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Best Public Schools in Zip Code 46403

New rankings! Indiana test scores for the 2025-26 school year were just released — SchoolDigger posted updated rankings this week.

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At a glance

Schools

1,494

Students

Districts

Top rankedCharter School of the Dunes972^nd of 1,015 Indiana elementary schools

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Biggest riser

Charter School of the Dunes up 8 spots statewide this year

See the top-ranked Indiana schools →

Summary:

ZIP code 46403 in Gary, Indiana contains three schools — two listed as elementary (grades PK–8 and K–5) and one middle school (grades 6–8) — serving 1,494 students in total. Charter School of the Dunes is the largest by far with 836 students, about 56% of the area's enrollment, and it makes up its own district. The other two, Gary Middle School (365 students) and Banneker Elementary at Marquette (293 students), belong to Gary Community School Corp.

Among the three, Charter School of the Dunes has the strongest results: the highest all-grade proficiency in ELA (15.13%), Math (10.69%) and Science (10.64%), plus the lowest chronic absenteeism at 30.8%, compared with 46.2% at Banneker Elementary at Marquette and 67.5% at Gary Middle School. It also spends far less — $13,255 per student versus $18,400 and $18,627 at the two district schools — though the schools differ in grade span and governance, so this contrast should not be read as cause and effect.

All three schools sit in Indiana's bottom tier: each has 0 stars and a 2025–2026 rank at the 3rd or 4th percentile, and every grade-level score in the data falls below the matching state benchmark. Banneker Elementary at Marquette outperforms its district in all-grade ELA (12.06% vs. 8.46%), Math (9.86% vs. 7.56%) and Science (9.30% vs. 8.99%), while Gary Middle School shows the most severe indicators — the lowest proficiency (ELA 8.58%, Math 6.13%, Science 5.93%) and the highest absenteeism. Trends are mixed: Charter School of the Dunes improved in all three core subjects from 2024–2025 to 2025–2026, Banneker declined in all three, and Gary Middle improved in Math but fell in ELA and Science.

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Ranking:

E Elementary M Middle H High A Alternative P Private

Choose columns to see: Summary School Students/Teachers Ranking Test Scores Finance All

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2026)				Ranking (2025)				ILEARN English Language Arts (2026)							ILEARN Math (2026)							ILEARN Science (2026)			ILEARN Social Studies (2026)	Per Pupil Expenditures (2024)
Name	Type	Grades	Address	City	Zip	County	District	Is Charter	Is Magnet	Is Virtual	Is Title I	Phone	Enrollment	Full-time Teachers	Student/ Teacher Ratio	Free/Discounted Lunch Recipients (2025)	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Average Standard Score (2026)	Statewide Rank (2026)	State Percentile (2026)	SchoolDigger Rating (2026)	Average Standard Score (2025)	Statewide Rank (2025)	State Percentile (2025)	Rank Change from Previous Year	ILEARN English Language Arts 3rd Grade	ILEARN English Language Arts 4th Grade	ILEARN English Language Arts 5th Grade	ILEARN English Language Arts 6th Grade	ILEARN English Language Arts 7th Grade	ILEARN English Language Arts 8th Grade	ILEARN English Language Arts All Grades	ILEARN Math 3rd Grade	ILEARN Math 4th Grade	ILEARN Math 5th Grade	ILEARN Math 6th Grade	ILEARN Math 7th Grade	ILEARN Math 8th Grade	ILEARN Math All Grades	ILEARN Science 4th Grade	ILEARN Science 6th Grade	ILEARN Science All Grades	ILEARN Social Studies 5th Grade	Per Pupil Expenditures Total	Sub-total from Federal Funds	Sub-total from State/Local Funds
Charter School of the Dunes	Public, Charter	PK, KG-8	7300 East Melton Rd	Gary	46403	Lake County	Charter School of the Dunes	Yes	No	No	Yes	(219) 939-9690	836	47	17.7	67.5%	9 (1.1%)	708 (84.7%)	74 (8.9%)	2 (0.2%)	5 (0.6%)	0 (0.0%)	38 (4.5%)	6.9	972^nd of 1015 public elementary schools	4.2%		5.8	980^th of 1005 public elementary schools	2.5%	8	8.1	13.6	7.4	10.4	19.3	32.1	15.1	14.0	18.5	7.4	11.7	5.7	8.8	10.7	12.5	9.1	10.6	13.8	$13,255	$3,152	$10,103
Banneker Elementary at Marquette	Public	K-5	6401 Hemlock Ave	Gary	46403	Lake County	Gary Community School Corp	No	No	No	Yes	(219) 321-8545	293	16	18.0	64.8%	5 (1.7%)	274 (93.5%)	7 (2.4%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	6 (2.0%)	6.5	976^th of 1015 public elementary schools	3.8%		8	952^nd of 1005 public elementary schools	5.3%	24	19.3	7.0	7.3				12.1	14.0	7.0	7.1				9.9	9.3		9.3	12.5	$18,627	$5,373	$13,254
Gary Middle School	Public	6-8	301 Parke St	Gary	46403	Lake County	Gary Community School Corp	No	No	No	Yes	(219) 321-8547	365	25	14.4	62.5%	2 (0.5%)	334 (91.5%)	18 (4.9%)	1 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	10 (2.7%)	6.4	471^st of 486 public middle schools	3.1%		6.8	464^th of 480 public middle schools	3.3%	7				5.9	9.1	11.1	8.6				5.2	5.8	7.6	6.1		5.9	5.9		$18,400	$6,070	$12,331

Cities Near Zip Code 46403

City	Distance	# of Schools	Statewide Rank
Gary	1.48 mi	27	392^nd
Lake Station	1.81 mi	4	385^th
Hobart	2.21 mi	9	318^th
Portage	3.96 mi	12	344^th
Merrillville	6.48 mi	9	369^th

See the top IN Indiana cities

SchoolDigger data sources: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Census Bureau and the Indiana Department of Education.

IMPORTANT DISCLAIMERS: Not all boundaries are included. We make every effort to ensure that boundaries are up-to-date. But it's important to note that these are approximations and are for general informational purposes only. To verify legal descriptions of boundaries or school locations, contact your local tax assessor's office and/or school district.