In addition, Bloomington is a major college town that has a very high percentage of its residents over 18 years old who are college students. Naturally, collegiate life has a major influence on local Bloomington culture, lifestyle and entertainment options. Bloomington really pulses to the beat of the academic calendar. In Bloomington every fall, returning students reinvigorate the community, who you will notice are all over town, buying groceries, out with friends, and getting acquainted or re-acquainted with each other and Bloomington. One of the beneficial effects that colleges provide is that they tend to be lasting institutions that deliver direct economic benefits to the local economy in the form of such things as jobs for faculty and staff, and spending by students. Bloomington benefits directly from this.
Not only is Bloomington a city with many college students, but it also retains many recent graduates who are looking to start new careers, shaping the character of the city into a place that is geared toward, and considered attractive to, many single, educated people. Many singles consider Bloomington a good place to live without being in a really big city, with opportunities for friendships and fun with others like themselves.
Compared to the rest of the country, citizens of Bloomington spend much less time in their cars: on average, their commute to work is only 18.54 minutes. This also means that noise and pollution levels in the city are less than they would otherwise be.
A lot of people in Bloomington take the bus for their daily commute. For the size of the city, the number of people who use public transportation is quite high. For many people in Bloomington, this fills their need for low-cost transportation.
If knowledge is power, Bloomington is a pretty powerful place. 59.82% of the adults in Bloomington have earned a 4-year college degree, masters degree, MD, law degree, or even PhD. Compare that to the national average of 21.84% for all cities and towns.
The per capita income in Bloomington in 2022 was $31,069, which is upper middle income relative to Indiana, and middle income relative to the rest of the US. This equates to an annual income of $124,276 for a family of four. However, Bloomington contains both very wealthy and poor people as well. Bloomington also has one of the higher rates of people living in poverty in the nation, with 31.08% of its population below the federal poverty line.
Bloomington is a very ethnically-diverse city. The people who call Bloomington home describe themselves as belonging to a variety of racial and ethnic groups. The greatest number of Bloomington residents report their race to be White, followed by Asian. Important ancestries of people in Bloomington include German, English, Irish, Polish, and Italian.
The most common language spoken in Bloomington is English. Other important languages spoken here include Chinese and Spanish.
