Photo: Tysto · Public domainHousehold incomes in Mishawaka trail those of 82% of U.S. towns
About one in five work in Mishawaka; the top destination outside it is South Bend (21%, 5 miles). 16.4% of residents are in poverty; Indiana has 12.3%. The average commute takes 21 minutes each way (Indiana 24, U.S. 26).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2024, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Where Mishawaka stands out on work
Mishawaka and South Bend trade workers both ways
South Bend is the top workplace for Mishawaka residents (21%) and also where the most people who work in Mishawaka come from (17% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
Most Mishawaka residents work close to home
63% of working residents have their main job less than 10 miles from home. How far ↓
Written from the Census figures on this page. Commute flows, distances and jobs are Census LEHD 2024, primary jobs only (the self-employed aren’t counted); commute time and working from home are from the Census American Community Survey.
Where Mishawaka’s Jobs & income grade comes from
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Mishawaka is better than 27% of U.S. towns, #486 of 593 in Indiana. Job access by car holds Mishawaka’s grade up (ahead of 77% of U.S. towns); household income pulls it down ($54,291, U.S. $80,734).
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Mishawaka could be anywhere from C− to C+.
Commuting out of Mishawaka: the destinations
Where Mishawaka clocks in
21% of workers
12% of workers
4% of workersLines run between town centers. The top 10 towns each way; “Everywhere else” is the rest, including other states.
A thicker line means more commuters. Switch between where residents work and where the people who work here live.
How far Mishawaka goes to work
About 15% show a job over 50 miles away. Some of that is real, and some is employers that report every worker at a head office, so a few long commutes are on paper only.
Straight-line distance from each worker’s home block to their main job’s block. LEHD 2024.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
Who commutes out of Mishawaka, and who commutes in
On a workday 18,472 residents head out to work, 5,056 work right here, and 26,897 people come in from elsewhere.
About 60,000 people are in Mishawaka on a workday afternoon, 16% more than live here.
About as many jobs as working residents (1.36 per resident).
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2024, primary jobs.
The kinds of work in Mishawaka
31,953 jobs are based in Mishawaka.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Mishawaka, 2014 → 2024: 31,059 → 31,953. Big swings can come from how a large employer reports its locations, not only from real openings or closings.
Primary jobs covered by unemployment insurance (not the self-employed). Pay is monthly earnings. LEHD 2024.
Here is what they are, next to the jobs Mishawaka’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Mishawaka’s commute takes about 21 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6.8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Mishawaka workers work from home, vs 11% across Indiana. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 23,080 commuters (the 8% who work from home are left out). Across Indiana: 85% drive alone, 1% take transit; U.S.: 81% and 4%. Census ACS 2020–24.
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
For most of Mishawaka, work means a drive
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Mishawaka is more walkable than 72% of U.S. towns, #102 of 593 in Indiana. Both inputs place Mishawaka near the same point nationally.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 25,073 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service: no data. EPA’s transit file has no stops for most of this county (its agencies had not published schedules in the format EPA used in 2020). That is missing data, not a finding that there is no bus or train.
Households without a car (shown, not graded). 7.7% of Mishawaka households have no vehicle (Indiana 6.2%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of Mishawaka’s commuters take a bus or train.
Out of 846 U.S. towns of 36,000 to 69,000, Mishawaka comes 756th on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | McLean VA | 49,627 | $250K | 2.9% | 2.3% | 6% | A+ |
| 2 | Oakton VA | 36,528 | $161K | 4.6% | 1.9% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | Fulshear TX | 64,630 | $187K | 1.6% | 2.8% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 24 | Perry Township IN | 39,325 | $112K | 3.4% | 1.3% | 17% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 39 | Westfield IN | 66,258 | $123K | 3.6% | 2.8% | 11% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 75 | Washington Township IN | 62,740 | $100K | 4.2% | 2.5% | 10% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 754 | Kingsport TN | 57,530 | $52K | 20.7% | 4.9% | 40% | C |
| 755 | Cookeville TN | 38,212 | $51K | 23.5% | 3.8% | 49% | C |
| 756 | Mishawaka IN | 51,226 | $54K | 16.4% | 6.8% | 21% | C |
| 757 | Lincoln Park MI | 38,529 | $59K | 21.5% | 8.4% | 4% | C |
| 758 | Norwich CT | 40,001 | $65K | 16.7% | 8.2% | 18% | C |
| … | |||||||
| 846 | Bullhead City AZ | 43,987 | $51K | 18.7% | 11.5% | 25% | D− |
Census ACS 2020–24 (income, poverty, unemployment), Census LEHD (work in town), TownRatings Jobs & income grades. Each town links to its Work & commute page.
Ranked on the Jobs & income grade: the towns either side of Mishawaka, the top three, the last and three more from Indiana.
The towns next door employ 27% of Mishawaka
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Mishawaka workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mishawaka | – | C | B+ | 21 min | $54,291 |
| Granger | 2% | A− | C | 22 min | $123,318 |
| South Bend | 21% | C | A− | 20 min | $55,786 |
| Penn Township | 4% | C+ | B | 21 min | $65,544 |
| Portage Township | under 2% | C− | A | 20 min | $52,872 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to South Bend. Darker towns draw more of Mishawaka’s workers. Tap a town to see its commute.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Two sources, two years. Trips, distances and jobs based here: Census LEHD 2024, primary jobs, where the employer reports them. Income, poverty, unemployment, commute time and how people travel: Census ACS 2020–24 averages.
- Straight lines, older transit. Miles are as the crow flies. EPA’s walkability and transit files use 2017–20 inputs.
Jobs and commuting in Mishawaka: questions
What is the median household income in Mishawaka?
$54,291 (±$4,328) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $71,957 across Indiana and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Mishawaka?
16.4%, against 12.3% across Indiana and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Mishawaka?
21 minutes each way on average, against 24 across Indiana and 26 nationally. 8% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Mishawaka work?
21% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are South Bend (21%, 5 mi), Elkhart (12%, 10 mi), Penn Township (4%, 3 mi) (Census LEHD 2024).
Is Mishawaka walkable?
Mishawaka is more walkable than 72% of U.S. towns (Walkability B+): an EPA walkability index of 8.5 out of 20, and 3% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Mishawaka without a car?
1% of commuters take transit and 8% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Mishawaka, from the people who make the trip.
More of Mishawaka
Flows, distances and jobs: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2024, primary jobs. Commute time, working from home and working out of state: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates. Distances are straight lines between home and work; real drives run longer. Walkability index, job access and transit service: U.S. EPA Smart Location Database. The two grades are our own summaries of these figures, not official ratings.