Elkhart-Goshen → Roanoke
Relocation analysis based on 7 federal data sources
Should you move?
Moving from Elkhart-Goshen to Roanoke is favorable: BEA regional price parity goes from 90.3 to 93.6 (US = 100), and HUD 2-bedroom rent rises by $71/mo.
- +$4,998
- BLS median salary higher in Roanoke
- 308 to 223
- violent crimes per 100K (FBI UCR, state-level)
- 15.9:1 to 13.9:1
- NCES student-teacher ratio
BEA Regional Price Parity, HUD Fair Market Rent, BLS OEWS, FBI UCR, NCES, and DOL. The table below lets you override the composite with your own priorities.
Pros of Moving
- + $5K higher median salary
- + Lower violent crime rate
- + Better student-teacher ratios
Cons of Moving
- - 3% higher cost of living
- - $71/mo more expensive rent (2BR)
Purchasing power stays near-even: BEA RPP moves only from 90.3 to 93.6 (ratio 1.04), inside a ±5% band. HUD 2BR Fair Market Rent rises $71/mo ($852/yr) from $1,183 in Elkhart-Goshen to $1,254 in Roanoke.
The seven-dimension ledger splits (3 destination wins · 3 origin wins); priorities decide this move. Roanoke sits #104 of 387 metros on PlainRelocate livability (top third of the corpus). Elkhart-Goshen is #141/387 on the same ranking. Composite verdict: Favorable. Override it with the dimension table below.
BLS OEWS median salary moves $4,998 higher ($59,976 → $64,974). Labor-market size: 122,290 tracked jobs at origin vs 144,240 at destination.
State retirement friendliness is near-even: Indiana 62 (C, #24/51) vs Virginia 64 (C, #20/51). Full state tax and healthcare sub-scores sit in the retirement desk below.
State retirement friendliness
Primary-state scores from PlainRelocate's retirement registry (tax + healthcare + climate composite). Metro pairs use each metro's primary state abbreviation.
- Income tax
- 72
- Property tax
- 69
- Estate tax
- 100
- Healthcare
- 32
- Income tax
- 78
- Property tax
- 71
- Estate tax
- 100
- Healthcare
- 62
Full retirement ranking · Source composite documented on methodology (Tax Foundation + AARP tax guides + federal healthcare/climate inputs).
Salary Adjustment Calculator
Enter your current salary in Elkhart-Goshen to see what you'd need to earn in Roanoke to maintain the same purchasing power.
Source: BEA Regional Price Parities, HUD Fair Market Rents, BLS OES, FBI UCR, NCES, DOL, EPA; retirement desk: Tax Foundation + AARP tax guides June 2026