Welcome to Elkhart ...
The city of Elkhart is located in Elkhart County<1>.
While we don't have a date for the founding of Elkhart, you might consider that their post office opened in 1839.
When the people of Elkhart refer to themselves (known as a demonym), they frequently use Elkhartan<2>
From the Census Estimates for 2019, Elkhart has a population of 52,354 people<3> (see below for details).
Elkhart is 730 feet [223 m] above sea level.<4>.
Time Zone: Elkhart lies in the Eastern Time Zone (EST/EDT) and observes daylight saving time
Note: If you travel west from Elkhart (for example, toward La Porte), you will leave Eastern Time and cross into the Central Time Zone (CST/CDT).
The telephone area code for Elkhart: (574)
The ZIP codes for Elkhart: 46514-46517<5>
Websites for Elkhart ...
Official Website: www.elkhartindiana.org/
Chamber of Commerce: www.elkhart.org/
Population Details ...
Taken from the 2019 Census Estimates, Elkhart had an population of 52,354 people. This is an increase of 2.76% since the 2010 Census (or an increase of 0.93% since the 2000 Census).
At the time of the 2010 Census, Elkhart had a population of 50,949 people (which is 25.79% of the total population of Elkhart County). This makes Elkhart the county's most populous community.
The population of Elkhart represents 0.79% of the population of Indiana (which has 6,483,802 people), making it the state's 15th most populous community.
With a 2010 count of 50,949 people, the population of Elkhart decreased 1.78% from the 2000 Census (which had a count of 51,874 people).
More information can be found on the Census Page for Elkhart.
Communities Also Named Elkhart ...
Using our Gazetteer, we found that there are 7 communities that are also named Elkhart - they are located in Illinois, Iowa, Kansas (2), Missouri, Texas and Wisconsin.
For more information, see our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Elkhart.
Communities near Elkhart ...
We have created a list of 10 communities that are near Elkhart.
- South Bend
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Bend
- South Bend is located in Saint Joseph County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 101,868 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for South Bend <6>
- Mishawaka
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mishawaka
- Mishawaka is located in Saint Joseph County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 50,312 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Mishawaka <6>
- Goshen
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Goshen have been provided by the GNIS.<7> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goshen
- Goshen is located in Elkhart County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 34,168 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Goshen <6>
- Niles
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Niles
- Niles is located in Berrien County (MI)
- Population from the 2020 Census: 11,093 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Niles <6>
- Nappanee
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Nappanee have been provided by the GNIS.<7> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nappanee
- Nappanee is located in Elkhart County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 6,845 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Nappanee <6>
- Bremen
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bremen have been provided by the GNIS.<7> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bremen
- Bremen is located in Marshall County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 4,450 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bremen <6>
- Middlebury
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Middlebury have been provided by the GNIS.<7> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Middlebury
- Middlebury is located in Elkhart County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,608 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Middlebury <6>
- Constantine
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Constantine have been provided by the GNIS.<7> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Constantine
- Constantine is located in Saint Joseph County (MI)
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,107 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Constantine <6>
- Wakarusa
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wakarusa have been provided by the GNIS.<7> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wakarusa
- Wakarusa is located in Elkhart County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,848 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Wakarusa <6>
- Cassopolis
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cassopolis have been provided by the GNIS.<7> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cassopolis
- Cassopolis is located in Cass County (MI)
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,698 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Cassopolis <6>
To Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
We have a couple of sections for those tracing their genealogy.
We created a list of cemeteries that are in the area around Elkhart. Our list includes the location of those cemeteries and we provide an overhead view. See our Cemetery List for Elkhart.
Using the information from an 1895 Atlas, we've created a list of communities that were in the area of Elkhart. Our list includes information such as whether the 1895 community had a post office or railroad service. See our List of 1890's Communities around Elkhart.
We also have a detailed list of newspapers that have been published in the area around Elkhart. Our list includes 38 papers. See our Newspapers Page for Elkhart.
TripAdvisor Tourism Pages for Elkhart ...
Looking for more information about Elkhart? A wonderful source is the TripAdvisor website. We always start with the TripAdvisor Tourism page, where you can read an overview with links that will help you find lodging, restaurants and attractions.
In addition to the Tourism page for Elkhart, there are neighboring communities that also have Tourism pages. More information about those communities can be found on our TripAdvisor Page for Elkhart.
Adding Elkhart to Our Gazetteer ...
We originally found mention of Elkhart in both the FIPS-55 and the GNIS. For more information, see the FIPS and GNIS Codes sections on our Miscellaneous Page.
From our notes, the earliest published mention we've found for Elkhart was in the document titled List of Post Offices from Cameron Blevins and Richard Helbock.<8>
From that list, the Elkhart post office opened in 1839.
We also found Elkhart in the book titled U.S. Post Offices (Oct. 1846).
For more details, see References and Mentions for Elkhart.
Off-the-Road Links ...
The official website for Elkhart: www.elkhartindiana.org/
The official website for Elkhart County: www.elkhartcountyindiana.com/
The official website for State of Indiana: https://www.in.gov
Footnotes ...
| <1> | If you're interested in how the shape of Indiana's counties, including Elkhart, have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries. |
| <2> | A demonym is the name for a resident of a community which is usually derived from (or is related to) the name of that community. In other words, it's how the residents of Elkhart refer to themselves. It's important to note that there aren't any rules for taking a city's name and turning it into a demonym. A demonym is informal and while the majority of Elkhart may use one name, keep in mind that others may use something different. |
| <3> | Population counts have been provided by the U.S. Census Bureau. For more detail, please visit our Census Page for Elkhart. |
| <4> | The elevation is an estimate for the area around Elkhart - it will be higher in some places and lower in others. |
| <5> | ZIP Codes have been created by the United States Postal Service (USPS) as a way of grouping addresses to make delivery more efficient. The boundaries of the ZIP Code can be changed, re-assigned, eliminated or overlapped with other ZIP Codes. So keep in mind that any given ZIP Code is only 'loosely' associated with a city (such as Elkhart). When looking for a ZIP Code, whether Elkhart or elsewhere, it's always best to check the website of the United States Postal Service (USPS). Our list of ZIP Codes for Elkhart includes: 46514, 46515, 46516 & 46517. |
| <6> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <7> | The location has been supplied by the Geographic Names Information System - which is maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). While these values should be definitive, we found that accuracy can vary and you should double-check the location if accuracy is required. |
| <8> | A copy of their list with background information can be found at: https://cblevins.github.io/us-post-offices/data-biography/ |