Economically Encouraging

LaPorte is a major industrial center that’s well-balanced with retail, services and homes. An approximate workforce of 11,000 is employed in the city’s nearly 100 industrial facilities.

Aero Metals and Howmet-Alcoa are the largest of the area’s firms, each employing approximately 400 people.

Several economic incentives encourage industrial expansion and relocation. The City of LaPorte offers tax abatement on improvements made to real and personal property by local industry. LaPorte County also has a low-interest revolving loan fund, and the Northwest Indiana Regional Development Company administers a Small Business Administration 504 loan program.

Area agriculture plays a significant role in LaPorte’s economy. The county has more than 800 farms with 267,700 acres in production. Annually, these farms pump more than $100-million into the county’s economy. LaPorte County is the state’s fifth largest producer of corn; its other crops include soybeans, hay and winter wheat. The county ranks 14th in Indiana for cattle, with more than 20,000 head. In addition, it raises about 25,000 hogs.