Hobart at a glance
- Population: 29,408, the 35th-largest community in Indiana out of 565 (US Census Bureau, Vintage 2023).
- 2020 Census base: 29,740 people at the 2020 Census, the baseline for the trend below (US Census Bureau).
- 2020 to 2023 change: about 1.1% lower than the 2020 Census base (US Census Bureau).
- Rank among Indiana places: 35th of 565 by population (US Census Bureau, Vintage 2023).
- Size percentile: about 94% of places in Indiana are smaller (US Census Bureau).
- Coordinates: 41.5135, -87.2764 (US Census Bureau Gazetteer).
- Nearest larger cities: Merrillville, IN (4 mi); Gary, IN (6 mi); Portage, IN (7 mi); Crown Point, IN (8 mi); Schererville, IN (9 mi) — straight-line distances, US Census Bureau populations.
- Nearest smaller communities: New Chicago, IN (3 mi); Lake Station, IN (5 mi); Winfield, IN (7 mi), each a US Census place.
What a personal loan costs in Hobart
The defining feature of a personal loan is the fixed installment: the same payment every month until the term ends.
APR, not the simple interest rate, reflects what the loan actually costs once fees are included; the personal loan calculator puts a figure on it.
Lenders weigh your credit history, income and debts when they set the rate, and the term you choose then determines how that rate compounds into total cost.
If you are consolidating debt, the loan only helps if you stop adding to the balances it clears; otherwise the total debt grows.
Indiana lending rules that apply in Hobart
The Indiana rate caps and licensing rules that reach Hobart are listed below, each with its source and retrieval date.
| Rule | Detail | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 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 |
| 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 |
How to compare offers in Hobart
Before you share your details with a lender in Hobart:
- 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.