Community Profile

View the full Niles City Profile here

Location
Located in the southwest corner of Michigan. Major cities easily accessible to Greater Niles area are: 

Miles from
  • South Bend, IN: 9
  • Benton Harbor, MI: 25
  • Kalamazoo, MI: 60
  • Chicago, IL: 90
  • Grand Rapids, MI: 100
  • Lansing, MI: 130
  • Toledo, OH: 150
  • Indianapolis, IN: 160
  • Detroit, MI: 190
  • Cleveland, OH: 256

Population
2020 U.S. Census

Niles City (5.5 square miles) 11,986
Niles Township 14,314
Howard Township 6,288
Bertrand Township 2,605
Milton Township 3,235
49120 Zip Code (All Areas Listed Above) Approximately 37,700
Berrien County 154,320



Transportation

Air:
Jerry Tyler Memorial Airport (Niles) - Private and Charter
South Bend Regional Airport - Served by US Air Express, Nashville Eagle, United Express, Allegheny, Comair, Continental Express, Northwest, Trans World Express, American Eagle, Delta

Rail: Norfolk-Southern freight; Historic Niles Amtrak Station, South Shore Railroad passenger service

Bus: United Limo

Local Transit:  Niles Dial-A-Ride Transportation System

Motor Freight: 17 lines

Highways: Served by Interstate 94, Interstate 80-90 (Indiana Toll Road), U.S. 31, U.S. 12, M-60, M-140 and M-51

Water: Lake port - St. Joseph-Benton Harbor - 25 miles, Deep water port - Port of Indiana - 50 miles

Parcel Service:

Freight Carries To: Chicago Detroit New York Los Angeles
By UPS 1 day 1 day 2 days 3-4 days
By Rail 2 hours 3.5 hours 20 hours 2 days
By Truck 3 Hours 4 hours 16 hours 28 hours


Public Utilities

Electric: City of Niles Utilities Department; American Electric Power Company

Natural Gas: SEMCO Energy

Water and Sewer: City of Niles Utilities Department

Water Source: 6 wells - Total capacity is 7.6 million gallons per day. Elevated storage: 2.2 million gallons

Sanitation: Treatment plant - Activated Sludge; capacity: 10.8 MGPD sustained maximum flow. Present load 2 - 2.4 MGPD

Labor Market
Annual Average - 2012

  Civilian Labor Force Employed
Berrien County 77,561 68,609
Niles City 5,389 4,565
Niles Township 6,975 6,525

Area Businesses
Brandywine Public Schools- employs 205
French Paper Company - employs 100
Lakeland Regional Medical Center - employs 505
National-Standard Company - specialty wire, wire products; employs 250
Niles Community Schools - employs 575

Industrial Park

Niles Industrial Park: 418 acres within the city limits. Served by Conrail and is within three miles of major highways. Fifty-five acres are fully developed with industrial capacity utilities in place. Wireless internet and fiber services available.  Industrial sites are available.  Several major industrial firms that are presently located in the park are:

Indeck Niles Energy Center, Spartan Tool, Modineer, Toefco Engineered Coatings, Specialty Products, Kamps Pallets & Boxes, Niles Steel Tank, Paragon Tempered Glass, French Enterprise, Tru Blu Enterprises, Baby Well LLC, W Haas LLC, Innovated Products, Cut-Tech, Ducarra Aviation, B.A.R.T. Supply, Davis Cartage Company, Patriot Tool & Die, Pelley Excavating, D & G Supply, Treadstone LLC

Tax

Property Tax Values:

Original Taxable Value 2018 Berrien & Cass County : $187,073,438
Original SEV value 2017 Berrien & Cass County: $214,180,238

Tax (Millage) Rates 2019

Niles City (Berrien County)
*PRE (Homestead) = 37.3752 mil + 1% administration fee
Non PRE = 55.3752 mil + 1% administration fee + $20.00 fee per property for Ambulance
For Multi Family dwellings the $20.00 fee is based on how many families live in the dwelling. 
*PRE = Principal Residence Exemption 

Financial Institutions

Niles Area Banks:

Huntington National Bank, Fifth Third Bank, First Source Bank, Chemical Bank, Standard Federal Bank and others.

Niles Area Credit Unions:

United Federal Credit Union, Greater Niles Community Federal Credit Union, Berrien Teachers Credit Union and others.

Communication

Radio: WNIL-AM, WAOR-FM, WSMK-FM, WNDV-FM, WNSN-FM, WAUS-FM (National Public Radio), WGTC-FM,

Television: WSBT-TV (CBS), WNDU-TV (NBC), WSJV (FOX), WBND (ABC), WNIT (PBS), WHME (Religious) NOTE: Comcast Xfinity and AT&T U-verse serve the Greater Niles Area

Newspaper: The Niles Daily Star, The South Bend Tribune, Herald-Palladium, Detroit Free Press, Chicago Tribune, Wall Street Journal, Berrien County Record

Climate

Average temperatures: Summer - 83.20 F, Winter - 34.4o F
Average precipitation: Rainfall - 39.14", Snowfall - 71.1"

Housing (2020)

houses

  
Residential Properties 4,496
Commercial Properties 560
Industrial Properties 94
Agricultural Properties 0
  

Government Services and Facilities

Form of Government
Council / Administrator form of government - A full time city administrator manages day to day operations.

Niles City Police Department
16 full time police officers, 2 part time officers and 33 support personnel including reserve officers.

Niles City Fire Department
12 full time firefighters and 23 support personnel including reserve firefighters.

Community Facilities

Health:
Lakeland Community Hospital, Niles, is part of Lakeland HealthCare, a not-for-profit, community-owned health system that includes three hospitals, an outpatient surgery center, long-term care, rehabilitation, and home health services. An 89-bed facility serving Niles and southwestern Michigan with primary and specialty care services, the Niles location provides all general community hospital services, including obstetrics, surgery, emergency care, radiology, laboratory services, and outpatient oncology.

Lakeland Hospital

Southwestern Michigan Community Ambulance Service (Niles) - Non-profit governmental authority staffed by a full-time director and fully trained paramedics.

Nursing Homes: three licensed in Niles, seven additional in the area.

Educational:

Niles Community School System - enrollment 3,933 K-12. Six elementary schools, one junior high school, one senior high school

Brandywine Community Schools - enrollment 1,403 K-12. One middle school, one senior high school

St. Mary's Catholic School - enrollment 90 K thru 6

Seventh Day Adventist School - enrollment 60 K thru 8

Community Colleges - Lake Michigan College (Small Business Services Center- Niles) and (Niles Extension); Southwestern Michigan College (Niles Extension)

Colleges/Universities - University of Notre Dame (10 miles); St. Mary's College (10 miles); Holy Cross College (10 miles), Davenport College (10 miles), Indiana University - South Bend (10 miles), Bethel College (12 miles), Andrews University (12 miles); extensions of Michigan State University and Western Michigan University (25 miles).

Parks and Recreation

Riverfront gym

The City of Niles maintains several parks including Island Park, Plym Park, and Riverfront Park.  Riverfront Park is located along the St. Joseph River downtown and boasts a 2.2 mile walking trail along the beautiful and scenic river from Plym Park through Riverfront Park and to the city limits.  Riverfront Park contains an amphitheater where free outdoor concerts and other events are held, boating docks and a large children's playscape area.  Riverfront Skate Park is located within this public park and draws kids from the entire area.  The Niles area maintains 10 parks, soccer, football, and softball fields, as well as tennis and basketball courts. The YMCA offers complete facilities and family oriented programs. Also available are opportunities for boating, canoeing, tubing, fishing, water-skiing, bowling, ice skating, golf, racquetball and cross-country skiing. For more park information click here

Cultural

Thirteen Antique Malls and Shops, Art Gallery, Fort St. Joseph Museum, Fernwood Botanical Gardens, South Bend Symphony, Niles Performing Arts Association.

Area Annual Activities

dragon boat

  • Hunter Ice Festival
  • Family Carnival & Bluegrass Festival
  • Michigan's Longest Garage Sale
  • Summer Concert Series
  • Apple Festival 
  • Haunted House Scream Park
  • Thanksgiving Day Run - 5 and 10 K
  • Downtown Lighting Ceremony
  • Fort St. Joseph Open House Weekend
  • Fort St. Joseph Museum and Chapin Mansion Christmas Open House

Religion
Forty-six churches, representing 24 denominations.

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