Overall
- Abilene
- 90.4
- Elkhart-Goshen
- 90.3
Diff -0.0 RPP
Abilene vs Elkhart-Goshen
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Elkhart-Goshen is 0% less expensive than Abilene.
0% less expensive
Elkhart-Goshen, IN is 0% less expensive than Abilene, TX on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 90.3 vs 90.4). A $100,000 salary in Abilene buys about the same as $99,957 in Elkhart-Goshen; the largest component gap is rents.
- Overall RPP 90.4 (Abilene) vs 90.3 (Elkhart-Goshen)
- $100k in Abilene ≈ $99,957 purchasing power in Elkhart-Goshen
- Rents drives the gap (-9.5 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair TX:IN 90.4→90.3
PHOTO-FINISH · CROSS-STATE · SPLIT-BUDGET · BOTH-BELOW · PP-PAR
- PHOTO-FINISH Photo finish
- CROSS-STATE TX × IN
- SPLIT-BUDGET Split budget
- BOTH-BELOW Both below 100
- PP-PAR PP near-par
Instrument codes from this pair's BEA Regional Price Parities (overall · goods · services · rents · national benchmark 100 · purchasing-power conversion), not a ranking or recommendation.
Abilene
90.4
Cost Index
Elkhart-Goshen
90.3
Cost Index
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Abilene, TX and Elkhart-Goshen, IN are a photo finish on overall price level, only 0.0 RPP points apart. A salary conversion is therefore a fine adjustment, not evidence of a fundamentally different cost regime.
Rents creates the largest separation: Elkhart-Goshen is 9.5 points lower. But services and goods move against the overall direction, so this is a split budget rather than a clean across-the-board winner.
Comparable population context is incomplete for this pair, so no market-scale explanation is inferred from the price indexes.
Both metros remain below the U.S. benchmark of 100. This comparison chooses between two below-average price levels; “more expensive” here does not mean nationally expensive.
For a housing-sensitive move, validate the rent gap first: HUD Fair Market Rent and the actual unit size can overturn what the blended index implies. On the BEA ratio alone, $100,000 in Abilene corresponds to $99,957 in Elkhart-Goshen.
Category Breakdown
Goods
- Abilene
- 93.8
- Elkhart-Goshen
- 94.3
Diff +0.6 RPP
Services
- Abilene
- 81.2
- Elkhart-Goshen
- 86.4
Diff +5.2 RPP
Rents
- Abilene
- 73.8
- Elkhart-Goshen
- 64.3
Diff -9.5 RPP
| Category | Abilene | Elkhart-Goshen | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 90.4 | 90.3 | -0.0 |
| Goods | 93.8 | 94.3 | +0.6 |
| Services | 81.2 | 86.4 | +5.2 |
| Rents | 73.8 | 64.3 | -9.5 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Abilene 90.4
Elkhart-Goshen 90.3
Goods
Abilene 93.8
Elkhart-Goshen 94.3
Services
Abilene 81.2
Elkhart-Goshen 86.4
Rents
Abilene 73.8
Elkhart-Goshen 64.3
Vertical line = national average (100)
How the Price Gap Changed
Abilene and Elkhart-Goshen share 17 published annual releases from 2008 through 2024. Their overall gap narrowed, moving from 4.4 to 0.0 RPP points. Abilene remained the higher-index metro in the latest release.
Rents changed the most within this pair: its gap moved 25.7 points between the first and latest shared releases (16.2 to 9.5 points). This describes a relative price-index history, not a forecast or a household budget.
| Release Year | Abilene RPP | Elkhart-Goshen RPP | Relative Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 92.2 | 96.6 | 4.4 points Elkhart-Goshen higher |
| 2012 | 94.1 | 92.6 | 1.5 points Abilene higher |
| 2016 | 93.3 | 90.1 | 3.2 points Abilene higher |
| 2020 | 90.3 | 91.0 | 0.7 points Elkhart-Goshen higher |
| 2024 | 90.4 | 90.3 | 0.0 points Abilene higher |
Annual BEA Regional Price Parity releases; a higher index means a higher price level relative to the national average of 100. Selected years shown from the full shared series.
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in Abilene would need to be in Elkhart-Goshen for the same purchasing power:
| In Abilene | In Elkhart-Goshen | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $49,978 | $-22 |
| $75,000 | $74,968 | $-32 |
| $100,000 | $99,957 | $-43 |
| $150,000 | $149,935 | $-65 |
$ in Abilene = in Elkhart-Goshen
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (90.4 → 90.3), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Elkhart-Goshen more expensive than Abilene?
Elkhart-Goshen is 0% less expensive than Abilene. The overall cost index is 90.3 vs 90.4 (national average = 100).
What salary in Elkhart-Goshen equals $100K in Abilene?
A $100,000 salary in Abilene has the same purchasing power as $99,957 in Elkhart-Goshen. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Abilene and Elkhart-Goshen?
Rents in Abilene are indexed at 73.8 while Elkhart-Goshen is at 64.3 (national average = 100). Abilene has higher rents.
Data sources
- BEA Regional Price Parities (RPP), the cost-of-living indices shown on this page
- U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey (ACS), gross-rent observations behind the rents component
- BLS Consumer Price Index (CPI), goods and services price relatives
- BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), labor-driven services component
- HUD Fair Market Rents (FMR), 40th-percentile rent cross-reference
Every figure on PlainCost is rendered directly from BEA Regional Price Parity source data, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, our changelog, or report a data error. Data current as of 2026-08-11. Rankings measure the published cost-of-living index only; we don't recommend where to live or rate any metro's quality of life.