City · St. Joseph County, Indiana

South Bend, Indiana

South Bend is a city in St. Joseph County, Indiana, part of the South Bend-Mishawaka, IN-MI metro area. It has 103,085 residents. South Bend, Indiana has a quality-of-life score of 25 out of 100 (low), ranking #11,804 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Indiana it ranks #287 of 353 cities and towns. It ranks best on natural hazard risk (low), distance to an airport (low) and distance to an Amtrak station (low). It ranks worst on child poverty rate (high), dental care shortage (high) and hospital quality rating (low).

25Low

Quality-of-life score: #11,804 of 15,651 cities and towns
Indiana: #287 of 353 in IN
Population: 103,085 (2020-2024)
Land area: 42 mi²
Density: 2,460.5 /mi²
FIPS code: 1871000

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 75 of 80 indicators, with the default “Explorer” weights.

Open in the map

Scores by category

Each category averages its indicators' percentile scores among US cities and towns.

Safety22#12,255/15,637
Economy11#13,873/15,631
Housing60#5,918/14,977
Health18#12,801/15,609
Healthcare46#8,429/15,650
Environment24#11,805/15,453
Education33#10,437/15,649
Infrastructure65#5,555/15,650
Community32#10,606/15,651
Leisure & amenities44#8,700/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where South Bend, Indiana ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “St. Joseph County value” are the county’s: the source publishes no figure for this city or town, and the county holding most of its residents stands in.

Strengths

Natural hazard risk · low0.7
100/100Indiana 24.52025Federal Emergency Management AgencySt. Joseph County value
Distance to an airport · low7 mi
99/100Indiana 38 miUnited States 33 mi2025Federal Aviation Administration · Bureau of Transportation Statistics · U.S. Census BureauSt. Joseph County value
Distance to an Amtrak station · low5 mi
96/100Indiana 29 miUnited States 43 mi2026Federal Aviation Administration · Bureau of Transportation Statistics · U.S. Census BureauSt. Joseph County value
Drought exposure · low1%
93/100Indiana 19%United States 43%Oct 2025–Sep 2026National Drought Mitigation Center (University of Nebraska–Lincoln), USDA and NOAASt. Joseph County value
Flu vaccinations · high53.0%
87/100Indiana 47.0%United States 44.0%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteSt. Joseph County value
Distance to an emergency room · low3.5 mi
86/100Indiana 5.2 miUnited States 5.5 miJul 2026Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesSt. Joseph County value

Weaknesses

Child poverty rate · high29.1%
4/100Indiana 15.8%United States 15.5%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B17001
Dental care shortage · high17.3
8/100Indiana 6.4United States 5.7Oct 2026Health Resources and Services AdministrationSt. Joseph County value
Hospital quality rating · low2.0
9/100Indiana 3.4United States 3.2Jul 2026Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesSt. Joseph County value
Fine particulate matter (PM2.5) · high9.1 µg/m³
10/100Indiana 8.8 µg/m³United States 8.0 µg/m³2022Centers for Disease Control and Prevention · U.S. Environmental Protection AgencySt. Joseph County value
Poverty rate · high20.8%
12/100Indiana 12.1%United States 12.1%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B17001
Poor or fair health · high26.4%
13/100Indiana 20.7%United States 19.9%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteModel-based estimate

Trends

The largest changes over about five years, next to the country's over the same periods.

Broadband subscriptionsImproving
71.4% (2015-2019) → 88.9% (2020-2024)
+18 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Median household incomeImproving
$40,265 (2015-2019) → $55,786 (2020-2024)
+39%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604
Child poverty rateImproving
34.0% (2015-2019) → 29.1% (2020-2024)
−4.8 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%
Home price to income ratioWorsening
2.1× (2015-2019) → 2.5× (2020-2024)
+19%5 yearsCensus table B25077US 3.5× → 4.1×
High school diploma or higherImproving
84.1% (2015-2019) → 87.8% (2020-2024)
+3.7 pts5 yearsCensus table B15003US 88.0% → 89.6%
Bachelor's degree or higherImproving
25.7% (2015-2019) → 29.3% (2020-2024)
+3.6 pts5 yearsCensus table B15003US 32.1% → 35.7%

What changed in five years

How each measure moved between two periods about five years apart, read against whether more or less is better, the published margin of error and the same change in other places.

Over about five years, South Bend, Indiana improved on 7 of 15 measures with a comparison and declined on 2. 5 moved within the margin of error and 1 barely changed.

Earlier (2015-2019)
Latest (2020-2024)
Lower standingHigher standing

Position is the place's standing among cities and towns: further right is better, whichever way the measure counts.

Improved7

Broadband+18 points71.4% → 88.9%
High school++3.7 points84.1% → 87.8%
Household income+39%$40,265 → $55,786
Uninsured−2.1 points12.3% → 10.2%
Child poverty−4.8 points34.0% → 29.1%

Declined2

Transit use−1 points2.5% → 1.6%
Price / income+0.4×2.1× → 2.5×

All 15 measures

Change of every measure of South Bend, Indiana between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	20.1 min2015-2019	20.2 min2020-2024	+0.1 min	Within the margin of error	46%
Bachelor's degree or higher	25.7%2015-2019	29.3%2020-2024	+3.6 points	Improved	56%
Broadband subscriptions	71.4%2015-2019	88.9%2020-2024	+18 points	Improved	86%
Child poverty rate	34.0%2015-2019	29.1%2020-2024	−4.8 points	Improved	68%
Effective property tax rate	1.06%2015-2019	0.92%2020-2024	−0.1 points	Little change	45%
High school diploma or higher	84.1%2015-2019	87.8%2020-2024	+3.7 points	Improved	74%
Home price to income ratio	2.1×2015-2019	2.5×2020-2024	+0.4×	Declined	54%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4842015-2019	0.4782020-2024	−0.006	Within the margin of error	56%
Median household income	$40,2652015-2019	$55,7862020-2024	+39%	Improved	72%
Poverty rate	23.6%2015-2019	20.8%2020-2024	−2.8 points	Improved	68%
Public transit commuters	2.5%2015-2019	1.6%2020-2024	−1 points	Declined	18%
Rent as share of income	30.6%2015-2019	30.2%2020-2024	−0.4 points	Within the margin of error	59%
Rent-burdened households	50.9%2015-2019	50.3%2020-2024	−0.5 points	Within the margin of error	58%
Unemployment rate	6.3%2015-2019	6.5%2020-2024	+0.2 points	Within the margin of error	44%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	12.3%2015-2019	10.2%2020-2024	−2.1 points	Improved	70%

“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 14640 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.

Sources: American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates. Values are the latest and the one five years earlier of the same publisher dataset; datasets that changed publisher in between are never compared.

Survey estimates (American Community Survey) compare the two most recent 5-year windows that do not share years, so the margin of error of the difference holds. The 2015-2019 window predates the pandemic and 2020-2024 includes it.
A change counts only when it is larger than 1.645 times the square root of the two standard errors squared, summed (a 90% margin). Measures published without a margin must change by at least 5% to count.
“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 15651 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.
Standing is a percentile among the same places: 0 is the lowest value on the measure (or the worst when lower is better), 100 the best.

Cities and towns like South Bend, Indiana five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of South Bend, Indiana in the earlier period, ranked by how many measures improved beyond the margin of error, minus how many declined. A comparison of published data, not a forecast and not advice.

For comparison, South Bend, Indiana itself moved +4.5 points in standing on average over the same 10 measures (standings of all places average about zero).

How the ranking works

Similarity is the root-mean-square difference of standings in the earlier period over the measures most places have. Places are ranked by measures that improved beyond the margin of error minus those that declined (a count that estimation noise in small places cannot inflate), then by the mean change of standing over the measures a place has in both periods. Only places with more improvements than declines and a rise in standing are listed. Standings are relative, so a place can improve in absolute terms and still lose standing.

Who lives here

Age, race and education of residents, from the American Community Survey. Shares are of all residents (age), residents of every origin (race) or adults 25 and over (education).

Age and sex

103,085 residents (±716)

Men
Women

80 and over
70–79
60–69

Income

How household income is spread, not just the middle: each bar is the share of households in that income range.

Household income

41,282 households (±917)

South Bend, Indiana
Indiana share

Under $25k22%8,923
$25k–50k23%9,588
$50k–75k20%8,052

Homes

Who owns and who rents, what homes cost, and what the housing stock looks like.

Owners and renters

41,282 households (±917)

South Bend, Indiana
Indiana share

Own60%24,861
Rent40%16,421

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: Own (+3.0 points).

Table view

Getting to work

How workers travel to their job and how long it takes them.

How people get to work

45,654 workers (±1,359)

South Bend, Indiana
Indiana share

Drive alone71%32,453
Carpool12%5,314
Public transit1.6%†722

Jobs and pay

What the largest occupations here pay, from the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes pay by metro area, not by county or city. The metro area page lists its largest occupations and lets you look up any job.

Pay in the South Bend-Mishawaka, IN-MI

Local businesses

Employer businesses and sole proprietors by industry, per resident and against the state and the nation. Counts of businesses next to counts of people, not a measure of demand.

The Census Bureau publishes business counts by county, not by city, so these are the figures of St. Joseph County, the county holding most of South Bend's residents.

St. Joseph County has 5,959 employer establishments, 218 for every 10,000 residents (0.88× the US rate of 248; 0.96× Indiana's), with 120,211 paid employees at an average annual pay of $52,273. The Census Bureau also counts 18,012 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 5,959; 18,012 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 218; US 248 · Indiana 226
Paid employees: 120,211
Average annual pay: $52,273; US $68,342

Employer establishments, employees, average pay and nonemployers of St. Joseph County by industry, with the density per resident against the nation

Restaurants and other eating places	487	17.8	0.97×About typical	10,217	$19,882	84
Ambulatory health care services	471	17.2	0.83×About typical	8,393	$73,458	853
Specialty trade contractors	290	10.6	0.69×Fewer than typical	3,730	$70,893	1,036
Limited-service restaurants	225	8.2	1.03×About typical	4,869	$18,219	28
Lessors of real estate	207	7.6	0.62×Fewer than typical	1,177	$49,788	1,755
Full-service restaurants	202	7.4	0.96×About typical	4,625	$21,817	44
Religious organizations	184	6.7	1.21×About typical	1,649	$30,774	—
Services to buildings and dwellings	173	6.3	0.94×About typical	1,210	$33,436	1,062
Building equipment contractors	133	4.9	0.81×About typical	2,270	$76,740	154
Offices of other health practitioners	133	4.9	0.80×About typical	1,386	$41,211	343
Automotive repair and maintenance	127	4.6	0.92×About typical	810	$51,063	176
Offices of physicians	122	4.5	0.69×Fewer than typical	3,224	$110,852	157

Rank places for an industry Open St. Joseph County

County Business Patterns (2023); Nonemployer Statistics (2024)

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 273,119 residents here, 336,755,052 in the United States. County Business Patterns counts establishments in 2023; the Nonemployer Statistics count businesses in 2024.
“More than typical” is a density at least 1.25 times the nation's per resident, “fewer” at most 0.8 times, with at least 10 establishments. It compares counts of businesses with counts of people: it says nothing about demand, incomes, size, quality or profit, and visitors and commuters are not residents.
The Census Bureau adds noise to employment and payroll to protect confidentiality, and withholds some figures: an industry with few establishments can show employees or pay as unavailable.
Industries overlap: a narrower industry (full-service restaurants) is part of a broader one (restaurants), so the rows do not add up.
Industries follow the North American Industry Classification System; the two surveys use different editions (NAICS 2017 and 2022), which this page matches industry by industry.

Federal contracts performed here

In FY2026, an estimated $115.6M of federal contract obligations were for work performed in South Bend, Indiana: $1,122 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $115.6M; −90% vs FY2025
Per resident: $1,122; US $1,994
Sole-source: 6.2%; US 30%
Single offer: 1.0%; US 8.8%

A signal is a reason to look closer, not evidence of wrongdoing: most sole-source awards are lawful and justified.

Top buying agencies

Department of the Army$100.1M87%
Defense Logistics Agency$13.2M11%
Public Buildings Service$842.1K0.7%
Department of the Navy$814.9K0.7%
Under Secretary for Farm and Foreign Agricultural Services$153K0.1%
Federal Aviation Administration$108.2K0.1%
Office of the Assistant Secretary for Financial Resources$96.7K0.1%
Environmental Protection Agency$91.4K0.1%

Top recipients

Spending by fiscal year

818.8MFY2017
506.9MFY2018
792.5MFY2019
475.2MFY2020
361.4MFY2021
502.2MFY2022
1.1BFY2023
1.1B

Top industries (NAICS)

Motor vehicle body and trailer manufacturing · 3362$104.7M91%
Motor vehicle parts manufacturing · 3363$3.2M2.7%
Architectural, engineering, and related services · 5413$2M1.8%
Aerospace product and parts manufacturing · 3364$2M1.7%
Engine, turbine, and power transmission equipment manufacturing · 3336$1.3M1.1%
Scientific research and development services · 5417

Largest awards whose ZIP code lies mostly in South Bend, Indiana

PRICED DELIVERY ORDER OFF OF BASE CONTRACT, W56HZV-23-D-0008.$689.9M
AM GENERAL LLC· St. Joseph County, IN· Weapons, aircraft, ships & vehicles· Jul 30, 2024 – May 27, 2026· W912CH24F0207
JOINT LIGHT TACTICAL VEHCILE (JLTV) FAMILY OF VEHICLES PRICED DELIVERY ORDER FOR 513 TRUCKS AND 273 TRAILERS TO SUPPORT UKRAINE TRANCHE PRESIDENTIAL DRAWDOWN.$580.5M
AM GENERAL LLC· St. Joseph County, IN· Weapons, aircraft, ships & vehicles· May 24, 2023 – Apr 13, 2026· W56HZV23F0294
HMMWV SECM PRODUCTION CONTRACT.$405.4M
AM GENERAL LLC· St. Joseph County, IN· Weapons, aircraft, ships & vehicles· Sep 9, 2022 – Mar 20, 2026· W56HZV22F0412

Source: Federal contract transactions (Federal Procurement Data System) (U.S. Department of the Treasury, USAspending.gov), data current to Oct 3, 2026, loaded Oct 3, 2026.

How this is estimated

Agencies report each contract action's place of performance as a county and a ZIP code. A ZIP code's money is split among the cities it covers by the share of its land inside each (Census 2020 ZIP code tabulation areas); the part outside city limits stays with the county.

The place of performance is what the contracting agency reports, often the contractor's office rather than where the work happens.
Shares are of land, not of people or businesses: a ZIP code that is mostly rural land but has its offices in town gives the town less than it should.
ZIP codes that are not mapped areas (post office boxes, the unique ZIP codes of large federal sites and companies) stay with their county, unless one city covers nearly all of it.
Counts of actions and awards include those only partly in South Bend, Indiana, so they do not add up across cities.

South Bend, Indiana's figures are part of those of St. Joseph County, IN ($148.2M in FY2026), never added to them: 78% of that total.

Grants and other federal assistance are counted by county here, not split among cities: South Bend is mostly in St. Joseph County.

See federal money in St. Joseph County

Representation in Congress

Members serving today, with their record in the current Congress (party-unity votes cast with their caucus, roll calls missed). Not a grade.

South Bend, Indiana is represented in the 119th Congress by these members.

House

Rudy Yakym IIIR-IN-2 · 100% of residentsWith party 100%Missed 0.0%

Senate

Explore Congress The 2026 races

County

A city can lie in several counties. Some indicators are published for counties only: the page marks them.

St. Joseph County49100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

South Bend-Mishawaka, IN-MI50

Other cities and towns in St. Joseph County

Largest first.

Similar cities and towns

Closest indicator profiles across the country (no model: score distances).

Data and sources

Latest published value of each indicator; periods differ by source. Values flagged by their publisher are marked.

PLACES: Local Data for Better HealthCenters for Disease Control and Prevention · release 2025
Local Area Unemployment StatisticsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · release 2025
American Community Survey 5-Year EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2017-2024
Population Estimates ProgramU.S. Census Bureau · release 2025
Small Area Health Insurance EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
Small Area Income and Poverty EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
County Health Rankings & RoadmapsUniversity of Wisconsin Population Health Institute · release 2022-2025+2026-03-supplement

JSON · /api/v1/places/1871000

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends