determine if municipalities or conservancy districts require expansion of wastewater treatment plants, Breitzke said.
“We have to be aware of the number of users and where we are at with our waste load allocations and our capacities,” Breitzke said.
But, an increase of 629 residents from 2024 to 2025 won’t impact planning too much, Breitzke said, but will be taken into account when ordinances and comprehensive plans are updated.
In Porter County, 59% of the population lives in cities and towns but the total area of cities and towns is 18% of the total land area of the county, Breitzke said.
“We do have to look for appropriate zoning, the ability to provide utilities to people and have smooth, safe traffic flow,” Breitzke said. “We always have to be planning ahead.”
The Northwestern Indiana Regional Planning Commission uses the census data in a variety of ways, including creating a 20-year long-range plan, which is updated every 4 years, to establish a socioeconomic forecast, said Tom Vander Woude, the commission’s director of transportation.
“We use census data, specifically the location of population, as the foundation for those forecasts. That data, therefore, can affect how we evaluate transportation projects for inclusion in our plan,” Vander Woude said.
Specifically, Vander Woude said the commission looks at census data and locations of jobs in a given area to determine which transportation projects are needed.
NIRPC also uses the census data to formulate regional policy, Vander Woude said. The commission has a land use framework plan that serves as a guide for regional policy to expand land use in the region, he said.
“It’s been our policy at the regional level to promote projects that help revitalize and grow the populations of our urban core cities, which have lost population in the past few decades. Our goal is to help stabilize those communities and see increased population in those areas,” Vander Woude said.
An increase in population in Northwest Indiana could lead to an increase in federal funding for transportation projects because that funding is allocated based on a metropolitan area’s population, Vander Woude said.
While the transportation funding takes into account the decennial census data, growth year over year is a positive sign that if the population continues to grow then transportation funding will increase, Vander Woude said.
The commission’s goal is to see continued growth in communities that have seen a population decline in the last few decades, Vander Woude said. So, any indications of population growth, year over year, indicates the commission’s planning has been working, he said.
“It’s a verification, a validation, that the work we’re doing is seeing some positive results,” Vander Woude said.
