Elkhart, Iowa Cost Of Living

Buy Rent

A-

Overall 15%

Goods & Services 7%

Housing 37%

Date & Last Updated: This data reflects 2019 and was released from C2ER in January, 2020; this is the most current data available.

The cost of living index is based on a national average of 100. For example, if the cost of living is 90, then it is 10% lower than average. If the cost of living is 110, then it is 10% higher than average. The breakdown for each index is as follows: goods & services (33%), groceries (13%), health care (5%), housing (30%), transportation (9%) and utilities (10%). If the cost of living data was unavailable for this city, estimates based upon nearby cities were used.
Index	Elkhart	Iowa	National
Cost of living	85	90	100
Goods & Services	93	96	100
Groceries	95	98	100
Health care	96	100	100
Housing	63	73	100
Transportation	102	101	100
Utilities	89	98	100

Key findings

The cost of living in Elkhart is 6% lower than the Iowa average
The cost of living in Elkhart is 15% lower than the national average
Elkhart housing is 37% lower than the national average
Iowa general sales tax is 18% higher than the national average
Iowa state income tax is 87% lower than the national average

Most Affordable Places to Live in and Around Elkhart

See all the best places to live around Elkhart

Compare Elkhart, IA Cost of Living

See all Elkhart poll results

The best places in Iowa

Here are the best places to live in Iowa

Top 10 cities in Iowa with the best education system

These are the 10 most affordable cities in Iowa

See the best places to live in & around Elkhart

Salary Calculator

This is how much you would need to earn in

Price difference in compared to

Cost of living index
Goods & Services index
Groceries index
Health care index
Housing index
Transportation index
Utilities index

Median Income & Debt-To-Income Ratio

Median Income	Per Year	Per Month	Max Budget (28% DTI)	Max Budget (36% DTI)
Owners	$60,000	$5,000	$1,400	$1,800
Renters	$0	$0	$0	$0

Iowa Sales Tax

State	General Sales Tax	With Max Surtax
Iowa	6%	7%

Iowa Income Tax

State	Income Tax (Low)	Income Tax (High)
Iowa	0.33%	8.53%

Goods & Services

Item	Elkhart	National avg.	Difference
Haircut	$17.17	$17.49	1.8%
Beauty Salon	$31.00	$38.17	18.8%
Toothpaste	$1.94	$2.32	16.4%
Shampoo	$1.07	$1.01	5.7%
Movie	$9.06	$10.72	15.5%
Bowling	$17.60	$13.86	27.0%

Groceries

Item	Elkhart	National avg.	Difference
Ground Beef	$3.23	$3.90	17.2%
Fried Chicken	$1.71	$1.40	22.5%
Milk	$2.22	$1.96	13.1%
Potatoes	$2.20	$3.18	30.9%
Pizza	$9.99	$10.39	3.9%
Beer	$8.50	$9.23	7.9%

Health Care

Item	Elkhart	National avg.	Difference
Optometrist	$114.14	$106.34	7.3%
Doctor	$123.00	$115.25	6.7%
Dentist	$81.17	$98.38	17.5%
Ibuprofen	$8.31	$9.26	10.3%
Lipitor	$492.84	$466.47	5.7%

Housing

Item	Elkhart	National avg.	Difference
Home Price	$121,900.00	$184,700.00	34.0%
Avg. Mortgage Payment	$1,109.95	$1,273.32	12.8%
Apartment Rent	$547.00	$949.00	42.4%

Transportation

Item	Elkhart	National avg.	Difference
Gasoline	$2.61	$2.59	0.5%
Tire Balancing	$52.99	$48.90	8.4%

Utilities

Item	Elkhart	National avg.	Difference
All Electricity	$137.97	$167.60	17.7%
Phone	$176.49	$163.42	8.0%

Although the cost of living data is updated regularly, this cost of living information is to be used as estimates only as prices can change on an ongoing basis.

Nearby cities with low cost of living

City, State	Population	Cost of Living Index	National Avg.
Valeria, IA	46	78	-22%
Colfax, IA	1,925	82	-18%
Mingo, IA	255	83	-17%
Collins, IA	458	87	-13%
Maxwell, IA	839	90	-10%
Elkhart, IA	815	85	-15%

Cities with similar population

City, State	Population	Cost of Living Index	National Avg.
Tatum, NM	815	78	-22%
Heidelberg, MS	815	81	-19%
Fort Calhoun, NE	815	91	-9%
Spring Hill, PA	815	87	-13%
Gaston, IN	815	77	-23%
Elkhart, IA	815	85	-15%

Source: The Elkhart, IA cost of living data displayed above is derived from the Council for Community and Economic Research (C2ER) for 2019.

Elkhart, IA Cost of Living

Find real estate listings

Find rental listings