Muncie is also a major college town with a large number of people who are 18 years or older and attending college. As is often the case in college towns, the many students that live in Muncie have a strong influence on the local culture and entertainment scene, which may seem dormant by comparison in the summer months when much of the student population is away. In the fall, the return of students has a reinvigorating effect on the community. Because colleges are lasting institutions, they have a stabilizing effect on the economy by providing direct local benefits such as jobs for faculty and staff and spending by students. Muncie’s economy is one such example of this.
Not only is Muncie a city with many college students, but it also retains many recent graduates who are looking to start new careers, creating a decent-sized population of people who are young, single, educated, and upwardly-mobile. This makes it a good choice for other relocating single professionals. Here, these young singles will find many others like themselves, with opportunities for friendships, socializing, romance, and fun.
Residents of the city have the good fortune of having one of the shortest daily commutes compared to the rest of the country. On average, they spend only 19.00 minutes getting to work every day.
The overall education level of Muncie is somewhat higher than in the average US city of 21.84%: 25.45% of adults 25 and older in the city have at least a bachelor's degree.
The per capita income in Muncie in 2018 was $21,440, which is low income relative to Indiana and the nation. This equates to an annual income of $85,760 for a family of four. However, Muncie contains both very wealthy and poor people as well. Muncie also has one of the higher rates of people living in poverty in the nation, with 30.38% of its population below the federal poverty line.
Muncie is a somewhat ethnically-diverse city. The people who call Muncie home describe themselves as belonging to a variety of racial and ethnic groups. The greatest number of Muncie residents report their race to be White, followed by Black or African-American. Important ancestries of people in Muncie include German, Irish, English, European, and Italian.
The most common language spoken in Muncie is English. Other important languages spoken here include Spanish and Chinese.
