Lake County, Indiana

• Income gap: Households earn meaningfully less than the national median, which directly affects retail demand, housing absorption, and tax base.
• Elevated poverty: At 14.3%, the rate is in distressed-county territory and supports federal funding narratives (CDFI, NMTC, EDA).
• Talent gap: Bachelor's-or-higher attainment trails the national average by 9.9 pts, relevant for advanced-services attraction strategy.

• Largest sector: Health Care and Social Assistance employs 33,182 workers (22.2% of the top displayed sectors), at an average wage of $62,062.
• Wage stratification: Manufacturing averages $107,985 while Accommodation and Food Services averages $24,050, a 4.5x spread in the same local economy, with implications for workforce development and talent strategy.

• Top specialization: Primary Metal Manufacturing concentrates at 21.20x the national norm, top-decile concentration, the kind of signature sector that defines a region's economic identity to site selectors.
• Cluster depth: 7 sub-sectors register LQ ≥ 1.5, suggesting an interconnected industrial base rather than reliance on a single employer or sector.
• Attraction whitespace: 8 sub-sectors register LQ < 0.5, candidates for diversification or recruitment depending on labor-market fit.

• In line with national: Home value to income ratio of 3.2x sits near the ~4.1x national average; affordability is neither a clear advantage nor a recruitment friction.
• High home ownership: 71.7% owner-occupied; rental supply may be tight for incoming workers.
• Elevated vacancy: 10.3% vacancy rate; potential opportunity for redevelopment or repositioning.

• Succession risk is real: 22.2% of working-age residents are 55-64. Plan for retirements over the next decade and pair attraction strategy with talent retention.
• Strong participation: 82.5% labor force participation among working-age residents indicates an engaged, available workforce.
• Talent pipeline: 6 local institutions feed the workforce; the top three combined produce 59,581 annual credentials.

Lake County shows strong potential for primary metal manufacturing attraction, with a 21.20x concentration and 9,664 jobs in this sub-sector, it ranks in the top decile nationally. Near-term succession risk is elevated, with 22.2% of the working-age population within 10 years of retirement age.

The interconnected base across primary metal manufacturing, pipeline transportation, and nonmetallic mineral product manufacturing creates supply-chain attraction leverage rather than single-employer risk, a structural advantage for industrial recruitment.

Community Data Widgets
That Actually Impress

Embed premium dashboards that make site selectors stop scrolling. 20+ federal sources. Dark, light, and brand themes. One script tag. Included with CRM or standalone.