Notre Dame, Indiana

Community in St. Joseph County · population 7,234 (2020 Census)

Household income: $19,886
Jan low / Jul high: 17° / 83°
Snow a year: 65 in
Tornadoes ≤10 mi since 1950: 36
Median age: 20.3

Notre Dame is a community of 7,234 people in St. Joseph County, Indiana. It ranks better for young professionals than 100% of Indiana towns, hipper than 100% of Indiana towns, more of a college town than 100% of Indiana towns.

Notre Dame in our rankings:

How Notre Dame ranks

Percentile among Indiana towns with at least 500 people on The Town Files lifestyle rankings. 50 is typical for the state; 90 means better than 90% of Indiana towns.

The Town Files lifestyle rankings, built from federal demographic, school, crime and housing data (2025).

Homes and cost of living

Median rent is $1,258 a month. 4.3% of households own their home.

Census ACS 5-year estimates, 2020–2024. "Typical town" = median of Indiana towns with 500+ people.

Housing	Notre Dame	Typical Indiana town
Median home value	—	$150,400
Median rent	$1,258	$888
Median household income	$19,886	$61,953
Home value ÷ income	—×	2.5×
Homeownership	4.3%	73.4%
Median year built	1995	1966
Seasonal / vacation homes	0.0%	—

Who lives in Notre Dame

People	Notre Dame	Typical Indiana town
Median age	20.3	38.9
Age 65 and over	1.1%	17.1%
Under 18	0.7%	—
Bachelor's degree or higher	79.5%	17.4%
Below the poverty line	49.2%	11.6%
Veterans	0.4%	—
Born outside the U.S.	10.3%	—
Work from home	23.6%	6.2%
Average commute	10.4 min	24.7 min
Homes with broadband	76.7%	89.2%

Weather in Notre Dame

July highs average 83.0°F and January lows 17.1°F. About 40.9 inches of rain and melted snow fall a year, with 64.5 inches of snow (typical Indiana town: 21.1 in). Expect about 17 days a year at 90°F or hotter and 133 nights at or below freezing.

NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals: average daily high and low by month; precipitation and snowfall in inches. Temperatures from the S Bend station (0.5 mi away); snow from South Bend Michiana Rgnl Ap (4.0 mi).

Tornadoes, storms and disasters

36 tornadoes have passed within 10 miles of Notre Dame since 1950, compared with 23 for the typical Indiana town. 11 rated (E)F2 or stronger. The strongest, an F4, struck on April 11, 1965 about 8.4 miles from the town center. Tornadoes within 10 miles have caused 2 deaths and 81 injuries since 1950. The most recent was on April 17, 2026.

NOAA Storm Events Database, tornado tracks (start to end point) passing within 10 miles of the town center, 1950–2026.

Hail of 1 inch or larger has been reported within 10 miles 90 times; the largest was 3.50 inches on April 17, 1963.

Severe weather in St. Joseph County since 1996

NOAA Storm Events Database, St. Joseph County, 1996–2026 (all event types recorded since 1996). 2 deaths recorded.

St. Joseph County has been included in 17 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1953, most often for flood, tornado, hurricane.

Declared	Incident	Declaration
August 15, 2026	Flood	EM-3651: Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Tornadoes, And Flooding
January 24, 2026	Winter Storm	EM-3641: Severe Winter Storm
April 3, 2020	Biological	DR-4515: Covid-19 Pandemic
March 13, 2020	Biological	EM-3456: Covid-19
May 4, 2018	Flood	DR-4363: Severe Storms And Flooding

Jobs and pay in St. Joseph County

St. Joseph County had 121,043 jobs in 2024, paying an average of $59,303 a year. Unemployment was 3.9% in 2023; in Notre Dame itself the ACS puts it at 2.6%.

BLS Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages, 2024, private-sector jobs and average annual pay.

Annual average unemployment rate (BLS Local Area Unemployment Statistics via USDA ERS).

Towns near Notre Dame

South Bend, IN
2.3 mi · 103,453 people · home $140,400
Mishawaka, IN
4.1 mi · 51,063 people · home $155,500
Granger, IN
6.0 mi · 30,337 people · home $331,100
Milton, MI
7.0 mi · 3,128 people · home $299,600
Osceola, IN
8.6 mi · 2,590 people · home $196,900
Bertrand, MI
8.9 mi · 2,611 people · home $297,100
Niles, MI
9.3 mi · 11,988 people · home $135,100
Niles, MI
10.8 mi · 14,417 people · home $173,100

Notre Dame questions

Is Notre Dame, Indiana a good place to retire?

On The Town Files lifestyle rankings, Notre Dame scores better for retirees than 2% of Indiana towns and quieter than 1%. 1.1% of residents are 65 or older (median age 20.3).

What is the weather like in Notre Dame?

July highs average 83.0°F and January lows 17.1°F (NOAA 1991–2020 normals). It gets about 40.9 inches of precipitation a year and 64.5 inches of snow.

Does Notre Dame get tornadoes?

36 tornadoes have passed within 10 miles of Notre Dame since 1950 (NOAA Storm Events); the strongest was a F4 on April 11, 1965. The typical Indiana town has had 23.

How this page is made. Every number comes from public data, matched to Notre Dame's Census boundary (GEOID 1855386). Comparisons use the median of Indiana towns with at least 500 people. Weather comes from the nearest NOAA normals station; storm counts use NOAA tornado tracks within 10 miles of the town center.

U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates (2020–2024)
U.S. Census Bureau, 2020 Census and 2025 Gazetteer (2020 / 2025)
NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals (1991–2020)
NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database (1950–2026)
FEMA OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations (this product uses the FEMA OpenFEMA API but is not endorsed by FEMA) (1953–2026)
NCES Common Core of Data (2023–24)
BLS Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages; USDA ERS county unemployment (BLS LAUS) (2000–2024)
The Town Files lifestyle rankings, built from federal demographic, school, crime and housing data (2025)

Data snapshot 2026-11-12.