Paintings at the University of Notre Dame - The University of Notre Dame, 1917
Notre Dame’s story
175 years in pictures
The archive holds 18 old photos and papers going back to 1917 and 4 maps from 1958 on.
- 1851Notre Dame is settled
Notre DameIN
Settled in 1851, this town now has 6,890 residents.
3 bordering townsMap →
Photo: Public domain · Public domain
Population
6,890
Census survey, 2020–24
Household income
$20K
median
Median age
20.3
years
Jobs based here
7,601
A job hub
Is Notre Dame a good place to live?
Notre Dame’s best subject grades are an A for walkability and an A− for health; its weakest is a C− for incomes. 79% of adults 25 and older hold a bachelor’s degree or more in Notre Dame, against 22% in Indiana’s towns and 29% across U.S. towns. No town in Indiana scores higher than Notre Dame on hazard risk. Notre Dame's public schools trail 82% of Indiana towns on state tests and graduation. Notre Dame’s trail density is 1.6 miles per square mile, above both the Indiana town median (0.2) and the median of U.S. towns (0.4). On the outdoors, just 76 of Indiana’s 1,098 towns do better. Notre Dame has no overall grade: it has no figures for cost of living and safety, and an overall grade needs at least three of the four big subjects (cost of living, safety, schools and health).
What makes Notre Dame stand out
Where Notre Dame beats most towns.
Natural hazardsA+
Lower risk than 99% of U.S. communities
Very low risk of storm and flood damage
FEMA National Risk Index.
Jobs vs. working residents
Jobs here7,601
Residents who work934
Work
8.1 jobs for every working resident
A regional job hub: more jobs per worker than 99% of U.S. towns
Census LEHD 2023.
WalkabilityA
More walkable than 88% of U.S. towns
64% of workers walk, bike or ride transit
EPA National Walkability Index; Census ACS.
A growing town
Notre Dame has grown 21% from 2010 to 2020
5,973 counted in 2010 and 7,234 in 2020.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts
How Notre Dame grades
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Indiana), ordered by how far Notre Dame is from typical.
Notre Dame has no overall grade: it has no figures for cost of living and safety, and an overall grade needs at least three of the four big subjects (cost of living, safety, schools and health).
Hazard riskFEMA risk higher than 0% of U.S. communities; cold waves top the listA+Open →WalkabilityEPA walkability 7.7 of 20; 50.4% of households have no carAOpen →Jobs & income$20K median household incomeC−Open →HealthMemorial Hospital of South Bend 1.3 miles awayA−Open →SchoolsSchools are among the weakest comparedC−Open →
Character Graded, but not part of the overall grade.
Outdoors2 miles of trails; 9% conserved landB+Open →HistoryBelow the middle of the towns comparedCOpen →
Described, not graded Taste, not quality: snow or an older crowd is neither good nor bad.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Nearby attractions
All 25 attractions →Notre Dame Stadium and 13 more within 40 miles
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Notre Dame. Close and well known come first.
Big drawin town Stadium & arenaNotre Dame Stadium
in town CaveGrotto of Our Lady of Lourdes, Notre Dame
31 mi National ParkIndiana Dunes National Park2.6M visitors a year
2 mi MuseumStudebaker National Museum
8 mi Ancient siteFort St. Joseph2 mi Zoo & aquariumPotawatomi ZooSources: National Park Service · ski areas © OpenSkiMap / OpenStreetMap contributors · Wikidata · Wikipedia readership · photos via Wikimedia Commons
Photo credits
Notre Dame Stadium: Tysto, Public domain · Grotto of Our Lady of Lourdes, Notre Dame: Know1one1, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Indiana Dunes National Park: J. Crocker, Attribution · Studebaker National Museum: Unknown, Public domain · Fort St. Joseph: Chris Light (talk), CC BY-SA 3.0
Getting set up
Moving to Notre Dame: who provides what
Notre Dame is unincorporated, so St. Joseph County and regional agencies provide most services.
PowerIndiana Michigan Power17.2¢/kWh · EIA 2025HIFLD · EIA
WaterUniversity of Notre Dame water systemNo health-based violations in 5 years · EPAEPA
Internet4 providers100% of addresses get 100/20 MbpsFCC
Trash & county servicesSt. Joseph CountySt. Joseph County provides services here
Register to voteOnlineIn Indiana you can register online until 29 days before Election Day, in person until 29 days before Election Day, or by mail (postmarked 29 days before).vote.govWho runs elections hereSt. Joseph Election and Voter Registration OfficeSt. Joseph County; contacts on the Handbook page.FVAP, Sep 2025
ZIP code4655646556 100%Census 2020
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Nov 18, 2024.
The data
Ordered by what stands out in Notre Dame.
Work & commuteJobs & income grade C−
A larger share of residents live below the poverty line in Notre Dame than in most of Indiana or the rest of the country
Half the trips to work are shorter than 65 miles. No town among the 593 in Indiana we compare has a lower mean commuting time than Notre Dame. Among workers here, 24% do their job from home. Between 2013 and 2023, jobs in the town rose by 6,820, to 7,601.
7%work in town
| Notre Dame | Indiana towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 10 minutes | 24 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Below the poverty line | 49% | 10% | 9.6% |
| Work from home | 24% | 7.8% | 11% |
| Working residents who work in town | 6.5% | 11% | 8% |
Where working residents work
In Notre Dame7%
South Bend11%
Indianapolis9%
Mishawaka4%
Fort Wayne3%
65 mi
median commute distance
7,601
jobs based in Notre Dame
A job hub
jobs vs. working residents
A
Walkability grade: more walkable than 88% of U.S. towns
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Natural hazardsHazard risk grade A+
Notre Dame stands out in Indiana and nationally: the FEMA risk score there is lower
33% of Notre Dame’s expected losses from natural hazards come from cold waves, followed by inland flooding at 31%. Flood insurance has paid one claim locally since 2018. Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 100% of U.S. communities.
0risk score of 100
FEMA risk score
Cold wavesInland floodingTornadoes
1
paid flood claims since 2018
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
HealthA−
Residents of Notre Dame are healthier than four in five U.S. towns
No town among the 589 in Indiana we compare has a lower share of adults who have diabetes than Notre Dame. Against the Indiana average, Notre Dame comes out ahead on 11 CDC measures out of 32, and behind on 10. In Notre Dame, 71% of adults had a checkup this year.
84%healthier than U.S. townsA−Health Grade
| Notre Dame | Indiana towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 25% | 39% | 35% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 2.4% | 13% | 12% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 28% | 18% | 17% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 8.8% | 15% | 14% |
32 measures vs. Indiana
11 better11 too close to call10 worse
| What stands out | Notre Dame | IN |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults who have had cancer | 1.3% | 8.3% |
| Fewer adults with diabetes | 2.4% | 13% |
| More adults without reliable transportation | 13.5% | 7.7% |
Memorial Hospital of South Bend
1.3 mi away · emergency room
2 of 3
care shortages: primary care, mental health
97th
percentile among IN towns
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Climate
Snowy winters and pleasant summers in Notre Dame
A winter brings about 65 inches of snow, with January nights at 18° and July afternoons at 83°.
65″snow a winter
Typical low → high °F
Winter20–35°
Spring38–59°
Summer60–82°
Fall42–62°
Oct 23
typical first frost
Apr 23
typical last frost
+1.4°
vs. the 20th-century average
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
OutdoorsB+
9.3% of the land in Notre Dame is protected from building
Walkers can cover 1.9 miles of trail in 2 parks and preserves.
9.3%conserved
9.3%
conserved · 74 of 795 acres
1.9 mi
of trails · 1.6 per sq mi
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Charles B. Hayes Sculpture Park | 0.1 mi | 8 |
| 2. Our Lady of the Lake World Peace Plaza | 0.1 mi | 1 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Keep exploring
Everything we know about Notre Dame
16pages on Notre Dame
The big questions
Out and about
After high school
Colleges nearby
7 within 15 miles of the center of Notre Dame
University of Notre DameUniversity or college · Private nonprofit · Notre Dame0.2 mi$65,025 tuitionHoly Cross CollegeUniversity or college · Private nonprofit · Notre Dame0.8 mi$36,600 tuitionIndiana University-South BendUniversity or college · Public · South Bend2.6 mi$8,424 in-state tuition
College town 97 of every 100 Notre Dame residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Indiana.
A job hub
Every workday, about 7,540 people come to Notre Dame for work
Where Notre Dame’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
7,601jobs based in Notre Dame
7%of working residents work in town
65 mimedian commute distance
Census LEHD 2023
About Notre Dame
Census-designated place in the United States
Notre Dame is a census-designated place and unincorporated community north of the city of South Bend in St. Joseph County, in the U.S. state of Indiana. It includes the campuses of three Catholic colleges: the University of Notre Dame, Saint Mary's College, and Holy Cross College. Notre Dame is split between Clay and Portage townships. As of the 2020 census, its population was 7,234.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
- Area
- 1.3 sq mi
- Elevation
- 735 ft
- ZIP code
- 46556
- Area code
- 574
Notre Dame’s neighbors
3 towns share a border with Notre Dame.
South BendClay TownshipPortage TownshipNotre Dame
How the neighbors grade
| Town | IN rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Notre Dame | — | — | — | — | C− | A− |
| South Bend | #579 | D | B+ | D | C− | D |
| Clay Township | #397 | B− | C+ | — | C− | B+ |
| Portage Township | #515 | C | B+ | — | C− | D |
Notre Dame, Clay Township and Portage Township report no FBI crime data of their own. Notre Dame isn’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Notre Dame with a neighbor →
Questions about Notre Dame
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Is Notre Dame, IN a good place to live?
Notre Dame has no overall grade: it has no figures for cost of living and safety, and an overall grade needs at least three of the four big subjects (cost of living, safety, schools and health).