Game 7: Saturday, October 14, 2023 | Michigan vs. Indiana| Michigan Stadium | Noon EST
Ann Arbor SPARK’s popular football blog series is back for Michigan’s 144th season! We use the football season as an opportunity to compare Ann Arbor to cities around the country represented by our U-M football competition. The question is always – how does Ann Arbor compare to other college towns in the U.S.?
The undefeated Wolverines host the Indiana Hoosiers this weekend at the Big House. The Michigan Wolverines and Indiana Hoosiers last met in October last year and the matchup resulted in a win for Michigan. In fact, the two teams have met 71 times since 1900 and Michigan has won 61 of the games – that is a whopping 86 percent win rate!
Fun fact: it is nearly impossible to find the origin of the term Hoosier, which remains a matter of debate within the state. According to locals, anyone born in Indiana or currently residing in the state is considered a Hoosier. However, anyone who went to Indiana University may also claim the moniker of a Hoosier for life.
Now that we’ve addressed the fun stuff, let’s get down to business. The two cities are relatively similar, unlike some of our other recent comparisons. Bloomington has approximately 40,000 fewer people than Ann Arbor, while Indiana’s enrollment is only 3,705 students less than Michigan’s.
The cost of living is only slightly higher in Ann Arbor (cost of living index of 99.9 vs. 94.8 in Bloomington), but the median household income is drastically different between the two areas. In Bloomington, the median household income is $41,995 which is about half the median household income in Ann Arbor ($73,276).
Interestingly, in 2017, Indiana University more than doubled its research spending from approximately $200 million to about $485 million. At the time, the massive increase in expenditures propelled Indiana forward in the rankings from #101 to #46, and they have since moved up to #40 with total spending captured at $695.3 million in 2021.
Be on the lookout for our blog posts ahead of each game all season long and be sure to tag us when you share these interesting tidbits with your friends via social media! And, if you want more information like this or are curious to learn more about the Ann Arbor region and what makes it such a great place to live, work, and locate your business, please reach out to our Director of Research, Melissa Sheldon.
In case you missed it, here are links to the regional comparisons we’ve posted so far this year:
Benchmarking the Ann Arbor Region: 2023 Economic Competitive Assessment
Game 1: Ann Arbor vs. Greenville, NC
Game 2: Ann Arbor vs. Las Vegas, NV
Game 3: Ann Arbor vs. Bowling Green, OH
Game 4: Ann Arbor vs. New Brunswick, NJ
Game 5: Ann Arbor vs. Lincoln, NE
Game 6: Ann Arbor vs. Minneapolis, MN
