Cost of Living Comparison
The University of Notre Dame is situated in one of America’s most affordable locations: South Bend, Indiana (and Greater Michiana). In fact, a 2025 report from Niche.com ranked South Bend #4 on its list of cities with the lowest cost of living in America (for cities with a population of 100,000 or more). The interactive dashboard below gives you a sense for how South Bend stacks up against other cities in terms of cost of living. It also gives you a sense for what a stipend in other cities would need to be in order to be truly equivalent to a particular stipend level in South Bend.
The University of Notre Dame also publishes an annual estimate of itemized expenses for students in Graduate School programs. This can be helpful for gauging the actual cost estimate for categories like the following: Housing and Food, Books and Supplies, Personal Expenses, and Transportation.
Additional external resources related to cost of living include: