Age and households: the dated snapshots

2000 — 2024

Households and income leave the decennial census after 2000, so this entry is snapshots, each dated and labeled, never a blended series: The 2000 census's income snapshot, in 1999 dollars: median household income $33,986, median family income $41,947, per capita income $18,434 — with 7.3 percent of families and 9.9 percent of the population below the poverty line. The 2010 census counted 48,252 people in 21,343 households and 11,730 families, at an average household size of 2.21 and an average family size of 2.92; 28.2 percent of households had children under 18, 35.5 percent were married couples living together, and 45.0 percent were non-families. The city's median age in 2010 was 34.7 years — 23.1 percent of residents under 18, 13.6 percent 65 or older, and a sex balance of 47.1 percent male to 52.9 percent female.

The 2020 census counted 51,063 people in 23,319 households and 25,365 housing units, 8.1 percent of the units vacant; 24.9 percent of households had children under 18, 39.9 percent were made up of individuals, and 14.3 percent had someone living alone who was 65 or older. The median age had risen to 36.2 years; 20.8 percent of residents were under 18 and 16.7 percent were 65 or older, and there were 91.2 males for every 100 females. The survey line runs beside it, labeled: the American Community Survey 2020–2024 counts 22,850 households at 2.18 persons per household — fewer households than the 2020 census counted, on a pooled survey basis that is not the census's and is not blended with it — with a median age of 36.0, 20.8 percent under 18, 16.6 percent 65 or over, and median household income of $54,291 in 2024 dollars. The direction across the three snapshots is consistent on every basis: the city is older by a year and a half of median age across the decade, its households are smaller and more often one person alone, and the share of children has fallen from 23.1 to 20.8 percent while the share past 65 has risen from 13.6 to 16.7 — the aging the county's forecasters project forward, already legible in the counted record.

Sources:

1. U.S. Census Bureau, Census 2000 — Mishawaka city income snapshot (median household $33,986; median family $41,947; per capita $18,434; poverty 7.3 percent of families, 9.9 percent of persons), as published from the census.
2. U.S. Census Bureau, Census 2010 — 48,252 people; 21,343 households; 11,730 families; average household size 2.21; average family size 2.92; household composition as printed; median age 34.7; under 18, 23.1 percent; 65 or older, 13.6 percent; 47.1 percent male, 52.9 percent female.
3. U.S. Census Bureau, Census 2020 — 51,063 people; 23,319 households; 25,365 housing units, 8.1 percent vacant; household composition as printed; median age 36.2; under 18, 20.8 percent; 65 or older, 16.7 percent; 91.2 males per 100 females.
4. U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020–2024 (QuickFacts and the Missouri Census Data Center profile) — 22,850 households; 2.18 persons per household; median age 36.0; median household income $54,291 (2024 dollars); estimates, labeled as such.