St. Cloud → Elkhart-Goshen
Relocation analysis based on 7 federal data sources
Should you move?
Moving from St. Cloud to Elkhart-Goshen is less favorable: BEA regional price parity goes from 87.6 to 90.3 (US = 100), and HUD 2-bedroom rent falls by $23/mo.
- -$12,695
- BLS median salary lower in Elkhart-Goshen
- 259 to 308
- violent crimes per 100K (FBI UCR, state-level)
- 15.8:1 to 15.9:1
- 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.
Cons of Moving
- - $13K lower median salary
- - More environmental violations
Purchasing power stays near-even: BEA RPP moves only from 87.6 to 90.3 (ratio 1.03), inside a ±5% band. HUD 2BR Fair Market Rent barely moves ($1,206 → $1,183); the housing line is not the swing factor on this corridor.
St. Cloud still leads on 5 of 7 federal dimensions, the origin keeps the edge. Elkhart-Goshen sits #141 of 387 metros on PlainRelocate livability (middle third). St. Cloud is #40/387 on the same ranking. Composite verdict: Less Favorable. Override it with the dimension table below.
BLS OEWS median salary moves $12,695 lower ($72,671 → $59,976). Labor-market size: 96,960 tracked jobs at origin vs 122,290 at destination.
State retirement friendliness favors the destination: Indiana scores 62 (C, #24/51) vs Minnesota at 49 (F, #43/51). 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
- 60
- Property tax
- 62
- Estate tax
- 50
- Healthcare
- 34
- Income tax
- 72
- Property tax
- 69
- Estate tax
- 100
- Healthcare
- 32
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 St. Cloud to see what you'd need to earn in Elkhart-Goshen to maintain the same purchasing power.
Elkhart-Goshen metro profile · Livability rankings · Methodology
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