Most of Gary is in Lake County, where a full-time job needs to pay at least $35.44 an hour before taxes to take home four times the typical studio rent.
Across the 8 ZIP codes in Gary with HUD rent figures, studio rents run from $900 to $1,160 a month. At the middle rent, $1,000, a full-time job would need to pay $30.81 an hour before taxes.
What the standard would be at each ZIP code's own studio rent. The calculator and the official standard use the county figure.
| ZIP | County | Studio rent | Pay needed |
|---|---|---|---|
| 46401 | Lake County | $1,110/mo | $34.37/hr |
| 46402 | Lake County | $980/mo | $30.17/hr |
| 46403 | Lake County | $950/mo | $29.20/hr |
| 46404 | Lake County | $1,020/mo | $31.46/hr |
| 46406 | Lake County | $980/mo | $30.17/hr |
| 46407 | Lake County | $900/mo | $27.58/hr |
| 46408 | Lake County | $1,040/mo | $32.10/hr |
| 46409 | Lake County | $1,160/mo | $36.18/hr |
Under the Four Times Rent standard, a full-time job in Gary needs to pay at least $35.44 an hour before taxes, about $73,712 a year. That is the figure for Lake County, where the typical studio rent is $1,140 a month.
Yes. Across the 8 ZIP codes in Gary with HUD rent figures, studio rents run from $900 to $1,160 a month. At the middle rent of $1,000, the pay needed would be $30.81 an hour.
The minimum wage in Lake County is $7.25 an hour. The Four Times Rent standard there is 4.9 times that.
The Four Times Rent standard: a month of full-time work (160 hours) should take home at least four times the typical rent on a studio apartment in the county where the work is done. Rents: HUD FY2027 Fair Market Rents. Taxes: 2026 federal and state income taxes plus Social Security and Medicare, for a single filer. Why four times rent? · Method and data downloads