PlainCompare

Metro Life Score

Elkhart-Goshen, IN

52.4
Life Score / 100
B-
Grade (curved)
#167
of 387 metros
57%
of metros outranked

Data updated May 2026

Verify: BEA · BLS · HUD · FBI · NCES · EPA · Census

The verdict

Elkhart ranks #167 of 387 US metros, ahead of 57% - carried by its cost of living (73/100) and held back most by environment (27/100).

73
strongest: Cost of Living
67
then: Rent
27
weakest: Environment
7
weighted dimensions

Where Elkhart sits among all US metros

Composite Life Score vs the national field

52 57th percentile higher than 57% of 387 US metros

25–30: 1 US metros (0%). Below this entry. 30–35: 16 US metros (4%). Below this entry. 35–40: 46 US metros (12%). Below this entry. 40–45: 53 US metros (14%). Below this entry. 45–50: 81 US metros (21%). Below this entry. 50–55: 67 US metros (17%). This entry sits in this band. 55–60: 68 US metros (18%). Above this entry. 60–65: 40 US metros (10%). Above this entry. 65–70: 12 US metros (3%). Above this entry. 70–75: 3 US metros (1%). Above this entry. This metro 25 75 every US metro, bucketed by value

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, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.

Source PlainCompare composite of BEA, BLS, HUD, FBI, NCES, DOL, EPA data · May 2026

How the score is built

Reading the Elkhart Life Score

Elkhart's composite score of 52.4 out of 100, a grade of B-, places the metro at rank #167 of 387, ahead of 57% of US metros. The strongest inputs are Cost of Living (73/100) and Rent (67/100), which pull the composite upward, while Environment (27/100) and Wages (32/100) drag it downward. (How the weighting works.)

BEA RPP 90.3 (rent-RPP 64.3). BLS median salary $59,976, 122,290 jobs (Miscellaneous Assemblers and Fabricators, Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand, Fast Food and Counter Workers). HUD 2BR FMR $1,183/mo (studio $968).

FBI UCR (IN): 308 violent, 1321 property/100K. NCES: 15.9:1 ratio, 6.5% charter. EPA: 53 Superfund sites (IN). Ranks #164-#170 below.

Dimension detail

How Elkhart scores, dimension by dimension

Score Breakdown

Cost of Living Wages Rent Safety Schools Childcare Environment

Dimension Scores

Cost of Living 73/100 (20%)
Wages 32/100 (20%)
Rent 67/100 (15%)
Safety 52/100 (15%)
Schools 55/100 (10%)
Childcare -/100 (10%)
Environment 27/100 (10%)

Key Data Points

90.3
Cost Index (RPP)
$59,976
Avg Median Salary
$1,183
2BR Fair Market Rent
308
Violent Crime/100K (IN)
15.9:1
Student-Teacher Ratio
53
Superfund Sites (IN)
122,290
Total Employment

Crime, schools, childcare, and environment data shown at state level where metro-specific data is unavailable.

Compare Elkhart With...

Elkhart vs Terre Haute Compare → Elkhart vs Muncie Compare → Elkhart vs Louisville/Jefferson County Compare → Elkhart vs Wildwood Compare → Elkhart vs Waterloo Compare → Elkhart vs Paducah Compare →

Ranking Context

Elkhart outranks 57% of U.S. metros.

Rank Metro Score Grade
#164 Watertown-Fort Drum, NY 52.5 B
#165 Utica-Rome, NY 52.5 B
#166 Reno, NV 52.5 B
#167 Elkhart-Goshen, IN 52.4 B-
#168 Lawton, OK 52.4 B-
#169 Augusta-Richmond County, GA-SC 52.1 B-
#170 Fort Wayne, IN 52.1 B-

IN Metro Scores

Terre Haute, IN A 63.5 Muncie, IN A- 61.0 Louisville/Jefferson County, KY-IN A- 60.3 Kokomo, IN B+ 57.0 South Bend-Mishawaka, IN-MI B 55.2 Evansville, IN B 53.8

Using Elkhart's Life Score

Elkhart is a regional baseline, not a neighborhood reading, use it to shortlist, then dig into the dimensions that matter to you.

  • Its strongest dimension is cost of living (73/100) and its weakest is environment (27/100) - weigh those against your own priorities. How the score is built
  • Put Elkhart head-to-head against another metro before you decide, every dimension, side by side. Compare metros
  • See where Elkhart lands on the national rankings for cost, safety, pay and more. Browse rankings

Scores summarize federal data at the metro level; crime, schools and cost vary widely within a single metro.

Explore more

Frequently Asked Questions

What are Elkhart's biggest strengths? ▼
Elkhart's strongest dimensions are Cost of Living (73/100), Rent (67/100), Schools (55/100). Cost of Living is top-tier nationally.
What are Elkhart's weakest areas? ▼
Elkhart's lowest-scoring dimensions are Environment (27/100), Wages (32/100), Safety (52/100). Environment weighs heavily on the composite.
How expensive is Elkhart compared to the national average? ▼
Elkhart's Regional Price Parity is 90.3 (9.7% less than national); rent RPP 64.3.
What is the average salary in Elkhart? ▼
Elkhart median salary: $59,976, 122,290 jobs. Top: Miscellaneous Assemblers and Fabricators, Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand, Fast Food and Counter Workers.
How is the life score calculated? ▼
Elkhart's 52.4/100 blends 7 federal-data dimensions - see our methodology page for the weighting.

Research Guides

Data from BEA, HUD, FBI UCR, BLS OES, NCES, DOL, and EPA. Not affiliated with the U.S. Government.

Related

Data sourced from official public datasets. See our methodology for details. Retrieved and formatted by PlainCompare Editorial

Disclaimer: This information is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute professional advice. Data is sourced from BEA, BLS, HUD, FBI, NCES, DOL, and EPA. Consult a qualified professional before making decisions based on this data.

Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.

All federal data sources used on this page
  • U.S. Census Bureau ACS - multi-dimension demographic + housing + income aggregates for cross-area comparison. census.gov/programs-surveys/acs
  • BEA Regional Economic Accounts - GDP, personal income, employment by state and metro. bea.gov/data/regional
  • BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) - wage estimates for comparable-area indexing. bls.gov/oes
  • FBI Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) - crime statistics for safety-score component. fbi.gov/ucr
  • NCES Common Core of Data - public-school quality indicators by area. nces.ed.gov/ccd
  • EPA AirNow + Air Quality System (AQS) - air-quality measurements by area. epa.gov/outdoor-air-quality-data
  • HUD Fair Market Rents (FMR) - county and metro housing-cost indicators. huduser.gov/datasets/fmr

Every figure on PlainCompare is loaded directly from BEA, HUD, FBI UCR, BLS OEWS, NCES, DOL, EPA, and the Census Bureau, no number is typed in by an editor. This metro's Life Score is computed directly from the 7 federal sources cited above. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of 2026.