Overall
- Erie
- 91.0
- Elkhart-Goshen
- 90.3
Diff -0.6 RPP
Erie vs Elkhart-Goshen
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Elkhart-Goshen is 0.7% less expensive than Erie.
0.7% less expensive
Elkhart-Goshen, IN is 0.7% less expensive than Erie, PA on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 90.3 vs 91.0). A $100,000 salary in Erie buys about the same as $99,313 in Elkhart-Goshen; the largest component gap is services.
- Overall RPP 91.0 (Erie) vs 90.3 (Elkhart-Goshen)
- $100k in Erie ≈ $99,313 purchasing power in Elkhart-Goshen
- Services drives the gap (-20.4 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair PA:IN 91.0→90.3
PHOTO-FINISH · CROSS-STATE · SPLIT-BUDGET · BOTH-BELOW · PP-PAR
- PHOTO-FINISH Photo finish
- CROSS-STATE PA × 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.
Erie
91.0
Cost Index
Elkhart-Goshen
90.3
Cost Index
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Erie, PA and Elkhart-Goshen, IN are a photo finish on overall price level, only 0.6 RPP points apart. A salary conversion is therefore a fine adjustment, not evidence of a fundamentally different cost regime.
Services creates the largest separation: Elkhart-Goshen is 20.4 points lower. But rents 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 service-heavy household, test childcare, health, and other locally supplied costs before relying on rent alone. The BEA ratio converts $100,000 in Erie to $99,313 in Elkhart-Goshen, but it is not a personal spending weight.
Category Breakdown
Goods
- Erie
- 100.7
- Elkhart-Goshen
- 94.3
Diff -6.4 RPP
Services
- Erie
- 106.8
- Elkhart-Goshen
- 86.4
Diff -20.4 RPP
Rents
- Erie
- 56.8
- Elkhart-Goshen
- 64.3
Diff +7.5 RPP
| Category | Erie | Elkhart-Goshen | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 91.0 | 90.3 | -0.6 |
| Goods | 100.7 | 94.3 | -6.4 |
| Services | 106.8 | 86.4 | -20.4 |
| Rents | 56.8 | 64.3 | +7.5 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Erie 91.0
Elkhart-Goshen 90.3
Goods
Erie 100.7
Elkhart-Goshen 94.3
Services
Erie 106.8
Elkhart-Goshen 86.4
Rents
Erie 56.8
Elkhart-Goshen 64.3
Vertical line = national average (100)
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in Erie would need to be in Elkhart-Goshen for the same purchasing power:
| In Erie | In Elkhart-Goshen | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $49,656 | $-344 |
| $75,000 | $74,485 | $-515 |
| $100,000 | $99,313 | $-687 |
| $150,000 | $148,969 | $-1,031 |
$ in Erie = in Elkhart-Goshen
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (91.0 → 90.3), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Elkhart-Goshen more expensive than Erie?
Elkhart-Goshen is 0.7% less expensive than Erie. The overall cost index is 90.3 vs 91.0 (national average = 100).
What salary in Elkhart-Goshen equals $100K in Erie?
A $100,000 salary in Erie has the same purchasing power as $99,313 in Elkhart-Goshen. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Erie and Elkhart-Goshen?
Rents in Erie are indexed at 56.8 while Elkhart-Goshen is at 64.3 (national average = 100). Elkhart-Goshen 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.