East Chicago, Indiana

East Chicago is a city in Lake County, Indiana. The population was 29,698 at the 2010 census.

Geography
East Chicago is located at 41.63889°N, -87.46222°W (41.638885, -87.462140).

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 15.6 square miles (40.5 km²), of which, 12.0 square miles (31.0 km²) of it is land and 3.7 square miles (9.5 km²) of it (23.35%) is water.

Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there were 32,414 people, 11,707 households, and 7,937 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,706.3 people per square mile (1,044.7/km²). There were 13,261 housing units at an average density of 1,107.2 per square mile (427.4/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 36.54% White, 36.08% African American, 0.51% Native American, 0.20% Asian, 0.08% Pacific Islander, 23.98% from other races, and 2.60% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 51.61% of the population. Whites who are not Hispanic or Latino were 12.10% of the city's population. 54.3% spoke English, 42.9% Spanish and 1.2% Polish as their first languages.

There were 11,707 households out of which 35.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 34.8% were married couples living together, 26.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.2% were non-families. 28.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.75 and the average family size was 3.41.

In the city the population was spread out with 30.5% under the age of 18, 11.1% from 18 to 24, 26.8% from 25 to 44, 18.3% from 45 to 64, and 13.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 31 years. For every 100 females there were 91.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.1 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $26,538, and the median income for a family was $31,778. Males had a median income of $32,588 versus $21,678 for females. The per capita income for the city was $13,517. About 22.5% of families and 24.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 33.3% of those under age 18 and 15.6% of those age 65 or over.

Transportation
The nearest commercial airport to East Chicago is the Gary/Chicago International Airport in neighboring Gary. The South Shore Line (NICTD) has a station in East Chicago. US 12 and US 20 go through the Indiana Harbor and East Chicago sections of the city, respectively, before joining up on both sides. Indiana State Road 912, the Cline Avenue Expressway, connects East Chicago with the Indiana Toll Road and Borman Expressway, and serves the casino and steel mills on the lakefront.

Bus Transit
The city operates a free bus service known as East Chicago Transit. It features three routes: Route 1 Crosstown, Route 2 West Calumet, and Route 4 Woodmar Mall. In addition, Northwest Indiana RBA operates two routes that run through East Chicago - Green Route and Orange Route. The former primarily runs along Indianapolis Boulevard, running from Chicago's East Side neighborhood to Whiting, Hammond, East Chicago and Highland. The later runs between East Chicago and Hammond. GPRT Route 12 stops in East Chicago on its way from Hammond to Gary. Finally, PACE runs Route 892, a special work shuttle that runs between Gary, East Chicago and UPS' Hodgkins facility. Its schedule is designed to coincide with UPS workers' shifts. The route is operated in cooperation with UPS, which partially funds its operations.

Neighborhoods

 * Indiana Harbor
 * The Harbor
 * North Harbor
 * Washington Park
 * Prairie Park
 * Sunnyside
 * Lakeside
 * Darkside


 * East Chicago
 * Northside
 * Southside
 * Calumet
 * Roxana Park
 * New Addition (West Harbor)


 * Marktown

Education
School City of East Chicago serves the city. All residents are zoned to East Chicago Central High School.

East Chicago Public Library System operates a main library at 2401 East Columbus Drive and the Robert A. Pastrick Branch Library at 1008 West Chicago Avenue at Baring Avenue. Ivy Tech community college

Notable residents

 * Tim Stoddard - Former Major League Baseball player
 * Junior Bridgeman - Former NBA player
 * Jim Bradley - Former ABA player
 * Ron Smith - Former NFL player
 * Betsy Palmer - Actress
 * Kenny Lofton, Major League Baseball player
 * Larry Fritz, Major League Baseball player
 * Miguel Torres, mixed martial artist
 * Gregg Popovich - Coach of the San Antonio Spurs
 * Cliff Raven - Noted US tattoo artist
 * Eugene Genisauski- Long Beach Unified Film Pioneer, Ball Boy for L.A. Dodgers, 1969
 * Ray Wietecha - Former NFL player and assistant coach
 * E'Twaun Moore - Former College Basketball player at Purdue University