Elkhart County, IN
Housing, jobs, water, deposits and federal obligations for this county, each figure with the release it came from. Internal point 41.60, -85.86.
Assembled 2026-10-19. Read the brief.
- 61st pct · 1,165th of 3,063 US counties · median $230,451
- 73rd pct · 25th of 92 Indiana counties · median $230,095
- counties in the Elkhart-Goshen metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 1 counties in the Elkhart-Goshen metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
- 78th pct · 663rd of 3,062 US counties · median +2.9%
- 72nd pct · 26th of 92 Indiana counties · median +4.2%
- counties in the Elkhart-Goshen metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 1 counties in the Elkhart-Goshen metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
- 20th pct · 1,082nd of 1,358 US counties · median $1,506
- 46th pct · 24th of 44 Indiana counties · median $1,207
- counties in the Elkhart-Goshen metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 1 counties in the Elkhart-Goshen metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
- 92nd pct · 248th of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 95th pct · 5th of 92 Indiana counties · median 12,958
- counties in the Elkhart-Goshen metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 1 counties in the Elkhart-Goshen metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
- 86th pct · 449th of 3,221 US counties · median $1,039
- 87th pct · 12th of 92 Indiana counties · median $1,045
- counties in the Elkhart-Goshen metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 1 counties in the Elkhart-Goshen metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
- 42nd pct · 1,751st of 3,063 US counties · median 4.2
- 41st pct · 54th of 92 Indiana counties · median 4.1
- counties in the Elkhart-Goshen metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 1 counties in the Elkhart-Goshen metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
Typical home value divided by the average annual wage of one covered job.
A percentile here is a min-max scaling of average rank: the smallest published value in the cohort is 0 and the largest is 100, and tied values share the average of the ranks they span. It is not the share of entities below the value, so 0 means smallest, not none below. Entities that did not publish the metric are outside the cohort entirely and are counted in neither the rank nor its denominator.
Home values #
Typical home $266,459 (Sep 2026), +5.5% over one year, +32.0% over five
- 61st pct · 1,165th of 3,063 US counties · median $230,451
- 73rd pct · 25th of 92 Indiana counties · median $230,095
- counties in the Elkhart-Goshen metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 1 counties in the Elkhart-Goshen metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Elkhart County, IN | $266,459 · +5.5% 1-yr |
Zillow Home Value Index (ZHVI), typical value of homes in the 35th to 65th percentile, smoothed and seasonally adjusted; a model estimate of value, not a sale price. Data through Zillow Research.
Rents #
Typical rent $1,182/mo (Sep 2026), +4.3% over one year; price-to-rent 18.8
- 20th pct · 1,082nd of 1,358 US counties · median $1,506
- 46th pct · 24th of 44 Indiana counties · median $1,207
- counties in the Elkhart-Goshen metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 1 counties in the Elkhart-Goshen metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Elkhart County, IN | $1,182/mo · +4.3% 1-yr |
Zillow Observed Rent Index (ZORI), smoothed, all homes and multifamily; price-to-rent = typical home / (typical rent × 12).
What the typical home costs to carry #
Principal and interest of $1,476 a month on $266,459 at 7.40%, against an average weekly wage worth $5,711 a month: 25.8% of one job’s pay.
- payment = P·r / (1 − (1+r)^−n), P = $266,459 × 80% = $213,167, r = 7.40%/12 (Freddie Mac PMMS via FRED, 2026-10-15), n = 360 → $1,476/mo principal and interest
- wage share = payment / (avg weekly wage $1,318 × 52 / 12 = $5,711) = 26% of one average job's pay (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all covered jobs)
- years of wages = $266,459 / ($1,318 × 52) = 3.9
- price-to-rent = $266,459 / ($1,182 × 12) = 18.8
The wage is one covered job’s average, not a household’s income, so this is the share of a single paycheque and not a mortgage underwriting ratio.
Estimate. Principal and interest on the typical home with 20% down over 30 years at this week's Freddie Mac average rate; compared with the average weekly wage of all jobs covered by unemployment insurance in the area (BLS QCEW), which is pay per job, not household income.
Jobs & wages #
127,507 jobs at 5,426 employers (2026 Q1); +1.4% jobs and +1.0% average weekly wage over the year
- 92nd pct · 248th of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 95th pct · 5th of 92 Indiana counties · median 12,958
- counties in the Elkhart-Goshen metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 1 counties in the Elkhart-Goshen metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Elkhart County, IN | 127,507 jobs · $1,318/wk · +1.4% YoY |
| NAICS sector | Jobs | Avg weekly wage | Location quotient | Jobs over the year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Manufacturing | 62,096 | $1,353 | 6.05 | +3.4% |
| Health care and social assistance | 10,763 | $1,267 | 0.56 | -3.7% |
| Retail trade | 9,367 | $715 | 0.75 | +0.0% |
| Accommodation and food services | 6,785 | $405 | 0.59 | +2.1% |
| Wholesale trade | 6,729 | $1,445 | 1.38 | -1.9% |
| Construction | 4,707 | $1,418 | 0.70 | +9.8% |
| Administrative and waste services | 3,999 | $743 | 0.55 | +0.4% |
| Other services | 2,711 | $1,036 | 0.71 | +7.5% |
| Management of companies | 2,515 | $6,467 | 1.18 | +1.8% |
| Professional and technical services | 2,259 | $1,690 | 0.26 | -1.2% |
| Finance and insurance | 1,798 | $2,007 | 0.35 | +0.8% |
| Real estate and rental | 969 | $1,155 | 0.50 | -6.6% |
BLS Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages, all ownerships, total covered employment in the quarter's third month; over-the-year changes as published. Suppressed cells stay blank.
Drought #
No drought class at this point (USDM covers the United States only)
Sites found: 5, searched within 0 km of this place’s internal point. That is a disc around a point, not the area itself: sites outside the boundary are included, and sites inside it further than 0 km away are not.
US Drought Monitor current week; the highest class of any polygon containing the point.
Reservoirs #
Surface water layer not loaded
Sites found: 0, searched within 150 km of this place’s internal point. That is a disc around a point, not the area itself: sites outside the boundary are included, and sites inside it further than 150 km away are not.
Σ(capacity × percent full) / Σ capacity over TWDB reservoirs within 150 km. Texas only; elsewhere USGS reservoir elevation/storage is listed without a capacity to normalise by.
Stream gauges #
Surface water layer not loaded
Sites found: 0, searched within 75 km of this place’s internal point. That is a disc around a point, not the area itself: sites outside the boundary are included, and sites inside it further than 75 km away are not.
USGS latest readings screened against EPA freshwater criteria (DO ≥ 5 mg/L, pH 6.5–9, conductance, turbidity, temperature); NWS flood categories where a NWPS gauge is co-located.
Groundwater #
No USGS monitoring wells within 75 km (or above 1,500 km)
Sites found: 0, searched within 75 km of this place’s internal point. That is a disc around a point, not the area itself: sites outside the boundary are included, and sites inside it further than 75 km away are not.
USGS latest daily water levels. A single latest reading says where the table is, not which way it is moving; select a well for its 365-day trace.
Water stress #
low (0.00)
Σ wᵢ·termᵢ / Σ wᵢ = 0.35×0.00 / 0.35
Banks & federal dollars #
$4.8 bn in deposits at 51 offices of 16 banks (SOD June 2026); HHI 1,791, moderately concentrated. $1.1 bn federal obligations in FY2026 (direct payments $979.9 m, grants $80.7 m), $8,623 per covered job
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Lake City Bank | $1.2 bn · 24.0% share · 11 offices | |
| JPMorgan Chase Bank, National Association | $1.1 bn · 22.8% share · 6 offices | |
| 1st Source Bank | $1.0 bn · 21.5% share · 8 offices | |
| Elkhart, IN | $1.1 bn FY2026 · $8,623/job | |
| MULTIPLE RECIPIENTS | $948.3 m · top recipient FY2026 |
| Institution | Deposits | Share | Offices |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lake City Bank | $1,162,228,000 | 24.0% | 11 |
| JPMorgan Chase Bank, National Association | $1,101,240,000 | 22.8% | 6 |
| 1st Source Bank | $1,037,363,000 | 21.5% | 8 |
| First State Bank of Middlebury | $619,720,000 | 12.8% | 5 |
| KeyBank National Association | $319,267,000 | 6.6% | 6 |
| Fifth Third Bank, National Association | $139,808,000 | 2.9% | 1 |
| Centier Bank | $129,509,000 | 2.7% | 4 |
| Old National Bank | $116,135,000 | 2.4% | 1 |
| PNC Bank, National Association | $79,476,000 | 1.6% | 1 |
| Northwest Bank | $35,465,000 | 0.7% | 1 |
Deposit concentration is 1,791 across 16 banks, which the 1995 Department of Justice bank merger screen calls moderately concentrated.
HHI = Σ (share %)² over 16 banks with deposits in the county = 24.0² + 22.8² + 21.5² + … (13 more) = 1,791
FDIC Summary of Deposits: deposits at every insured office as of June 30, annual; HHI is the sum of squared county deposit shares (DOJ 1995 bank merger screen: 1000 / 1800). USAspending: obligations by place of performance for the latest complete federal fiscal year (Oct 1 to Sep 30), what agencies committed, not what they paid out; recipients are legal entities. Per-job divides obligations by BLS QCEW covered employment.
Federal obligations #
USAspending place-of-performance obligations for FY2026, by awarding agency.
| Awarding agency | Obligations |
|---|---|
| Social Security Administration | $885,133,353 |
| Department of Transportation | $64,299,127 |
| Department of Veterans Affairs | $53,949,724 |
| Department of Defense | $30,226,059 |
| Department of Agriculture | $20,258,696 |
| Department of Housing and Urban Development | $14,096,052 |
| Railroad Retirement Board | $9,588,944 |
| Department of Education | $8,370,153 |
| General Services Administration | $6,165,536 |
| Department of Health and Human Services | $4,989,823 |
| Federal Communications Commission | $1,732,381 |
| Environmental Protection Agency | $549,760 |
That is $8,623 per covered job, against 127,507 jobs in the 2026 Q1 QCEW quarter.
per job = FY2026 obligations $1.1 bn / 127,507 covered jobs (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all ownerships) = $8,623
USAspending obligations are recorded where the work is performed, so a prime award performed here is counted here even when the recipient is headquartered elsewhere. Recipients are legal entities, never people.
National context, not this county #
These are United States, single-gauge, single-state and port series. None of them is keyed to this county.
| Series | Latest | As of | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mississippi River at Memphis, stage · ft | not published | not published | |
| Mississippi River at St. Louis, stage · ft | not published | not published | |
| Ohio River at Louisville, stage · ft | 17.95 | 2026-10-18 | -2.6% |
| Missouri River at St. Joseph, stage · ft | not published | not published | |
| Colorado River below Hoover Dam, flow (Hoover releases) · ft³/s | 5,170.00 | 2026-02-05 | -25.3% |
| Texas reservoirs, statewide percent full · % | 72.20 | 2026-10-19 | +0.0% |
| Laredo truck crossings, monthly · trucks | 258,700.00 | 2026-08-01 | -0.4% |
| Los Angeles + Long Beach container volume, annual · TEU | 10,513,167.00 | 2023-01-01 | -13.5% |
| Containerships waiting for a berth, all US ports · ships | 7.00 | 2026-10-13 | +133.3% |
| Shanghai to Los Angeles container rate · $ per 40 ft box | 7,848.00 | 2026-09-01 | +14.9% |
| US diesel retail price · $ per gallon | unavailable | not published | |
| WTI crude oil, spot · $ per barrel | 101.91 | 2026-10-14 | +1.0% |
| 30-year fixed mortgage rate · % | 7.40 | 2026-10-15 | +0.0% |
| Housing starts, annual rate · thousands of units | 1,275.00 | 2026-08-01 | -2.6% |
| Building permits, annual rate · thousands of units | 1,403.00 | 2026-08-01 | -2.1% |
| Case-Shiller US home price index · index, Jan 2000 = 100 | 337.31 | 2026-07-01 | +0.1% |
| Unemployment rate · % | 4.20 | 2026-09-01 | +2.4% |
| US goods and services trade balance, monthly · $ millions | -105,572.00 | 2026-08-01 | -13.7% |
| Retail sales excluding food services, monthly · $ millions | 652,115.00 | 2026-09-01 | +0.7% |
The indicator registry has no county-keyed series and no geographic selection: every entry is national, a named gauge, a single state or a port. They are here as the backdrop the county's own numbers move against, and they are never this county's readings.
What changed #
Elkhart County, IN: 9 findings, 9 noted
noteElkhart County, IN's covered employment was 1.4% higher than the same quarter a year earlier in 2026 Q1, on BLS QCEW's published over-the-year change.
Period 2026 Q1.Show the arithmetic
- +1.4 % = BLS QCEW over-the-year percent change for 2026 Q1, as published
- the newest QCEW file carries no year-earlier level, so no move from one level to another is printed
BLS QCEW over-the-year percent change, as published
noteElkhart County, IN's average weekly wage was 1.0% higher than the same quarter a year earlier in 2026 Q1, on BLS QCEW's published over-the-year change.
Period 2026 Q1.Show the arithmetic
- +1 % = BLS QCEW over-the-year percent change for 2026 Q1, as published
- the newest QCEW file carries no year-earlier level, so no move from one level to another is printed
BLS QCEW over-the-year percent change, as published
noteElkhart County, IN's typical home value rose 0.5% from $265,075 in August 2026 to $266,459 in September 2026, on Zillow ZHVI.
Period 2026-09.Show the arithmetic
- +0.5% = (266458.586030414 - 265074.98262864957) / 265074.98262864957 × 100
- 266458.586030414 = Zillow ZHVI, 2026-09
- 265074.98262864957 = Zillow ZHVI, 2026-08
noteElkhart County, IN's typical asking rent fell 0.5% from $1,188 in August 2026 to $1,182 in September 2026, on Zillow ZORI.
Period 2026-09.Show the arithmetic
- -0.5% = (1181.8447570947571 - 1187.728340777575) / 1187.728340777575 × 100
- 1181.8447570947571 = Zillow ZORI, 2026-09
- 1187.728340777575 = Zillow ZORI, 2026-08
noteElkhart County, IN's covered employment of 127,507 ranks 5th of 92 Indiana counties, against a median of 12,958.
Period 2026 Q1.Show the arithmetic
- 96 on the 0-to-100 scale across 92 Indiana counties that published jobs.emp
position among the entities that published this metric this period; not an official level
Read all 9 findings in the full brief
Every finding is produced by a fixed rule table and a fixed sentence for each rule. Nothing here is generated prose.