As a result of this economic shift, the city's population has decreased drastically, having lost 61% of its population since 1960. Like other Rust Belt cities, Gary's once thriving steel industry has been significantly affected by the disappearance of local manufacturing jobs since the 1970s. Although initially a very diverse city, after white flight in the 1970s, the city of Gary held the nation's highest percentage of African Americans for several decades.Īs of the 2020 census the city's population was 69,093, making it Indiana's ninth-largest city. Steel had established the city in 1906 as a company town to serve its steel mills.
Gary was named after lawyer Elbert Henry Gary, who was the founding chairman of the United States Steel Corporation. The city is adjacent to the Indiana Dunes National Park, and is within the Chicago metropolitan area. Gary is located along the southern shore of Lake Michigan about 25 miles (40 km) southeast of downtown Chicago, Illinois. Steel's Gary Works, the largest steel mill complex in North America.
The city has been historically dominated by major industrial activity and is home to U.S. Gary ( / ˈ ɡ æ r i/ GARR-ee) is a city in Lake County, Indiana, United States.
