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South Bend, Indiana has 5 accredited schools offering liberal arts programs. South Bend has a population of about 102,866. Median household income is $52,512 (Census ACS 2023, 5-year). About 29.4% of adults 25+ hold a bachelor’s degree or higher. In the South Bend-Mishawaka, IN-MI metro area, the top-earning liberal arts-related role is Management Analyst at a median $93,620 annually (BLS OEWS, May 2025).
The accredited institutions listed below are the closest in our directory that offer liberal arts programs near South Bend, ranked by BOC Score and straight-line distance from South Bend city center. The list is rebuilt from federal IPEDS data on every site update.
Every school list on this site is ordered by the BOC Score, computed from the most recent school-level data published by the U.S. Department of Education (College Scorecard and IPEDS). To qualify, a school must be currently operating and accredited by an agency recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. Each eligible school is then scored on five measures, percentile-ranked against schools at the same credential level:
Schools without enough outcome data appear after ranked schools, without a score. On this page, schools are ordered by distance from South Bend. Advertising never affects these rankings. Read the full methodology.
Source:Accreditor: Higher Learning CommissionIPEDSCollege Scorecard
Source:IPEDSCollege Scorecard
Source:IPEDSCollege Scorecard
Source:IPEDSCollege Scorecard
Source:IPEDSCollege Scorecard
Source:IPEDSCollege Scorecard
Source:IPEDSCollege Scorecard
Source:Accreditor: Higher Learning CommissionIPEDSCollege Scorecard
Source: IPEDS / College Scorecard (2023 cohort). Browse all Indiana schools on the Indiana liberal arts page.
South Bend is part of the South Bend-Mishawaka, IN-MI metro area (BLS area code 43780). Where MSA-level wages are published, the table below shows MSA medians; otherwise it falls back to Indiana statewide.
| Occupation | Median Wage | Source | COL-Adjusted (US=100) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Public Relations Specialist | $61,830 | South Bend-Mishawaka, IN-MI | $66,555 |
| Management Analyst | $93,620 | South Bend-Mishawaka, IN-MI | $100,775 |
| Technical Writer | $75,510 | IN statewide | $81,281 |
| News Analyst, Reporter, or Journalist | $47,610 | IN statewide | $51,249 |
| Editor | $56,440 | IN statewide | $60,753 |
| Training and Development Specialist | $51,330 | South Bend-Mishawaka, IN-MI | $55,253 |
| Human Resources Specialist | $63,700 | South Bend-Mishawaka, IN-MI | $68,568 |
Source: BLS, May 2025 Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes wage data at the metro (MSA) and state level – not by individual city.
| Metric | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Population | 102,866 | Census ACS 2023 5-yr (B01003) |
| Median household income | $52,512 | Census ACS 2023 5-yr (B19013) |
| Adults 25+ with bachelor’s+ | 29.4% | Census ACS 2023 5-yr (B15003) |
| Regional Price Parity (US=100) | 92.9 (below U.S. average) | BEA RPP 2024 |
| Liberal Arts-related employment in St. Joseph County | 413 workers, 28 establishments | BLS QCEW 2024 annual |
Accredited schools offering liberal arts programs near South Bend are listed on this page, ranked by BOC Score and distance from the city center. The list is rebuilt from federal IPEDS and College Scorecard data on every site update, so it stays current as programs open and close.
Based on BLS OEWS May 2025 wage data, the top-paying liberal arts-related roles near South Bend are: Management Analyst ($93,620), Technical Writer ($75,510), Human Resources Specialist ($63,700). These reflect MSA-level medians where published, with Indiana statewide fallback for occupations not reported at the metro level.
Elkhart, IN is 15.9 miles from South Bend and has its own set of local liberal arts programs – see the city’s page. For online programs, distance matters less; for hybrid or in-person formats, comparing both can help.
South Bend’s median household income of $52,512 (Census ACS 2023) is one input. Online programs let students stay in South Bend while attending lower-cost out-of-state schools, and Indiana public universities often offer reduced in-state online tuition.
Confirm institutional accreditation via the U.S. Department of Education database (U.S. Dept. of Education database), and check for any program-specific accreditation listed by the school.
Compare every accredited online degree program with city-level data for South Bend:
Data verified: July 23, 2026. Salary, employment, and tuition figures on this page are sourced from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (OEWS May 2025; Employment Projections 2024–2034) and the U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard (2023 cohort). The source agency and data year are cited inline with every statistic.
