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(4,802); Memorial Health System (3,493); South Bend Community School Corporation (3,303); <br />Saint Joseph Regional Medical (2,935); The Diocese of Fort Wayne /South Bend (2,500); AM <br />General (2,151); St. Joseph County (1,750); Martin's Supermarkets (1,484); City of South Bend <br />(1,400); Indiana University of South Bend (1,300). <br />The following provides a profile of the adult population residing in St. Joseph County: <br />Gender: 48% male; 52% female <br />Age: 16.1% 18 -24 years of age; 13% 25 -34 years of age; 14.8% 35 -44 <br />years of age; 13.1% 45 -54 years of age; 7.8% 55 -64 years of age; <br />and 13.6% 65 years or older <br />Race: 82.4% White; 11.5% Black/African American;4.7% <br />Hispanic /Latino; 1 % Asian; and I% Other <br />Marital Status: 59% Married; 18% Widowed /Divorced/Separated; and 23% Single <br />Home Ownership: 78% own; 22% rent <br />Type of Dwelling: 84% single unit; 16% other <br />The cost of living continues to be one of the greatest advantages of living in this community. The <br />housing costs in South Bend are well below the national and regional averages. During the <br />second quarter of 2004, the median sales price for a single family home (per the National and <br />Indiana Association of Realtors) for the nation and the Midwest were $191,300 and $157,200, <br />respectively, compared to South Bend's median price of only $93,800. For the same period, <br />Chicago's median price was $263,300 and Indianapolis stood at $125,900. South Bend's <br />ACCRA cost of living index for the fourth quarter of 2004 was 95.3. A further breakdown of <br />South Bend's cost of living index for this period was as follows: grocery items - 87.8; housing <br />costs - 91.5; utilities - 108.5; transportation ---- 96.8; health care - 102.3; and miscellaneous goods <br />and services - 96.8. <br />The City of South Bend continues to place high emphasis on a growing and diversified local <br />economy. It has been active in developing ten industrial parks, offering itself as a low -cost <br />alternative to the Chicago metropolitan area to companies engaged in light manufacturing, <br />distribution and services. More than 240 businesses operate in South Bend's industrial parks, <br />including companies engaged in metalworking, plastics, warehousing and distribution, and <br />professional services. <br />The South Bend Community School Corporation serves all of the City and some of the <br />surrounding area and has a current enrollment of approximately 21,477 students in grades <br />kindergarten through high school. An estimated 4,441 students attend private or parochial <br />schools within the City. The ten institutions of higher education and technical training located <br />within the South Bend area have a total enrollment of approximately 27,611. Over the years, the <br />University of Notre Dame has provided a stabilizing influence on the economy with a very <br />significant economic impact upon the community. <br />South Bend has continued to progress in its growth since 1842, when Father Edward Sorin <br />named his rustic log chapel "Notre Dame du Lac" and began to teach the local Indians. Today, <br />the chapel has grown into the University of Notre Dame. In 1852, H.C. Studebaker started the <br />viii <br />