Work & commute · South Bend

Work & commute in South Bend, IN

About one in 3 of South Bend’s working residents works in town. The top destinations are Mishawaka (14%), Elkhart (8%) and Notre Dame (6%). Half commute less than 5 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

34%

14,236 of 41,563 working residents

Typical commute

5 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

20 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

11%

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 27,327 South Bend residents head out of town to work, 14,236 work right here, and 38,752 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in South Bend.

27,327live here, work elsewhere

14,236live and work here

38,752work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where South Bend goes to work

South Bend (in town)right here

34%14,236

Mishawaka5.3 mi away

14%5,634

Elkhart15.8 mi away

8%3,176

Notre Dame2.3 mi away

6%2,489

Clay4.4 mi away

2%756

Penn7.3 mi away

2%725

Goshen23.7 mi away

2%639

Fort Wayne71.1 mi away

1%583

Granger8.1 mi away

1%482

Center131.5 mi away

1%398

Everywhere elseother towns and states

30%12,445

Lines run between town centers; a thicker line means more commuters. The top 10 towns each way.

How far

How far South Bend commutes

Straight-line distance from home to work, for every working resident. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.

62%

16%

18%

62%Under 10 mi

16%10–24 mi

4%25–50 mi

18%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

South Bend is balanced between jobs and homes

1.27jobs per working resident

Balanced

About as many jobs as working residents (1.27 per resident).

The jobs

What the jobs in South Bend are

52,988 jobs are based in South Bend. Here is what they are, next to the jobs South Bend’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in South Bend

52,988 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)14%

Trade, transport & utilities19%

Services (health, schools, offices…)67%

$1,250 a month or less14%

$1,251–$3,333 a month30%

Over $3,333 a month56%

Jobs South Bend residents hold

41,563 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)21%

Trade, transport & utilities19%

Services (health, schools, offices…)60%

$1,250 a month or less16%

$1,251–$3,333 a month33%

Over $3,333 a month50%

+5%

Jobs based in South Bend, 2013 → 2023: 50,370 → 52,988. Big swings can come from how a large employer reports its locations, not only from real openings or closings.

About these numbers

How to read this page

Every worker, home to workThe Census links each worker’s home block to their main job’s block, for jobs covered by unemployment insurance. That’s most jobs, but not the self-employed.

Where the employer saysA job counts where the employer reports it. Some big employers report one address for many sites, which can make a few commutes look longer than they are.

Two surveysFlows, distances and jobs: LEHD 2023. Commute time and working from home: the Census American Community Survey.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2023, primary jobs; American Community Survey 5-year estimates.