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Towns / Indiana

Long Beach, Indiana

Long Beach is a suburb of about 1,200 people in LaPorte County, Indiana, in the Michigan City area. It has lost about 2% of its people since 2020. A typical home costs about 5.5 years of the typical household's income, compared with 4.1 across the U.S. The nearest metro area of about a million people or more, Chicago, is about 44 miles away as the crow flies.

Tourist townSuburb of Michigan City

Population
1,158
down 2.4% since 2020
Typical home, 2020-24
$672,300
LaPorte County prices up 24% since 2022
Household income
$121,827
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, Michigan City area
91.7
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
3 miles
Michigan City, IN
To Chicago
44 mi
straight line

The book's checklist

  • Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 8.3% below the U.S. average in the Michigan City-La Porte metro area.
  • More house for the moneyA typical home costs 5.5 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
  • A safer neighborhood1 violent crime was reported in 2025, about 0.9 per 1,000 people (U.S.: 3.3). Property crime: 8.6 per 1,000 (U.S.: 15.3).
  • Schools in townNo public schools inside the town. The nearest high school is Michigan City High School, about 5 miles away.
  • A hospital close byFranciscan Health Michigan City in Michigan City, about 3 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big cityChicago is about 44 miles away as the crow flies. The book suggests staying within about 60 miles if you'll miss big-city sports, concerts and theater.

A check means Long Beach meets the rule of thumb from Frank and Dave's book. An empty box isn't a deal breaker: it's something to weigh for your family. A question mark means there isn't enough data.

What kind of town

A suburb, not a stand-alone small town

Long Beach runs into the built-up area around Michigan City (Census Bureau, 2020 urban areas). We include suburbs under 20,000 people because some still feel like small towns, but daily life here is closer to the suburbs than to the towns Frank and Dave's book describes. Weigh it against towns farther out.

Tourist town. About 45% of homes are vacation or seasonal homes, a sign of a visitor economy. More restaurants, shops and weekend events than locals alone could support, with the small-town basics intact.

The book sorts small towns into six types. These labels come only from the numbers; take the quiz to see which type fits your family.

For a lifetime

Homes and money

Typical home value, as owners valued them in 2020-2024
$672,300U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Up 24%LaPorte County, 2022 to 2025
Typical household income
$121,827U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them
97%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill
$5,610 a yearIndiana: $1,614
Homes built before 1940
34%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010
6%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes
45%U.S.: 3%
Everyday prices
91.7U.S. average = 100 (the Michigan City-La Porte metro area)

Home values and rents are what households told the Census Bureau across 2020 to 2024, so they trail today's market: county prices have moved up 24% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the Michigan City-La Porte metro area, not Long Beach alone. Check current listings before you budget.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates; Federal Housing Finance Agency, House Price Index for counties (all transactions); U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024.

The people

Population, 2025 estimate
1,1582020: 1,186
Median age
64.9 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
50%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
6%U.S.: 22%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year
7%U.S.: 6%

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates (Vintage 2025); U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Work

Biggest lines of work
Schools, health care and social services (22%); professional and business services (17%); retail (12%)
Unemployment rate
3%U.S.: 5%
Average commute
28 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home
33%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line
4%U.S.: 12%

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Franciscan Health Michigan City, Michigan City, IN, about 3 miles away. It's a general hospital. Medicare gives it 3 of 5 stars.

Look up doctors, clinics and the hospitals themselves on Medicare's Care Compare. Ask where the most serious cases are sent.

Sources: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospital General Information.

Schools

There are no public schools inside Long Beach itself. The nearest public high school is Michigan City High School, about 5 miles away.

See each school on the federal school search, then check test scores and graduation rates on Indiana's school report card.

Sources: National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data, 2023-24 (via the Urban Institute Education Data Portal); National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS institution directory, 2024.

Weather

January average low
17°F
July average high
82°F
Days 90°F or hotter
10 a year
Nights at or below freezing
119 a year
Rain and melted snow
42.5 inches a year
Snow
65 inches a year
Elevation
639 feet

Weather station: Laporte (11 miles away). Averages for 1991 to 2020.

Sources: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020; U.S. Geological Survey, 3D Elevation Program.

Getting around

Straight-line miles. The road is always longer, and as the book says, an interstate at 70 is a different trip from a farm road at 45. Check the real drive: Franciscan Health Michigan City, Gary, Chicago.

LaPorte County is in a metro area of fewer than 250,000 people (USDA rural-urban code 3, on a scale where 1 is the biggest metro areas and 9 the most rural counties).

For a day

4 places on the National Register of Historic Places.

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

  • Indiana Dunes National Park4 miles
  • Pullman National Historical Park39 miles
  • Emmett Till and Mamie Till-Mobley National Monument40 miles

Read about Long Beach's history on Wikipedia.

Know Long Beach?

Tell us what a visitor shouldn't miss, and what living there is really like. Write to Main Street at mainstreet@smalltownguide.com. The best notes from people who know the town will be added here.

Nearby

Straight-line miles.

Small towns

Smaller places

  • Duneland Beach, IN (unincorporated)139 people, 1 mile
  • Pottawattamie Park, IN234 people, 2 miles
  • Michiana Shores, IN303 people, 2 miles
  • Michiana, MI211 people, 2 miles
  • Grand Beach, MI294 people, 4 miles
  • Town of Pines, IN590 people, 7 miles
  • Beverly Shores, IN601 people, 8 miles
  • Rolling Prairie, IN (unincorporated)238 people, 13 miles

Sources

  1. U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates (Vintage 2025)
  2. U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates
  3. Federal Housing Finance Agency, House Price Index for counties (all transactions)
  4. U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024
  5. FBI, Crime in the United States, Table 8 (offenses known to law enforcement by city)
  6. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospital General Information
  7. National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data, 2023-24 (via the Urban Institute Education Data Portal)
  8. National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS institution directory, 2024
  9. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020
  10. U.S. Geological Survey, 3D Elevation Program
  11. National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places listings
  12. National Park Service, park unit boundaries
  13. USDA Economic Research Service, Rural-Urban Continuum Codes, 2023
  14. U.S. Census Bureau, 2025 Gazetteer files and 2020 urban areas

Census survey figures are estimates with a margin of error; we leave out any figure whose margin is too wide to be useful. Data last gathered October 5, 2026. See something wrong? Write to mainstreet@smalltownguide.com.