Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Goshen's standout: natural-hazard risk is low. Overall it grades C, ranked 508th of 585 in Indiana. It is easier to get around on foot or by transit than 76% of U.S. towns. History is its standout character grade: an A, better than 91% of U.S. towns, with 7 places on the National Register. 36% of working residents work locally in Goshen, above both the Indiana town median (11%) and the median of U.S. towns (8%). Goshen is home to Goshen College. On the outdoors, just 103 of Indiana’s 1,098 towns do better.
Where Goshen beats most towns.
Elkhart County Courthouse
Census counts: 780 in 1850, 34,517 in 2020. The archive holds 23 old photos and papers going back to 1901 and 2 maps from 1959 on.
7 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Indiana), ordered by how far Goshen is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Who provides power, water and the rest in Goshen, and how to reach them.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Nov 18, 2024.
Ordered by what stands out in Goshen.
Goshen carries less natural-hazard risk than nearly all of Indiana (mostly inland flooding), draws workers from Elkhart and beyond and has seen reported crime fall by a third or more.
15 miles of trail in 24 parks and preserves. Goshen’s trail density is 0.8 miles per square mile. The biggest place to walk is Shanklin Park, 98 acres with 1.5 miles of trail.
| Goshen | Indiana towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.8 miles per square mile | 0.2 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 5.7% | 1.9% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Abshire Park | 1.8 mi | 68 |
| 2. Witmer Woods | 1.7 mi | 19 |
| 3. Shanklin Park | 1.5 mi | 98 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
25,647 jobs are based in Goshen, 1.8 for every working resident, so most of the people who work here commute in.
About one in 3 of Goshen’s working residents works in town. 17% of residents live below the poverty line in Goshen. The top destinations are Elkhart (18%), Middlebury (3%) and South Bend (3%).
| Goshen | Indiana towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below the poverty line | 17% | 10% | 9.6% |
| Average trip to work | 19 minutes | 24 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Work from home | 4.2% | 7.8% | 11% |
| Median household income | $59,000 | $71,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk lower than 96% of Indiana towns, with expected losses of about $135 per resident a year; that rating is what its A+ for hazard risk is built on.
The FEMA risk score in Goshen is 7 of 100. Since 1982, 25 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Goshen.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
15% of Goshen adults 18 to 64 have no health insurance. Goshen beats the Indiana average on 0 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 8. 43% of Goshen adults have obesity.
| Goshen | Indiana towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| No health insurance, 18–64 (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 8.3% | 8.1% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 43% | 39% | 35% |
| Food insecurity (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 14% | 14% |
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 23% | 21% | 19% |
| What stands out | Goshen | IN |
|---|---|---|
| More uninsured adults | 15.2% | 8.9% |
| More adults facing housing insecurity | 14.6% | 11.2% |
| More adults facing food insecurity | 18.5% | 14.7% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Reported crimes fell from 977 to 638 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Goshen has chilly, snowy winters and pleasant summers. July afternoons reach 83°, January nights drop to 17° and about 45 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Adults 35 to 64 are 31% of residents (37% statewide). 24% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or more, vs 30% across Indiana.
| Goshen | Indiana towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median age | 34.4 years | 39.5 years | 40.5 years |
| Under 18 | 26% | 23% | 22% |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 24% | 22% | 29% |
53% women, 47% men
About 90 men for every 100 women (the survey’s margin: ±1.7 points). Across Indiana, 50.4% of residents are women.
| Goshen | IN | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 13.5% | 12.4% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 12.7% | 10.9% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 11.4% | 9.6% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 13.2% | 13.1% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 12% | 12.7% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 9.8% | 12% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 9.4% | 12.5% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 9.1% | 10.1% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 8.9% | 6.7% | 7% |
| No diploma | 16.9% | 9.6% | 10.4% |
| High school | 37.2% | 32.5% | 26% |
| Some college | 17% | 19.3% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 5.3% | 9.1% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 13.6% | 18.7% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 10% | 10.8% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
The typical Goshen home is worth about $282,000, up 5% in a year, 10% above the Indiana typical home.
| Goshen | Indiana towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 62% | 76% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,093 a month | $946 a month | $1,185 a month |
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
2 within 15 miles of the center of Goshen
About 4 of every 100 Goshen residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Indiana.
Where Goshen’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
7 places in Goshen on the National Register of Historic Places.
32 notable people were born in Goshen.
City in Indiana, United States
Goshen ( GOH-shən) is a city in and the county seat of Elkhart County, Indiana, United States. It is the smaller of the two principal cities of the Elkhart–Goshen Metropolitan Statistical Area, which in turn is part of the South Bend–Elkhart–Mishawaka Combined Statistical Area. It is located in the northern part of Indiana near the Michigan border, in a region known as Michiana. Goshen is located 10 miles southeast of Elkhart, 25 miles southeast of South Bend, 120 miles east of Chicago, and 150 miles north of Indianapolis. The population of Goshen was 34,517 at the 2020 census. The city is known as a prominent recreational vehicle and accessories manufacturing center, the home of Goshen Col…
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
3 towns share a border with Goshen.
All 3 graded towns on its borders grade higher than its C; Concord Township (C) is closest.
| Town | IN rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Goshen | #508 | C | B− | C | C+ | C |
| Dunlap | #343 | B− | B− | — | C+ | C+ |
| Concord Township | #484 | C | B+ | — | C | D |
| Jefferson Township | #292 | B | C+ | — | B+ | C |
Dunlap, Concord Township and Jefferson Township report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Goshen with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Goshen grades C overall, better than 27% of U.S. towns and #508 of 585 in Indiana. It grades C for health, C for safety and C+ for schools.
That is 4.1 years of the area's median household income ($68,561 across the Elkhart-Goshen, IN metro area). Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades B−.
32 notable people were born here, including James Carew and Kate Bolduan.
