Best PlacesSouth Bend, PA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around South Bend, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. This page is for people who live here or already know they want to. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
South Bend ranks 11,916th of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on fast internet by a wide margin, and biking ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in South Bend
BestNeighborhood is the only ranking that scores 40 measures of daily life neighborhood by neighborhood and lets you re-weight every one of them yourself.
South Bend's strengths and weaknesses
Where South Bend ranks high
- Internet speedBetter than 97% of towns
- Disaster safetyBetter than 97% of towns
- Crime safetyBetter than 87% of towns
- Heat safetyBetter than 86% of towns
- Local economyBetter than 79% of towns
Where South Bend ranks low
- BikingBetter than only 3% of towns
- Cell coverageBetter than only 4% of towns
- Low property taxBetter than only 14% of towns
- Short commute34.3 minutes each way, better than only 16% of towns
- WalkabilityBetter than only 19% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in South Bend
A household needs to earn about $43,000 a year to comfortably buy the median South Bend home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $80,823, so a typical household can afford the median home outright.
Where the monthly payment goes
Assumes a 20% down payment, a 6.6% 30-year fixed rate, and a 28% share of income going to the payment. The rate is the 2026-07-23 30-year fixed average, series MORTGAGE30US from the St. Louis Fed, which publishes Freddie Mac's weekly survey. Against the median home value, property tax uses South Bend's effective rate of 1.36%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices, buying tends to cost more than renting for about the first 10 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in South Bend
South Bend runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for South Bend.
Who works in South Bend, and how
Work in South Bend centers on manufacturing and health care & social. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 92%
- Work from home 4%
- Transit, walk, or bike 3%
Life in South Bend
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across South Bend.
What the weather is like in South Bend, month by month
South Bend sees roughly 85 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 83 degrees. January highs sit near 37, with lows near 22. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 37° | 29° | 22° |
| April | 62° | 50° | 41° |
| July | 83° | 73° | 64° |
| October | 64° | 54° | 46° |
Flying in and out of South Bend
The nearest airport, Arnold Palmer Regional, is about 24 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Pittsburgh International, about 46 miles away.
The best schools in and around South Bend
Schools across South Bend average a B+, better than 77% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Elderton El SchA · 63% proficient
- Apollo-ridge Elem SchB · 46% proficient
Top middle schools
- Apollo-ridge MsC · 32% proficient
Top high schools
- Apollo-ridge HsA · 70% proficient
- West Shamokin JshsB · 49% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every South Bend school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
South Bend measure by measure
Cards are ordered by how much each measure matters to you, so the ones you weighted highest come first. Expand to see every measure. Percentages compare South Bend against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in South Bend
Is South Bend a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, South Bend ranks 11,916th of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on fast internet, low disaster risk, and low crime, and lowest on biking and cell coverage. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is South Bend expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $154,347. The overall cost of living runs about 12% below the national average. Set against a $80,823 median income, cost of living beats 64% of towns.
Is South Bend safe?
Yes, South Bend is safer than 87% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $163 per resident a year.
Compare South Bend with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to South Bend. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in South Bend represents the same real quantity as a 60 anywhere else, and the ranking is a weighted average of those absolutes. The map colors come from a national scale calibrated against a population weighted random sample of 5,000 neighborhoods. That absolute scoring is what no other places-to-live ranking does: it puts a single neighborhood, a town, a metro, and a state on one scale, so the same 40 measures answer both which metro to move to and which street inside it to buy on. Read the full methodology.
South Bend detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for South Bend: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in South Bend: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of South Bend: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in South Bend: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
South Bend detail on related sites:
- CrimeGrade: neighborhood crime rates behind the crime safety score.
- ISPreports.org: provider by provider internet availability and advertised speeds.
- CoverageWatch: the car insurance premiums behind the cheap car insurance score.
Federal and public data:
- U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey: income, home value, rent, vacancy, commute time and mode, educational attainment, home age, age structure, household type, industry, and race.
- NOAA Global Surface Summary of the Day: the daily station record behind the monthly temperatures and the pleasant-day count.
- FAA Passenger Boarding Data: airport size and annual passenger counts.
- Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey: the 30-year fixed rate used in the cost-to-buy estimate.
- FBI Crime Data Explorer: reported offenses behind the tangible crime cost estimate.
- U.S. EPA Air Quality System: five year average air quality index.
- FEMA National Risk Index: expected annual loss from natural hazards.
- CDC PLACES: disease burden, preventable risk, and barriers to care.
- National Center for Education Statistics: school enrollment and assessment inputs behind the school grade.
- FCC National Broadband Map: internet and wireless availability.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: employment and job growth behind the local economy score.
- Religious activity uses a proprietary religious signal measurement.
Your priorities
Move a slider to say how much a measure matters. Zero turns it off.