What is the cost of living in Elkhart-Goshen?

Elkhart-Goshen has a Regional Price Parity (RPP) of 90.3, where 100 represents the national average. Housing costs index at 64.3, which is below the national average. The average 2-bedroom rent is $1,183/month.

What is the median salary in Elkhart-Goshen?

The median salary in Elkhart-Goshen is $59,976 annually (mean: $62,878). Top occupations include Miscellaneous Assemblers and Fabricators, Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand, Fast Food and Counter Workers.

How safe is Elkhart-Goshen?

The violent crime rate in the Elkhart-Goshen area is 308 per 100,000 population (state-level data). Property crime rate is 1321 per 100K.

What are the schools like in Elkhart-Goshen?

The state of IN has 1,865 schools (state-level data, no metro-level federal count exists) with an average student-teacher ratio of 15.9:1. Charter schools make up 6.5% of all schools.

How much does childcare cost in Elkhart-Goshen?

Childcare cost data is not currently available for Elkhart-Goshen.

Is Elkhart-Goshen a good place to relocate?

Elkhart-Goshen has a Life Score of 50.8/100 (D), based on 6 of 7 available dimensions among cost of living, wages, rent, crime, schools, childcare, and environment (missing dims omitted, weights renormalized). This is a middle-of-the-pack score, where the composite lands for most US metros; look at individual dimensions to see the real trade-offs.

Where does Elkhart-Goshen sit among US metros on LiveAbility?

According to PlainRelocate's LiveAbility composite, Elkhart-Goshen ranks #141 of 387 scored US metros by LiveAbility Score (highest score = #1). That ordinal matches the /rankings/livability listing. See /methodology#corpus-placement for the exact sort basis.

Relocation profile · Federal data

Elkhart-Goshen, IN

BEA RPP 90.3 ranks #105 of 387 scored metros for lower prices (cheaper third).

Compiled by PlainRelocate · June 15, 2026

90.3
Cost index (US=100): $1,183
2BR rent / mo: $59,976
Median salary: 54.2
LiveAbility Score

The verdict

As of June 2026, Elkhart-Goshen ranks #141 of 387 US metros on the LiveAbility Score (54.2/100), with its strongest marks in low hazard and cost of living.

#141
of 387 US metros · Above median: 6,924,275
metro-area population: 308
violent crimes per 100K (state-level): 1,865
schools in the state (NCES)

Weakest dimension: job market (32/100). Weigh every dimension against your own priorities, use the City Finder to re-rank by what matters to you.

According to PlainRelocate's LiveAbility composite (BEA, BLS, HUD, FBI, NCES, EPA, NOAA, and FEMA inputs), Elkhart-Goshen ranks #141 of 387 scored US metros by LiveAbility Score (highest score = #1). Cost-of-living index 90.3 (100 = national average), median 2-bedroom rent $1,183/mo, median salary $59,976; LiveAbility Score 54.2/100, strongest in low hazard and cost of living.

Signature: BEA RPP 90.3 ranks #105 of 387 scored metros for lower prices (cheaper third).

Purchasing power opens up: BEA RPP 90.3 lands in the cheaper third of scored metros (cuts at 91.5 / 97.0). Median 2BR rent $1,183/mo.

LiveAbility 54.2/100 keeps Elkhart-Goshen in the middle third (#141 of 387).

BLS OEWS total employment in the Elkhart-Goshen area is 122,290.

Elkhart-Goshen vs all US metros by LiveAbility Score

Where this metro's LiveAbility Score falls among every scored US metro (composite placement, not a desirability verdict)

54 Top 36% higher than 64% of 387 US metros

Metros banded by LiveAbility Score (0–100)

Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more US metros. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count and share, and where it sits relative to this entry.

Source PlainRelocate LiveAbility Score · June 2026

Elkhart-Goshen housing and rent

HUD Fair Market Rents for the Elkhart-Goshen MSA; housing RPP 64.3 (100 = national average); 2BR $1,183/mo.

Studio

$968

/month

1 Bedroom

$992

/month

2 Bedroom

$1,183

/month

3 Bedroom

$1,553

/month

4 Bedroom

$1,581

/month

Elkhart-Goshen wages and employment

Elkhart-Goshen posts 122,290 total employment with median salary $59,976 against a cheaper-than-average RPP.

Median Salary

$59,976

Mean Salary

$62,878

Total Employment

122,290

Top Occupations by Employment

Occupation	Median Salary
Miscellaneous Assemblers and Fabricators	$46,960
Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand	$40,820
Fast Food and Counter Workers	$28,300
Sales Representatives, Wholesale and Manufacturing, Except Technical and Scientific Products	$75,220
First-Line Supervisors of Production and Operating Workers	$65,150

Schools & Education

State-level education data for the Elkhart-Goshen area from NCES.

Schools

1,865

Enrollment

1,033,761

Student:Teacher

15.9:1

Title I %

Life Score Breakdown

Elkhart-Goshen's composite Life Score is 50.8/100 (D), computed across 6 of 7 dimensions (missing dims omitted; remaining weights renormalized).

Cost

73/100

Strong

Wages

32/100

Weak

Rent

67/100

Strong

Crime

51/100

Average

Schools

55/100

Above average

Environment

16/100

Bottom decile

LiveAbility Score

View full rankings →

Elkhart-Goshen ranks #141 out of 387 metros with a LiveAbility Score of 54.2/100 - a composite of 8 of 8 quality-of-life dimensions from federal data. Customize the weights to match your priorities →

Strongest dimension: Low hazard (74/100)

Low hazard

74
Cost of living

73
Housing

67
Safety

51
Schools

45
Air quality

42
Climate

39
Job market

32

What this shows Elkhart-Goshen's strongest dimensions are low hazard and cost of living; its weakest among scored dims is job market at 32/100. Default weights: cost 18%, jobs & housing 15% each, safety & schools 12%, air & hazard 10%, climate 8%.

Compare Elkhart-Goshen to

Springfield St. Cloud St. George St. Joseph St. Louis State College

Metros near Elkhart-Goshen on cost, LiveAbility, or wages

Nearest out-of-state neighbors to Elkhart-Goshen on BEA RPP, LiveAbility, or BLS median salary, a different lens than the size-ranked list.

Similar cost of living (BEA RPP)

Similar LiveAbility score

Source: BEA Regional Price Parities, HUD Fair Market Rents, BLS OES, FBI UCR, NCES, DOL, EPA June 2026

Elkhart-Goshen cost figures follow BEA Regional Price Parities and HUD Fair Market Rents; Elkhart-Goshen wages and LiveAbility inputs follow BLS OEWS plus the federal sources listed in methodology. This information is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute professional advice. Scores are federal-data percentiles, not a move recommendation. How this data is sourced.

Verify with BEA → · Verify with BLS → · Verify with HUD → · Verify with NOAA → · Verify with FEMA → · Verify with Census →

Thinking about Elkhart-Goshen?

Elkhart-Goshen runs a $59,976 median salary at a 90.3 cost index, ranking #141 of 387 nationally on LiveAbility.

See exactly what Elkhart-Goshen's pay and cost figures mean for your own budget. Salary calculator
Put Elkhart-Goshen head-to-head against another city on the same dimensions. Compare Elkhart-Goshen
Abilene is the closest related metro in this corpus -- see how it stacks up. Abilene profile
A cheaper cost index and a higher LiveAbility score don't always point the same direction -- here's how to weigh the trade-off. Cost vs quality guide

Cost, salary and score figures are federal-data percentiles, not a move recommendation.