Lake Station at a glance
- Population: about 13,047, 68th by size in Indiana of 565 places (Census Vintage 2023 subcounty estimate).
- 2020 Census base: 13,278 residents at the 2020 Census (US Census Bureau, 2020 count).
- 2020 to 2023 change: a loss of about 1.7% since the 2020 count (US Census Bureau).
- Rank among Indiana places: 68th by size among 565 communities (US Census Bureau).
- Size percentile: larger than about 88% of the Census places in Indiana (US Census Bureau).
- Coordinates: it sits at 41.5767, -87.2529 in the US Census Bureau Gazetteer.
- Nearest larger cities: Portage, IN (4 mi); Hobart, IN (5 mi); Gary, IN (5 mi); Merrillville, IN (8 mi); Griffith, IN (9 mi) — straight-line distances, US Census Bureau populations.
- Smaller towns nearby: New Chicago, IN (2 mi); Ogden Dunes, IN (5 mi); Burns Harbor, IN (7 mi) (US Census Bureau).
What a personal loan costs in Lake Station
Personal loans are closed-end installment debt, so the monthly payment and the payoff date are known from the start.
Judge an offer by its APR, which blends the interest rate with fees, and use the personal loan calculator to see the total cost.
Lenders weigh your credit history, income and debts when they set the rate, and the term you choose then determines how that rate compounds into total cost.
Shop with more than one lender and treat pre-qualification as an estimate, since the final terms follow a full application.
Indiana lending rules that apply in Lake Station
Every figure in the table below is sourced to a publisher with a date; where a state does not publish a number, we say so rather than estimate.
| Rule | Detail | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Small-loan size limit | $825 maximum aggregate small-loan principal per borrower Source says: "Lenders cannot have loans ... outstanding with you at any one time if the aggregate principal amount/amount financed exceeds $825". | Indiana Department of Financial Institutions as of 2026-09-16 |
| Maximum legal interest rate (usury cap) | See the latest published figure value_text left null: Indiana Code IC 24-4.5-3-508 sets tiered maximum loan finance charges for supervised loans; the official code site renders client-side and the figure could not be confirmed from a fetched page, so no figure is asserted. | Indiana General Assembly (Indiana Code) as of 2026-09-16 |
| Payday lending status | Permitted under license (small loans); finance charges capped at 15% of the first $250 (tiered above) Source says: "Finance charges on the first $250 of a small loan are limited to 15% of the principal". | Indiana Department of Financial Institutions as of 2026-09-16 |
| Small-loan / installment lender licensing | Small Loan License required (IUCCC; separate Consumer Loan License for IC 24-4.5-3 loans) Source says: "unless a person is a supervised financial organization or has first obtained a small loan license from the Department of Financial Institutions (DFI)". | Indiana Department of Financial Institutions as of 2026-09-16 |
| State lending regulator | Indiana Department of Financial Institutions (DFI), Consumer Credit Division Source says: "The industries regulated by the Consumer Credit Division are: non-depository small loan ("payday") lenders; traditional installment lenders". | Indiana Department of Financial Institutions as of 2026-09-16 |
How to compare offers in Lake Station
Here is a short checklist for comparing personal loans in Lake Station:
- Pull your free credit reports and dispute any error — it is the cheapest way to improve the rate you are offered.
- Run your figures through the personal loan calculator on this site so you know the payment before a lender quotes one.
- Pre-qualify with at least three lenders and compare the APR, not the interest rate.
- Check that the lender is licensed in Indiana using the regulator named above.
- Read the disclosure for origination fees and any prepayment penalty before you sign.