Michiana is a region in northern Indiana and southwestern Michigan centered on the city of South Bend, Indiana. The Chamber of Commerce of St. Joseph County, Indiana defines Michiana as St. Joseph County and "counties that contribute at least 500 inbound commuting workers to St. Joseph County daily." Those counties include Elkhart, La Porte, Marshall, St. Joseph, and Starke in Indiana, and Berrien and Cass in Michigan. As of the 2010 census, those seven counties had a population of 856,377.
The St. Joseph River flows through the heart of Michiana, southwest from Michigan to Indiana, west through Mishawaka (shown), turning north at South Bend, back into Michigan through Niles to Lake Michigan at St. Joseph.
The South Bend–Mishawaka Metropolitan Statistical Area, sometimes referred to as Michiana, as defined by the United States Census Bureau, is an area consisting of two counties – one in northern Indiana and one in southwest Michigan (Cass), anchored by the cities of South Bend and Mishawaka in Indiana. As of the 2010 census, the MSA had a population of 319,224.
Downtown South Bend and St. Joseph River