City profile · Illinois · Census ACS 2023

Elkhart, IL

Elkhart's Census ACS profile: residents, income, housing, and the joined public-record layers available for this place.

442
Residents
$98,750
Median income
$123,200
Median home
$1,063
Median rent (state)
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Starting with Elkhart, IL - add up to three more cities on the compare page.

See how it ranks

State rank, size-class rank, and four peer cities for Elkhart.

Place dossier plate

Sheet IL-ELKHART-IL · Elkhart, IL 442 pop · income 77th pct

POP-VILLAGE · INC-HIGH · COL-PAR · SAFE-UNK · RANK-UPPER · PHOTO-FINISH · HOME-LOW · BOOK-UNK

  • POP-VILLAGE 442
  • INC-HIGH $98,750
  • COL-PAR 100.0
  • SAFE-UNK Safety pending
  • RANK-UPPER 77th
  • PHOTO-FINISH ≈ St. Paul
  • HOME-LOW $123,200
  • BOOK-UNK Tracts pending

Nearest income peer: St. Paul, AK (+ $0 income $)

Instrument codes from this place’s ACS population and household income, BEA state COL, FBI safety, national income percentile, photo-finish peer city, home-value band, and matched Census-tract book - not a moving recommendation.

Income neighbourhood around Elkhart

Lowest/highest poles plus peers nearest Elkhart on median household income. Full ladder: /browse and /rankings.

median HH income

What this shows Neighbourhood peers only - not a full nationwide city board. Open a near peer when the gap is small; open the poles when the spread is wide.

Source U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 5-Year Estimates As of 2026-08-08

Compare beyond this state

Nationwide peers by population, income

Out-of-state nearest neighbors for Elkhart on ACS population and median household income . Link sets are deduped so each column is a distinct comparison path, not a forecast that peers share a labor market or climate.

Similar population

Nearest out-of-state cities by ACS population. This city: 442.

4 peers

Similar household income

Nearest out-of-state cities by ACS median household income. This city: $98,750. Population peers are excluded.

4 peers

Elkhart - the verdict

Nationally, Elkhart sits in the 77th percentile for household income among US cities with a population of 1,000 or more. Source: Census ACS.

77th
percentile, household income
19th
percentile, home value
18th
percentile, median rent
📝 How we sourced this

Population, income, and housing-cost figures come from the U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-year estimates (B-series tables). Crime data uses FBI UCR; climate uses NOAA Climate Normals; school counts come from NCES Common Core of Data; permits use the Census Building Permits Survey (BPS). See our methodology page for the full ETL pipeline and OMB / FIPS join keys.

Data Snapshot: Elkhart, IL

442 people live in Elkhart, Illinois - a small town by U.S. Census Bureau ACS 2023 estimates. Elkhart households earn a median of $98,750 annually, placing it in the top quartile of U.S. cities for household income, with a poverty rate of 2.5%. Typical homes in Elkhart are valued around $123,200, and the median resident age is 45.3 years. Educational attainment runs 26.6% of adults with a bachelor's degree or higher. Separately, 66.7% of working-age residents are in the labor force.

Housing supply pressure shows in Census Building Permit Survey data: 0 residential units were authorized in 2024 (No Permits), down 100% from five years earlier.

Illinois tracks close to the national cost-of-living baseline: the state registers 100.0 on a 100-equals-national-average index (Near Average) per BEA Regional Price Parities 2024. A typical two-bedroom carries a HUD Fair Market Rent of $1,063 per month statewide. Statewide, average monthly utility bills in Illinois run around $240, per EIA 2023 residential energy data. FEMA's National Risk Index rates natural-hazard exposure at 54.5 out of 100 (Low).

A decision-led reading path

Useful questions to ask of Elkhart's data

How this reading path is ordered

This is not a composite city score. It is a city-specific route through the available public records, ordered for this profile so the page starts with questions the joined data can actually answer. The route here runs from comparison shortlist to work and mobility to housing and income to population change; another city can have a different sequence or fewer supported layers because the source joins are not uniform.

For Elkhart, city-specific coverage includes annual population history, local building permits, commute-mode shares. No matched row is reported here for within-city Census tract profiles, FBI reported-crime rates, matched public-school count; the page leaves those layers out instead of substituting a statewide or national value.

1. Comparison shortlist

Which cities make useful reference points for Elkhart?

Use the in-state set to hold state policy and broad price conditions more nearly constant. Use the nationwide size set to ask whether cities with a similar resident count produce different housing, income, or commute outcomes. The income set is a third lens, deliberately separate from population matching.

Within Illinois, the closest population matches are Hartsburg (441 residents, $72,500 income); Olive Branch (441 residents, $27,250 income); Scales Mound (441 residents, $66,765 income). Outside the state, the closest population matches in this dataset are Leslie, AR (442 residents); Beckwourth, CA (442 residents); Aguilar, CO (442 residents). A third, income-matched reference set of 6 out-of-state cities sits in the income neighbourhood chart near the Place Dossier plate. These are mechanical peer sets, not claims that the places share a labor market, climate, culture, or metro context.

Open a side-by-side comparison →

Question 2

What does the journey to work look like in Elkhart?

Driving alone is the largest reported mode at 79.9%. A reliable mean commute time is not available for this row, so the mode shares carry the comparison.

Mode share answers how workers usually travel; it does not measure congestion, reliability, distance to a particular job, or the quality of transit service. No single mode completely explains the work trip here. The mix is more useful than a one-number commute grade, especially when comparing places where transit, walking, and remote work divide the non-driving share differently.

Compare commute patterns →

3. Housing and income

How far does income reach against housing in Elkhart?

This is a citywide price-to-income reference, not a mortgage-affordability test; it does not include interest rates, taxes, insurance, household size, or an individual buyer's down payment. The ratio makes housing the clearest place to start this profile, but a low multiple can coexist with slow demand, older stock, or household-level hardship. Compare the home-value distribution and same-state peer table before treating it as an advantage.

The home-value-to-income reference is relatively compact: the ACS median home value is 1.2 times median household income. The ACS poverty estimate is 2.5%, which keeps the citywide median from describing every household.

Compare the housing trade-off →

Question 4

Is Elkhart growing, shrinking, or holding steady?

Census PEP estimates show the population declined by -11 residents from 2020 to 2025, a -2.5% change. Separately, Census BPS recorded 0 housing units authorized in 2024. PEP and ACS are different Census series, so the trend is kept separate from the headline ACS population.

Recent estimates point downward. A falling count can reflect migration, household size, annexation boundaries, or estimation noise, so it is a prompt to inspect the full series rather than a claim about local economic health.

See the national growth ranking →

Population

442 residents

Micro place (under 10k)

Median Household Income

$98,750 /yr

High income · poverty 2.5% (Low poverty)

Cost of Living Index (state)

100.0 (US=100)

Above-average cost · BEA RPP 2024, Illinois average

City profile score · Elkhart, IL

64/100

4 published dimensions · ACS/FBI 2023

Comparative score against U.S. cities with population of 1,000 or more on Census ACS medians (income, poverty, bachelor's share, cost of living) and FBI UCR violent-crime rates when published. Higher means a stronger standing on those published figures, not a livability rating, not a recommendation to move, buy, or pick a "best" city. Missing inputs drop out and redistribute weight. How it is calculated.

Poverty rate A-
2.5%

Share of residents below the poverty line; lower scores better on this axis.

Household income B+
$98,750

Median household income vs U.S. cities (pop ≥1,000); ACS.

Bachelor's+ share C-
26.6%

Adults with a bachelor's degree or higher; ACS.

Cost of living D
100.0 index

BEA state Regional Price Parities index (100 ≈ national average); lower is stronger on this axis. Same value for every city in the state.

Violent crime N/A
N/A

No FBI UCR violent-crime rate for this place (coverage is incomplete).

Elkhart profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions) 4-axis radar comparing 1 series across Poverty rate, Household income, Bachelor's+ share, Cost of living. Poverty rateHousehold incomeBachelor's+ shareCost of living 64 C+
Elkhart profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions)
Read the chart values
  • Poverty rate: 82/100 (A-) · 2.5%
  • Household income: 76/100 (B+) · $98,750
  • Bachelor's+ share: 52/100 (C-) · 26.6%
  • Cost of living: 40/100 (D) · 100.0 index

How does Elkhart compare to other US cities?

Here's how Elkhart stacks up against the full field of US cities (population 1,000+), computed live from Census and FBI data.

Household income 77% higher than other cities
Home value 19% pricier than other cities
Median rent 18% pricier than other cities

"Safer than" reflects total crime rate from FBI UCR; the others use Census ACS estimates.

How we calculate these percentiles & ranks

Each percentile compares Elkhart against every qualifying US city; each in-state rank narrows that to Illinois only. Full formula and direction notes: methodology.

Illinois-relative analysis

Median Gross Rent places Elkhart near the bottom of Illinois's cities

Among the 1,336 Illinois cities PlainCities tracks with reported median gross rent data, Elkhart ranks #1 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide percentiles above: it compares Elkhart only against its own state's cities, not the full US field.

Median Household Income
#229 of 1,311
83rd percentile in Illinois
Median Gross Rent
#1 of 1,336
0th percentile in Illinois
Median Home Value
#627 of 1,315
52nd percentile in Illinois
Poverty Rate
#1,075 of 1,335
19th percentile in Illinois
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
#370 of 1,336
72nd percentile in Illinois
How in-state ranks are ordered

Ranked by raw value (highest first); a higher rank is not automatically "better" for every measure, see each metric's own context above. This is a comparison within Illinois only, not a livability score. See the methodology for the source and calculation.

77thIncome percentile
Gauge source note

77th percentile nationally for median household income. Source: Census ACS 2023 / FBI UCR 2023.

How Elkhart's home value compares nationally

Median home value vs. every US city (population 1,000+)

$123,200 Among the most affordable more affordable than 81% of 15,600 US cities

Show national distribution $0–$25,000: 5 US cities (0%). Below this entry. $25,000–$50,000: 54 US cities (0%). Below this entry. $50,000–$75,000: 352 US cities (2%). Below this entry. $75,000–$100,000: 1,086 US cities (7%). Below this entry. $100,000–$125,000: 1,516 US cities (10%). This entry sits in this band. $125,000–$150,000: 1,170 US cities (8%). Above this entry. $150,000–$175,000: 1,278 US cities (8%). Above this entry. $175,000–$200,000: 1,229 US cities (8%). Above this entry. $200,000–$225,000: 1,035 US cities (7%). Above this entry. $225,000–$250,000: 976 US cities (6%). Above this entry. $250,000–$275,000: 754 US cities (5%). Above this entry. $275,000–$300,000: 712 US cities (5%). Above this entry. $300,000–$325,000: 521 US cities (3%). Above this entry. $325,000–$350,000: 526 US cities (3%). Above this entry. $350,000–$375,000: 465 US cities (3%). Above this entry. $375,000–$400,000: 393 US cities (3%). Above this entry. $400,000–$425,000: 317 US cities (2%). Above this entry. $425,000–$450,000: 300 US cities (2%). Above this entry. $450,000–$475,000: 307 US cities (2%). Above this entry. $475,000–$500,000: 250 US cities (2%). Above this entry. $500,000–$525,000: 160 US cities (1%). Above this entry. $525,000–$550,000: 156 US cities (1%). Above this entry. $550,000–$575,000: 172 US cities (1%). Above this entry. $575,000–$600,000: 172 US cities (1%). Above this entry. $600,000–$625,000: 163 US cities (1%). Above this entry. $625,000–$650,000: 167 US cities (1%). Above this entry. $650,000–$675,000: 135 US cities (1%). Above this entry. $675,000–$700,000: 101 US cities (1%). Above this entry. $700,000–$725,000: 95 US cities (1%). Above this entry. $725,000–$750,000: 71 US cities (0%). Above this entry. $750,000–$775,000: 65 US cities (0%). Above this entry. $775,000–$800,000: 70 US cities (0%). Above this entry. $800,000–$825,000: 57 US cities (0%). Above this entry. $825,000–$850,000: 67 US cities (0%). Above this entry. $850,000–$875,000: 60 US cities (0%). Above this entry. $875,000–$900,000: 58 US cities (0%). Above this entry. $900,000–$925,000: 47 US cities (0%). Above this entry. $925,000–$950,000: 37 US cities (0%). Above this entry. $950,000–$975,000: 31 US cities (0%). Above this entry. $975,000–$1,000,000: 470 US cities (3%). Above this entry. $1,000,000–$1,025,000: 0 US cities (0%). Above this entry. Elkhart $0 $1,025,000 every US city, bucketed by value

Each bar is a $25K-wide band; taller bars hold more US cities. 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 U.S. Census Bureau ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2023

Elkhart's home-value-to-income ratio: 1.2×

ACS median home value divided by median household income.

Band
affordable
< 3.0×
National rank
#133 of 15,516
More affordable than 99% of tracked cities (pop. 1,000+)
Size class
#131 of 11,323
Micro cities (under 10,000)

At 1.2×, Elkhart sits in the affordable band: national rank #133 of 15,516 and #131 of 11,323micro cities (under 10,000). The multiple is comparatively compact among tracked cities, but a low ratio can still coexist with slow demand or household-level hardship.

How this ratio is calculated

Ratio = Census ACS 2023 median home value ÷ median household income for cities with both fields and population ≥ 1,000. Rank 1 = lowest ratio (most compact). Bands match the fleet affordability thresholds used on guides (<3.0 / 3.0–5.0 / >5.0). This is not a mortgage payment estimate and does not include rates, taxes, insurance, or down payment.

Income distribution context

$98,750 Elkhart, IL median household income (Census ACS)

Show U.S. national quintile / Lorenz context Household income distribution - Elkhart, IL Elkhart, IL's median household income ($98,750) against the U.S. national quintile-share pattern. The Lorenz curve and quintile bars are national context, not Elkhart, IL-specific shares. $ Household Income Distribution Elkhart, IL median $98,750/yr, vs. U.S. national quintile pattern QUINTILE SHARE OF AGGREGATE INCOME Lowest 20% 3.4% Second 20% 9.2% Middle 20% 15.1% Fourth 20% 23.2% Top 20% 49.1% LORENZ CURVE cumulative income vs. population 100% 0% 100% pop. 0%
Elkhart, IL median household income (Census ACS 5-year) with U.S. national quintile shares for context. Diagonal = equality; the curve is national, not computed for Elkhart, IL.

Key socioeconomic indicators

Bachelor's degree or higher (adults 25+) 26.6%

Census ACS S1501, educational attainment

Poverty rate (households below FPL) 2.5%

Census ACS S1701, poverty status

Labor force participation (adults 16+) 66.7%

Census ACS S2301, share of working-age residents in the labor force

Population
442
Median Income
$98,750
Median Home Value
$123,200
Median Age
45.3
Poverty Rate
2.5%
Labor force participation
66.7%
Bachelor's Degree+
26.6%

Population Change

PEP vintage

Annual U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program (PEP) estimates, 2020–2025

See the fastest-growing cities →
435 residents440 residents445 residents450 residents455 residents 202020212022202320242025 448 residents 437 residents ▼ -2.5%
Elkhart's Census PEP population estimates, 2020–2025.
Read the chart as text
Period Population
2020 448 residents
2021 450 residents
2022 443 residents
2023 441 residents
2024 439 residents
2025 437 residents

Housing Supply

BPS source

Census Bureau Building Permits Survey (BPS) - annual residential permits authorized

Total Permits (2024)
0
housing units authorized
Single-Family
0
detached homes
Multifamily
0
apartments & condos

5-Year Permit Trend (2019–2024)

Year Total
2019 1
2020 0
2021 0
2022 0
2023 0
2024 0

Permit volume decreased 100% from 2019 to 2024.

Commute Patterns

Commute source

How workers travel to work, Census ACS 2023

Drive Alone
79.9%
Carpool
8.7%
Public Transit
0.0%
Walk
1.4%
Work from Home
10.0%

Based on 219 workers 16 and over.

Monthly Utility Costs

Illinois statewide monthly utility average (EIA 2023): $240

EIA 2023 residential energy data puts average monthly utilities across Illinois at $240 (electricity about $100 , water and sewer about $50 ).

These are Illinois statewide averages, not a meter reading for Elkhart. Actual bills vary by home size, usage, and local rates. Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) 2023.

Living Costs & Risk

Illinois's BEA cost-of-living index is 100.0 (Near Average; US average = 100, RPP 2024). HUD Fair Market Rent for a typical two-bedroom in the county around Elkhart is $1,063/mo. FEMA's National Risk Index, averaged to Illinois statewide on PlainCities, rates natural-hazard exposure at 54.5 / 100 (Low).

Cost/risk geography note

Cost of living is a Illinois statewide BEA average; rent is a county-level HUD Fair Market Rent for the county Elkhart sits in; the FEMA hazard score shown here is a statewide average of county NRI inputs, not a parcel-level reading.

How Elkhart compares to similar-size Illinois cities

Same-state peer method

Closest same-state population matches, not geographic neighbors. Population + median household income come from Census Bureau ACS 5-year B01001 and B19013.

City Population Median Household Income
Elkhart (this city) 442 $98,750
Hartsburg 441 $72,500
Olive Branch 441 $27,250
Scales Mound 441 $66,765
Census BPS 2024
Primary sources on this page

Source: U.S. Census Bureau ACS 5-Year 2023, Census BPS 2024, Census ACS B08301/B08136, U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) 2023, BEA Regional Price Parities 2024, HUD Fair Market Rents 2026, FEMA National Risk Index.

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

Citation & verification links Data sourced from the U.S. Census Bureau. See our methodology for details. Retrieved and formatted by PlainCities

Primary sources: Census ACS, FBI UCR, NOAA Climate Normals, NCES. Joins use OMB Bulletin 23-01 / FIPS keys.

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Estimate caveats

ACS and UCR figures are citywide estimates with vintage lags; they do not replace a local visit, school visit, or insurance quote.

Editorial standards, provenance, and how to cite this page

Every figure on PlainCities is rendered directly from Census ACS source data, no number is typed in by an editor. This page draws directly on Census ACS source data, no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error.

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