City comparison
Dallas, TX is about 800 miles (1,300 km) from Gary, IN in a straight line. By road, the drive is roughly 1,000 miles, or about 17 hours behind the wheel at highway speeds.
Driving distance is a rough estimate (great-circle × 1.25); driving time assumes a 60 mph blended average. Real trips run 10–20% longer with stops.
A direct flight from Dallas, TX to Gary, IN takes about 1 h 36 min, covering roughly 800 miles in a straight line. Connecting itineraries with a layover typically add 1–3 hours.
Block-to-block estimate at ~500 mph cruise, including taxi, climb, and descent — what an airline would publish, not pure airborne time.
Dallas has a population of 1,300,642, vs 69,136 in Gary — about 18.8× larger by population. By land area, Dallas covers about 340 sq mi vs 50 sq mi for Gary.
Population from US Census ACS. Land area from the Census Gazetteer (city proper, excluding inland water).
Cost indices by category, with the US city average (100) marked.
Index: 100 = US city average. Lower is more affordable.
Side-by-side costs, salaries, and sub-category indices.
| Metric | Dallas | Gary | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $1,305/mo | $929/mo | 40.5% higher in Dallas |
| Median home value | $270,700 | $81,800 | 230.9% higher in Dallas |
| Median household income | $63,985 | $36,874 | 73.5% higher in Dallas |
| Groceries index | 101.7 | 106.3 | 4.5% higher in Gary |
| Utilities index | 89.3 | 84.3 | 5.9% higher in Dallas |
| Transportation index | 98.5 | 100.2 | 1.7% higher in Gary |
| Healthcare index | 99.7 | 100.4 | 0.7% higher in Gary |
How much you'd need to earn in the other city to keep the same standard of living.
If you earn $100,000 in Dallas, you'd need $97,508 in Gary to maintain your standard of living.
Climate, safety, and demographics side by side.
Gary, IN is about 2.5% cheaper overall than Dallas, TX, based on our cost-of-living index. Housing costs are roughly 7% higher in Dallas than in Gary. If you earn $80,000 in Dallas, you'd need about $78,007 in Gary to keep the same standard of living.