Those counties include Elkhart, La Porte, Marshall, St. Joseph, and Starke in Indiana, and Berrien and Cass in Michigan.
Because Michiana is not a legal or political entity, opinions differ about what counties and communities constitute the region.
[8] Berrien County, Michigan, is known as a common summer vacation destination for wealthy Chicagoans; the Wall Street Journal called the area "the Hamptons of the Midwest".
In 1960, 41% of the employment was in manufacturing, followed by 17% in hospitality 8% in business services, 6% in transportation, 5% in education, and 5% in agriculture, with healthcare at 4% and government at 2%.
Deindustrialization had a major impact after 1970, and by 2013, only 27% of the employment was in manufacturing, 20% was in hospitality, 12% in healthcare, 11% in government, 8% in business services, 5% in transportation, and 4% in education.
The University of Notre Dame had 5700 employees in the educational sector, and the South Bend Community School Corporation had 3000.