Garrett at a glance
- Population: 6,661 residents, the 101st-largest of 565 places in Indiana (US Census Bureau, Vintage 2023).
- 2020 Census base: 6,543 residents at the 2020 Census (US Census Bureau, 2020 count).
- 2020 to 2023 change: a gain of roughly 1.8% between the 2020 count and the 2023 estimate (US Census Bureau).
- Rank among Indiana places: the 101st-largest of 565 (US Census Bureau, 2023 estimate).
- Size percentile: about 82% of places in Indiana are smaller (US Census Bureau).
- Coordinates: the Census Gazetteer places it at 41.3526, -85.1238.
- Nearest larger cities: Auburn, IN (4 mi); Kendallville, IN (9 mi); Huntertown, IN (10 mi); Fort Wayne, IN (18 mi); New Haven, IN (20 mi) (Census populations, approximate straight-line distance).
- Smaller places nearby: Altona, IN (1 mi); Avilla, IN (6 mi); Corunna, IN (6 mi), per US Census Bureau estimates.
What a personal loan costs in Garrett
Unlike a revolving credit card, a personal loan is closed-end: the balance falls on a fixed schedule and the payment does not change.
Compare offers on APR rather than the headline rate — the APR includes most fees, and you can model the total with our personal loan calculator.
The term is the lever: extend it and the payment falls while total interest climbs; shorten it and the reverse happens.
A useful rule is to keep the new payment inside the room your budget already has, so the loan eases pressure instead of adding to it.
Indiana lending rules that apply in Garrett
Every figure in the table below is sourced to a publisher with a date; where a state does not publish a number, we say so rather than estimate.
| Rule | Detail | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Small-loan / installment lender licensing | Small Loan License required (IUCCC; separate Consumer Loan License for IC 24-4.5-3 loans) Source says: "unless a person is a supervised financial organization or has first obtained a small loan license from the Department of Financial Institutions (DFI)". | Indiana Department of Financial Institutions as of 2026-09-16 |
| State lending regulator | Indiana Department of Financial Institutions (DFI), Consumer Credit Division Source says: "The industries regulated by the Consumer Credit Division are: non-depository small loan ("payday") lenders; traditional installment lenders". | Indiana Department of Financial Institutions as of 2026-09-16 |
| Small-loan size limit | $825 maximum aggregate small-loan principal per borrower Source says: "Lenders cannot have loans ... outstanding with you at any one time if the aggregate principal amount/amount financed exceeds $825". | Indiana Department of Financial Institutions as of 2026-09-16 |
| Maximum legal interest rate (usury cap) | See the latest published figure value_text left null: Indiana Code IC 24-4.5-3-508 sets tiered maximum loan finance charges for supervised loans; the official code site renders client-side and the figure could not be confirmed from a fetched page, so no figure is asserted. | Indiana General Assembly (Indiana Code) as of 2026-09-16 |
| Payday lending status | Permitted under license (small loans); finance charges capped at 15% of the first $250 (tiered above) Source says: "Finance charges on the first $250 of a small loan are limited to 15% of the principal". | Indiana Department of Financial Institutions as of 2026-09-16 |
How to compare offers in Garrett
Before you share your details with a lender in Garrett:
- Pull your free credit reports and dispute any error — it is the cheapest way to improve the rate you are offered.
- Run your figures through the personal loan calculator on this site so you know the payment before a lender quotes one.
- Pre-qualify with at least three lenders and compare the APR, not the interest rate.
- Check that the lender is licensed in Indiana using the regulator named above.
- Read the disclosure for origination fees and any prepayment penalty before you sign.