2001 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report

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with incomes $15,000 to $24,999; and the remaining 12% with household incomes under $15,000 per year, The median household effective buying income disposable income aver taxes} in the County in 2001 was $40,816, which equated to more than $4.36 billion in effective buying income for this area. Health and education lead the employment statistics for St. Joseph County. The largest employers in the County as of January 2002 were as follows: University of Notre Dame X4,100}; Saint Joseph Regional Medical Center X3,358}; South Bend Community School Corporation X3,100}; Memorial Health Systems X3,300); Honeywell Incorporated X1,430}; St. Joseph County Government X1,631}; Indiana University of South Bend X1,481}; Martin's Super Markets X1,443}; City of South Bend X1,300}; Meijer Incorporated X1,225};Penn-Harris-Madison School Corporation X1,215}; AM General Corporation X1,001}; First Source Bank X969} and Madison Center and Hospitals X815}. The following provides a profile of the adult population residing in St. Joseph County: Gender: 47% male; 53% female Age: 15% 18-24 years of age; 20% 25-24 years of age; 21 % 35-44 years of age;14% 45-54 years of age;11% 55-64 years of age; and 19% 65 years or older Race: 84% white; 10% BlacklAfrican American; 4% HispaniclLatino; 1 % Asian; and 1 % other Marital Status: 59% Married;l8% widowedlDivorcedlSeparated; and 23% Single Home Gwnership: 78% own; 22% rent Type of Dwelling: 84% single unit;l6%other The cost of living continues to be one of the greatest advantages of living in this community. The housing costs in South Bend are well below the national and regional averages. During the third quarter of 2001, the median sales price for a single family home per the National and Indiana Association of Realtors} for the nation and the Midwest were $123,400 and $93,040, respectively, compared to South Bend's median price of only $54,600. For the same period, Chicago's median price was $211,800 and Indianapolis stood at $120,200. South Bend's ACCRA cost of living index for the third quarter of 2001 was 91.6, which was 10.8% below the nationwide average. A further breakdown of South Bend's cost of living index for this period was as follows: grocery items - 87.8; housing costs - 91.3; utilities - 95.3;transportation - 88.7; health care - 99.8; and miscellaneous goods and services - 92.4. The City of South Bend continues to place high emphasis on a growing and diversified local economy. It has been active in developing ten industrial parks, offering itself as a low-cost alternative to the Chicago metropolitan area to companies engaged in light manufacturing, distribution and services. More than 240 businesses operate in South Bend's industrial parks, including companies engaged in metalworking, plastics, warehousing and distribution, and professional services. The South Bend Community School Corporation serves all of the City and some of the surrounding area and has a current enrollment of approximately 21,797 students in grades kindergarten through high school. An estimated 4,441 students attend private or parochial schools within the City. The ten institutions of higher education and technical training located ix