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City in Indiana, United States

West Lafayette

$355kMedian Home
287Sunny Days/yr
View on Map· Pop. 45k· Elev. 610 ftWikipedia

West Lafayette is a city in Tippecanoe County, Indiana, United States. The population was 44,595 at the 2020 census. West Lafayette sits across the Wabash River from its sister city, Lafayette, and is a college town, home to Purdue University. It is the most densely populated city in Indiana, located 65 miles (105 km) northwest of Indianapolis and 113 miles (182 km) southeast of Chicago.Wikipedia

State Context

IndianaU.S. state

Indiana is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Michigan to the northwest, Michigan to the north and northeast, Ohio to the east, the Ohio River and Kentucky to the south and southeast, and the Wabash River and Illinois to the west. Nicknamed "the Hoosier State", Indiana is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 states. The state's capital and largest city is Indianapolis.Wikipedia

Income tax: Flat 3.00%Avg sales tax: 7.00%Property tax: 0.72%Official school data available

About the Region

Great Lakes Midwest

The Great Lakes Midwest is undergoing a quiet, steady reassessment. Cities like Detroit, Cleveland, and Buffalo — long associated with industrial decline — have seen genuine neighborhood revivals driven by very low housing costs and incoming professional and creative workers. Chicago remains the undisputed anchor: a world-class city that, particularly in its residential neighborhoods, is underpriced relative to coastal equivalents. Minneapolis consistently ranks among the best-governed large cities in the country, with a walkable downtown and access to 10,000 lakes.

Winters are genuinely cold — lake-effect snow shapes life along the Great Lakes shores, and Minneapolis regularly logs the coldest temperatures of any major American city — but summers compensate with warmth and greenness that surprises transplants from the coasts. The economic base has diversified significantly: advanced manufacturing, major healthcare systems, agriculture tech, and financial services anchor the broader region, while university towns like Ann Arbor, Madison, and Bloomington punch well above their weight culturally.

01

Sports Footprint

League Snapshot
1 Teams/Programs1 College
College Programs
1
Purdue Boilermakers
Source: local sports dataset (`data/sports.csv`)
02

Current Conditions

03

Cost of Living

Housing
$2k/mo
Median Rent
$355k
Median Home Price
Rent burden69% of income
Household Income
$30k
Median annual
04

Livability

School Rating
8.2/10
Internet
Fiber
84%
Cable
88%
address availability
05

Climate

Sunshine
287
sunny days per year
79% of the year
Comfort Score
70/100
Good
Rainfall
38"
inches per year
Air Quality
40
Good AQI
07

Demographics

Population45k
Altitude610 ftabove sea level
Median Age21 yrs
College Educated71%bachelor's or higher
Work From Home11%of workforce
Poverty Rate39%

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