Photo: Scott Palmer · CC BY-SA 4.0South Bend’s household incomes are lower than in 80% of U.S. towns
About one in three work in South Bend itself; outside it, Mishawaka draws the most (13%, 5 miles). Poverty touches 20.8% of residents, where Indiana as a whole has 12.3%. South Bend grades C for jobs and income and A− for walkability.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2024, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Jobs and commuting in South Bend: the gist
Jobs & income in South Bend: the grade in detail
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, South Bend is better than 26% of U.S. towns, #491 of 593 in Indiana. Job access by car holds South Bend’s grade up (ahead of 78% of U.S. towns); the poverty rate pulls it down.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, South Bend could be anywhere from C− to C.
Miles to work from South Bend
About 18% 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 works in South Bend, and who works elsewhere
On a workday 26,846 residents head out to work, 14,085 work right here, and 38,519 people come in from elsewhere.
About 115,000 people are in South Bend on a workday afternoon, 11% more than live here.
About as many jobs as working residents (1.29 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.
Commuting out of South Bend: the destinations
Where South Bend clocks in
13% of workers
7% of workers
6% 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.
What South Bend’s employers do
52,604 jobs are based in South Bend.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in South Bend, 2014 → 2024: 57,573 → 52,604. 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 South Bend’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The daily trip from South Bend: about 20 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6.5 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of South Bend workers work from home, vs 11% across Indiana. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 40,529 commuters (the 11% 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.
Walkable streets, thin transit: South Bend
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, South Bend is more walkable than 84% of U.S. towns, #39 of 593 in Indiana. Both inputs place South Bend 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 45,654 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). 9.8% of South Bend households have no vehicle (Indiana 6.2%, U.S. 8.4%). 2% of South Bend’s commuters take a bus or train.
These are town averages; neighborhoods differ.
South Bend and other U.S. towns of 72,000 to 139,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lakeville MN | 79,270 | $139K | 2.9% | 2.0% | 11% | A+ |
| 2 | Plymouth MN | 78,942 | $137K | 4.3% | 2.3% | 12% | A+ |
| 3 | South Jordan UT | 87,614 | $134K | 3.7% | 2.4% | 10% | A+ |
| 4 | Fall Creek Township IN | 75,188 | $146K | 3.2% | 2.4% | 9% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 6 | Carmel IN | 105,634 | $142K | 3.9% | 2.7% | 22% | A+ |
| 7 | Clay Township IN | 104,932 | $142K | 3.9% | 2.7% | 22% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 385 | Lauderhill FL | 75,668 | $51K | 19.4% | 8.5% | 3% | C |
| 386 | Tulare CA | 73,907 | $72K | 17.9% | 8.6% | 23% | C |
| 387 | South Bend IN | 103,201 | $56K | 20.8% | 6.5% | 34% | C |
| 388 | Scranton PA | 75,514 | $51K | 23.0% | 5.4% | 30% | C |
| 389 | Peoria IL | 110,920 | $59K | 21.0% | 7.5% | 48% | C |
| … | |||||||
| 420 | Flint MI | 79,306 | $38K | 34.1% | 14.8% | 20% | 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 South Bend, the top three, the last and three more from Indiana.
The towns next door employ 21% of South Bend
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | South Bend workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| South Bend | – | C | A− | 20 min | $55,786 |
| Ardmore | under 2% | C | B− | 18 min | $47,069 |
| Gilmer Park | under 2% | B | C− | 21 min | $76,818 |
| Mishawaka | 13% | C | B+ | 21 min | $54,291 |
| Notre Dame | 6% | C− | A | 10 min | $19,886 |
| Portage Township | under 2% | C− | A | 20 min | $52,872 |
| Penn Township | 2% | C+ | B | 21 min | $65,544 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Mishawaka. Darker towns draw more of South Bend’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 South Bend: questions
What is the median household income in South Bend?
$55,786 (±$1,639) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $71,957 across Indiana and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in South Bend?
20.8%, against 12.3% across Indiana and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from South Bend?
20 minutes each way on average, against 24 across Indiana and 26 nationally. 11% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in South Bend work?
34% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Mishawaka (13%, 5 mi), Elkhart (7%, 16 mi), Notre Dame (6%, 2 mi) (Census LEHD 2024).
Is South Bend walkable?
South Bend is more walkable than 84% of U.S. towns (Walkability A−): an EPA walkability index of 8.7 out of 20, and 6% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around South Bend without a car?
2% of commuters take transit and 10% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from South Bend, from the people who make the trip.
More of South Bend
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.