Photo: Steven Pavlov · CC BY-SA 3.0Households in South Bend earn less than those in 93% of U.S. towns
For a town this walkable, transit is thin: about 2.0 trips an hour at the evening peak near the typical resident, next to 94.7 in Seattle. Below the poverty line: 24.2% of residents; Washington has 9.9%. South Bend grades D− 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
Work and commuting in South Bend, in brief
A big share show a job far from home
54% of working residents have a main job more than 50 miles away. Part of that is employers that report every worker at one head office, so not all of those trips happen daily. How far ↓
South Bend’s biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside South Bend is Seattle, 95 miles away as the crow flies. 9% of working residents (52) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓
South Bend is where the jobs are
South Bend has 1,121 jobs, 2.0 for every working resident. Day and night ↓
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; with 549 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
Jobs & income in South Bend: the grade in detail
On income, poverty and job access, South Bend is near the bottom of U.S. towns. All three inputs sit close together, so no single one decides South Bend’s grade.
Unemployment (7.8%) is left out: South Bend’s labor force is under 1,000, too few workers for a steady figure.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income and poverty, South Bend could be anywhere from D− to C−.
The distance from South Bend to work
About 54% 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.
South Bend on a workday afternoon
On a workday 455 residents head out to work, 94 work right here, and 1,027 people come in from elsewhere.
About 2,400 people are in South Bend on a workday afternoon, 32% more than live here.
2.0 jobs for every working resident, so more people commute in than out.
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 towns that send workers to South Bend
Where South Bend clocks in
9% of workers
8% 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.
Making and building: 32% of jobs based in South Bend
1,121 jobs are based in South Bend.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in South Bend, 2014 → 2024: 1,166 → 1,121. 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 20% across Washington. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 610 commuters (the 9% who work from home are left out). Across Washington: 79% drive alone, 4% take transit; U.S.: 81% and 4%. Census ACS 2020–24.
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
In South Bend, walking beats the bus
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, South Bend is more walkable than 92% of U.S. towns. 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 669 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 71% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 0% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 2.0 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 69% of the 9,825 U.S. towns with transit data.
Transit at the evening rush trips an hour stopping within ¼ mile of the typical resident, EPA 2020
Households without a car (shown, not graded). 15.7% of South Bend households have no vehicle (Washington 7.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of South Bend’s commuters take a bus or train.
How South Bend compares with U.S. towns of 1,300 to 2,400
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chevy Chase Village MD | 1,978 | $250K | 1.2% | 2.6% | 1% | A+ |
| 2 | Plandome NY | 1,482 | $250K | 0.9% | 1.4% | 1% | A+ |
| 3 | Hewlett Harbor NY | 1,332 | $250K | 1.9% | 7.2% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 21 | Woodway WA | 1,316 | $205K | 2.1% | 0.7% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 30 | Fife Heights WA | 1,446 | $157K | 2.4% | 4.5% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 97 | McMillin WA | 1,348 | $141K | 2.3% | 4.0% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 5,196 | Antlers OK | 2,186 | $36K | 26.2% | 8.6% | 32% | D− |
| 5,197 | Hartshorne OK | 1,877 | $40K | 23.6% | 5.3% | 10% | D− |
| 5,198 | South Bend WA | 1,790 | $45K | 24.2% | 7.8% | 17% | D− |
| 5,199 | Sistersville WV | 1,319 | $46K | 40.8% | 12.6% | 8% | D− |
| 5,200 | Wayne WV | 1,383 | $27K | 25.8% | 5.5% | 6% | D− |
| … | |||||||
| 5,343 | Paraje NM | 1,333 | $33K | 61.7% | 0.0% | 7% | 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 Washington.
South Bend and the towns next door
The biggest share goes to Raymond (8%).
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | South Bend workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| South Bend | – | D− | A | 20 min | $45,000 |
| Raymond | 8% | C− | B− | 17 min | $48,516 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
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?
$45,000 (±$27,846) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $98,141 across Washington and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in South Bend?
24.2%, against 9.9% across Washington and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from South Bend?
20 minutes each way on average, against 27 across Washington and 26 nationally. 9% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in South Bend work?
17% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Seattle (9%, 95 mi), Raymond (8%, 3 mi), Tacoma (4%, 75 mi) (Census LEHD 2024).
Is South Bend walkable?
South Bend is more walkable than 92% of U.S. towns (Walkability A): an EPA walkability index of 9.6 out of 20, and 11% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around South Bend without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 16% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
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.