‘Hometown feel’ Highland is among ‘hottest’ zip codes in US

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Local leaders in Highland were pleasantly surprised to learn their quaint town of 23,000 is a trending place to live.

“It does put us on the map as a town that is really close to Chicago, but yet has that hometown feel,” said Maria Becerra, the town’s redevelopment director.

At No. 6, Highland joined two other mid-sized Midwest cities on Realtor.com’s “Hottest Zip Codes of 2023” list. It joins towns and cities in metro areas of Boston, New York City and Detroit as places with trending market demand and fast-paced buying.

The list was curated to show where homebuyers want to live, with most locations being in the Midwest or Northeast and offering a housing market at or below the national median home prices. According to Realtor.com analysis, the locations included show typical homebuyers highly value affordability while others have adjusted to the inflated market and will pay more to live in metro, big city markets for quality of life offerings.

“This recognition aligns our community for future and continued investment in making our town as a desirable place to call home and open up businesses,” Becerra said in an email.

Highland is considered to be within the Chicago metro area, or the Region as Hoosiers affectionately call the Indiana sprawl of Chicagoland. Being an approximately 40-minute drive from downtown, the town is considered a part of the South Shore strip, near Munster and Hammond and south of East Chicago and Gary.

People don’t want to live in big cities like they used to. With the popularization of remote working and both home prices and rent on the rise, cities like Chicago are seeing more people packing up than moving in, according to Axios. With increased mobility granted by work-from-home employment, people are prioritizing affordability over the perks of city centers.

“Clearly, the migration of homeowners and especially businesses from Illinois is having an impact not only in Highland but throughout Northwest Indiana,” Lance Ryskamp, Highland Griffith Chamber of Commerce executive director, said in an email to Inside INdiana Business.

Ryskamp grew up and still lives in the town. He sees the accolade as a great honor but also a nod toward the promising future of the region. Becerra said it shows the region is desirable, and the influx of new residents are lured by reasonable tax rates and what they have to offer.

The economy is becoming more diversified along with continuing to support its large industries in steel and manufacturing, Ryskamp said. On a small scale, he said they are growing their collection of small businesses which he calls an economic backbone of their community through education initiatives and committee collaboration.

“For many years, Highland was a bedroom community for NW Indiana’s big industries such as BP and the area steel mills, and to a degree it still is,” he said over email. “Now, as it was then, Highland has always been able to maintain its ‘hometown’ feel to those who live and work here.”

As for housing, Ryskamp said it doesn’t last long. This is in part attributed to the perks existing locally like a well-ranked school system, natural beauties like Indiana Dunes, a healthy business ecosystem and town-provided resources like policing and parks.

It’s got that hometown feel, Becerra said, with a walkable downtown, storefronts and generations-old family businesses. They also have the ease and convenience of major retailers nearby, she said, including Macy’s which just moved in.

“You have the best of both worlds,” Becerra said.

Homes in the town have a median listing price of $268,000 and spend a median of 19 days on the market, according to Realtor.com. According to the 2021 U.S. Census data, the town’s median household income is around $71,246 a year and 8.6% of its population is considered to be in poverty.

Becerra also mentioned their master plan has eyes on building townhomes on the town’s north side. They also plan to redevelop aging parts of town into new housing that is walkable to small businesses and other amenities. The town’s future is solid, she said, as they have both private business development and housing improvements in the works.