Livability Awards
South Bend, Indiana is a medium-sized city with a population of 101,037 people. South Bend tends to attract a younger crowd, as the median age of 33 is far below the national average. If you are not a fan of long commutes, you will enjoy living in South Bend. With average one way commute time of only 20 minutes, getting to and from work is a breeze compared to the national average of 26 minutes.
Are you trying to decide if living in South Bend is the right fit for your lifestyle? To ensure a good experience before relocating to any new city in Indiana, you will probably want to make sure that you check all of the most important boxes. Using the livability score which includes data from categories like crime, cost of living, weather, education, housing, you can easily compare the best places to live in South Bend and also determine if there are any nearby cities that might be a better match for your lifestyle. You can also compare South Bend to Indiana and the national average.
With a livability score of 62/100, South Bend is ranked #21,124 in the United States and #524 in Indiana. Based on the grades for each individual category, South Bend has been rewarded with high marks for amenities (A+) and cost of living (A-). There are some categories that South Bend ranks poorly for, including: crime (F), weather (D), education (D-), employment (F) and housing (D). It might be worth taking a closer look to figure out why.
Location, location, location - possibly the three most important words in your search for a new place to live. Fortunately, in South Bend, there is no shortage of amazing local amenities and interesting things to do.
The South Bend unemployment rate (1.25%) has continued to decrease over the years and is now well below the national average. Finding a new job in the area might just be easier than you thought!
There are many factors that go into deciding if an area is the right fit for your lifestyle. Certain “must haves” like low crime, great schools and nearby amenities are all at the top of most people's lists. But before even considering if those options are available, most people will need to know if the real estate in South Bend is actually affordable. Median real estate prices in South Bend come in at $80,500, which is 36.4% lower than the Indiana average. The home price to income ratio compares the median home prices to the median household income. In South Bend, the home price to income ratio is 2.3, which is 8% lower than the Indiana average. Real estate appreciation rates in South Bend are important to consider, as they can act as a guide to determine if your new home purchase will be a solid investment going forward. During the last twelve months, the appreciation rate for South Bend homes comes in at 8.7%, and the 5 year appreciation rates were 4.4%.
| Statistic | South Bend | Indiana | National |
| Average one way commute | 20min | 23min | 26min |
| Workers who drive to work | 78.6% | 83.0% | 76.4% |
| Workers who carpool | 10.8% | 8.9% | 9.3% |
| Workers who take public transit | 3.0% | 1.1% | 5.1% |
| Workers who bicycle | 1.3% | 0.5% | 0.6% |
| Workers who walk | 3.3% | 2.1% | 2.8% |
| Working from home | 2.4% | 3.5% | 4.6% |
| Airports (within 30 miles of city center) | 1 (1) | 4 | 354 |
| Amtrak train stations (within 30 miles of city center) | 1 (6) | 13 | 711 |
| Walk | Bike | Compact | Car | S.U.V. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Distance | |||||
| Duration | |||||
| Cost/Month |
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