Merrillville, Indiana demographics

Merrillville, IN demographics: median age 42.4; 26.1% of adults 25+ hold a bachelor’s degree. Age, race, households, languages and education, ACS 2020–2024 with margins of error.

ACS 2020–2024 · Merrillville town, Indiana · Incorporated town · GEOID 1848528. The survey estimates a population of 36,476 for its five-year window. This is separate from the annual July 2025 population estimate on the city overview.

Median age in Merrillville is 42.4 years, with a 90% margin of error of 1.6 years. There are 15,487 households (±810). Age and household distributions show how these totals are composed; they do not establish which neighborhood suits a particular person.

Every count and share is an estimate. “±” is a 90% margin of error (MOE); pp means percentage points. Derived shares use the category count divided by the named universe. Aggregated category MOEs and percentage MOEs are approximate. A margin larger than half its estimate is flagged as low precision. Blank source uncertainty is shown as unavailable, never zero.

Age distribution and sex

City, state and U.S. estimates · ACS 2020–2024
Measure / survey universe	City estimate ± MOE	State estimate ± MOE	U.S. estimate ± MOE
Median age Total population · years	42.4 ±1.6	38.1 ±0.2	38.9 ±0.1

Age groups · B01001 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 36,476
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Indiana	U.S.
Under 18	7,460 ±895	20.5% ±2.5 pp	23.3%	22.0%
18–34	7,709 ±821	21.1% ±2.2 pp	22.8%	22.8%
35–64	13,767 ±1,058	37.7% ±2.9 pp	37.2%	38.0%
65 and older	7,540 ±872	20.7% ±2.4 pp	16.8%	17.2%

Sex categories as published by ACS · B01001 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 36,476
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Indiana	U.S.
Male	17,453 ±649	47.8% ±1.8 pp	49.6%	49.5%
Female	19,023 ±654	52.2% ±1.8 pp	50.4%	50.5%

The age groups are mutually exclusive and cover the entire population. The sex categories follow this ACS table’s published classification; they are not a survey of gender identity.

Race and Hispanic origin

Race · B02001 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 36,476
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Indiana	U.S.
White alone	13,168 ±1,208	36.1% ±3.3 pp	77.1%	61.0%
Black or African American alone	17,017 ±1,082	46.7% ±3.0 pp	9.2%	12.2%
American Indian and Alaska Native alone	66 ±111 · low precision	0.2% ±0.3 pp · low precision	0.3%	0.9%
Asian alone	384 ±213 · low precision	1.1% ±0.6 pp · low precision	2.6%	6.0%
Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander alone	0 ±27 · low precision	0.0% ±0.1 pp · low precision	0.0%	0.2%
Some other race alone	1,567 ±574	4.3% ±1.6 pp	3.4%	7.1%
Two or more races	4,274 ±881	11.7% ±2.4 pp	7.3%	12.6%

Hispanic or Latino origin · B03003 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 36,476
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Indiana	U.S.
Not Hispanic or Latino	30,784 ±1,082	84.4% ±3.0 pp	91.4%	80.7%
Hispanic or Latino	5,692 ±1,084	15.6% ±3.0 pp	8.6%	19.3%

Hispanic origin and race are separate questions. People of Hispanic or Latino origin may be of any race and appear in both tables. Do not add the Hispanic share to race shares. Race alone and two-or-more-race groups are the mutually exclusive categories of the race table.

Household types, children and living alone

Household types · B11001 · ACS 2020–2024 Households: 15,487
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Indiana	U.S.
Married-couple family	5,301 ±511	34.2% ±2.8 pp	47.3%	46.9%
Other family: male householder, no spouse present	881 ±378	5.7% ±2.4 pp	5.1%	5.1%
Other family: female householder, no spouse present	2,594 ±375	16.7% ±2.3 pp	11.3%	12.2%
Nonfamily: householder living alone	5,741 ±874	37.1% ±5.3 pp	29.6%	28.7%
Nonfamily: householder not living alone	970 ±291	6.3% ±1.9 pp	6.7%	7.0%

Households with children · B11005 · ACS 2020–2024 Households: 15,487
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Indiana	U.S.
Households with people under 18	3,845 ±446	24.8% ±2.6 pp	29.9%	29.5%
Households without people under 18	11,642 ±1,041	75.2% ±5.5 pp	70.1%	70.5%

Household size · B11016 · ACS 2020–2024 Households: 15,487
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Indiana	U.S.
One-person nonfamily households	5,741 ±874	37.1% ±5.3 pp	29.6%	28.7%
Two-person households	4,771 ±626	30.8% ±3.7 pp	34.9%	33.8%
Three-person households	2,661 ±447	17.2% ±2.7 pp	14.5%	15.3%
Four-person households	1,144 ±300	7.4% ±1.9 pp	11.9%	12.6%
Five-person households	750 ±316	4.8% ±2.0 pp	5.8%	5.9%
Six-person households	168 ±114 · low precision	1.1% ±0.7 pp · low precision	2.1%	2.2%
Seven or more people	252 ±127 · low precision	1.6% ±0.8 pp · low precision	1.3%	1.4%

A family household contains related people under the Census definition. A nonfamily household can contain one person or unrelated people sharing a home. Households with children can also appear in the household-type and size tables, so those tables must not be added together. Household estimates exclude people living in group quarters from the household universe.

Nativity and languages spoken at home

Nativity · B05002 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 36,476
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Indiana	U.S.
Native	34,180 ±649	93.7% ±1.8 pp	93.7%	85.9%
Foreign born	2,296 ±644	6.3% ±1.8 pp	6.3%	14.1%

Language spoken at home · C16001 · ACS 2020–2024 Population age 5 and older: 35,089
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Indiana	U.S.
English only	31,112 ±907	88.7% ±2.4 pp	89.7%	77.7%
Spanish	2,481 ±673	7.1% ±1.9 pp	5.5%	13.6%
French, Haitian, or Cajun	40 ±67 · low precision	0.1% ±0.2 pp · low precision	0.4%	0.7%
German or other West Germanic	111 ±110 · low precision	0.3% ±0.3 pp · low precision	1.1%	0.5%
Russian, Polish, or other Slavic	201 ±109 · low precision	0.6% ±0.3 pp · low precision	0.3%	0.7%
Other Indo-European	494 ±370 · low precision	1.4% ±1.1 pp · low precision	0.9%	2.0%
Korean	9 ±15 · low precision	0.0% ±0.0 pp · low precision	0.1%	0.3%
Chinese, including Mandarin and Cantonese	48 ±70 · low precision	0.1% ±0.2 pp · low precision	0.4%	1.1%
Vietnamese	6 ±10 · low precision	0.0% ±0.0 pp · low precision	0.1%	0.5%
Tagalog, including Filipino	115 ±93 · low precision	0.3% ±0.3 pp · low precision	0.2%	0.6%
Other Asian and Pacific Island	46 ±62 · low precision	0.1% ±0.2 pp · low precision	0.8%	1.1%
Arabic	0 ±27 · low precision	0.0% ±0.1 pp · low precision	0.2%	0.5%
Other and unspecified	426 ±301 · low precision	1.2% ±0.9 pp · low precision	0.5%	0.8%

Foreign born means not a U.S. citizen at birth; it includes naturalized citizens. Language categories describe speech at home among people age five and older. A language other than English at home does not establish that someone cannot speak English. This city page uses the published C16001 summary categories because the more detailed B16001 table does not provide these city records in this release.

Educational attainment

Highest completed education · B15003 · ACS 2020–2024 Population age 25 and older: 25,533
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Indiana	U.S.
Less than high school graduate	1,965 ±418	7.7% ±1.6 pp	9.6%	10.4%
High school graduate or equivalency	8,647 ±864	33.9% ±3.2 pp	32.5%	26.0%
Some college, no degree	5,424 ±811	21.2% ±3.1 pp	19.3%	19.1%
Associate’s degree	2,828 ±464	11.1% ±1.8 pp	9.1%	8.8%
Bachelor’s degree	4,182 ±556	16.4% ±2.1 pp	18.7%	21.6%
Graduate or professional degree	2,487 ±440	9.7% ±1.7 pp	10.8%	14.1%

The denominator excludes residents under 25. Each person is counted in the highest attainment category they completed. This table does not measure the quality of local schools or the education level of every current student.

Residence one year earlier

Geographic mobility · B07003 · ACS 2020–2024 Population age 1 and older: 36,284
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Indiana	U.S.
Same house	32,552 ±765	89.7% ±2.1 pp	87.3%	87.7%
Moved within same county	2,354 ±753	6.5% ±2.1 pp	6.5%	6.3%
Moved from a different county in the same state	226 ±100	0.6% ±0.3 pp	3.6%	3.1%
Moved from a different state	1,120 ±434	3.1% ±1.2 pp	2.1%	2.3%
Moved from abroad	32 ±39 · low precision	0.1% ±0.1 pp · low precision	0.4%	0.6%

These are respondents’ residence patterns one year before their survey response, pooled across the five-year window. They are not a net migration count for 2025. A person can move to a different house within the same city or county; moves within the same county should not automatically be interpreted as new arrivals to the city.

Health insurance, internet access and veterans

6.5% of Merrillville residents (±1.4 percentage points) had no health insurance coverage when surveyed, compared with 7.4% in Indiana and 8.4% nationally. 87.7% of households subscribe to broadband of any type, including cellular data plans. A subscription is not the same as available service: the FCC National Broadband Map shows providers at a specific address.

City, state and U.S. shares · ACS 2020–2024
Measure	Merrillville	Indiana	U.S.	Compared with Indiana
People without health insurance Civilian noninstitutionalized population	6.5% ±1.4 pp	7.4%	8.4%	Not statistically different
Households with a broadband subscription Households	87.7% ±1.4 pp	89.9%	91.0%	Lower
Veterans Civilian population age 18 and older	7.0% ±1.6 pp	6.3%	6.2%	Not statistically different

Reading and reusing the estimates

The Census table links above lead to the original detailed tables. Counts, source universes and uncertainty are retained in the source observation download for Merrillville . Compare these figures with the same survey window; do not compare one city’s five-year estimate with another city’s annual estimate as though they measured the same period. For methods, see uncertainty and denominator calculations.

Read Merrillville housing and cost context or return to the city profile.