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Chain-O-Lakes is a tiny town of 490 people in St. Joseph County, Indiana. It's about 7 miles from South Bend, IN and 67 miles from Chicago, IL, the nearest major city. Summer highs average 83°F and winter highs 32°F, with about 63 inches of snow a year. The typical home is valued around $267k and rent runs about $1k a month.
490people
$267kTypical home
$1,062/moRent
83° / 32°Summer / winter
63"Snow
210Sunny days
148Rain/snow days
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Size & setting
- Tiny town of 490
- Part of a metro area
- About 318 people per sq mi
- 67 mi to Chicago, IL
- 7 mi to South Bend, IN
- 7 mi to the nearest town of 10k+
Money
- Typical home $267k (≈$1,682/mo)
- Median rent $1,062/mo
- Median household income $88k
- Property tax about 0.7% of value
- 3.0% unemployment
Weather
- Summer highs around 83°F
- Winter highs around 32°F
- Somewhat humid summers (dew point 62°F)
- 210 sunny days a year (66 totally clear)
- 155 cloudy days a year
- 55 of 90 winter days are gray
- 148 days a year with rain or snow
- 63" of snow a year
- 20 days a year with 1"+ of snow
- Rarely hits 100°F
- 18 nights a year below 10°F
- Breezy
Safety
- Low violent crime (276 per 100k), county-wide
- Low property crime (1,093 per 100k), county-wide
People
- Median age 53
- 30% of households have kids
- 24% are 65 or older
- 25% have a college degree
- Mixed community
- 7% of residents are college students
Getting around & homes
- Average commute 21 min
- 12% walk or take transit to work
- 4 mi to SBN airport
- 71 mi to MDW (major hub)
- 6 mi to the nearest Amtrak station
- 88% single-family homes
- Typical home built around 2003
- 95% of homes have broadband
Outdoors
- Flat, open land
- Elevation 738 ft
- 527 mi to the ocean
- 18 mi to a big lake
- 17 mi to the nearest trailhead
- 34 mi to the nearest ski area
- Campground in town
- 47 golf courses within 25 mi
Things to do
- 487 sit-down restaurants within 25 mi
- 61 bars within 25 mi
- 100 coffee shops within 25 mi
- 3 music venues & clubs within 25 mi
- 42 museums within 25 mi
- 7 breweries & distilleries within 25 mi
- 8 mi to the nearest farmers market
Everyday
- Schools in the bottom 16% of Indiana districts (reading)
- 4 mi to the nearest grocery store
- 7 mi to the nearest ER hospital
- 21 mi to a 4–5★ hospital
- 5 mi to the nearest vet
- 7 mi to the nearest dog park
- 7 congregations per 10k people
- 7 mi to the nearest college
Politics
- St. Joseph County: Purple — split almost evenly
- Indiana: R+19 in 2024
Natural hazards
- Very low hurricane risk
- Moderate tornado risk
- Very low wildfire risk
- Very low earthquake risk
- Low flood risk
- Very low drought risk
- High winter storm risk
- Low heat wave risk
- Very low volcano risk
Some of this place's Census numbers are blended with county figures because its survey sample is small.