Elkhart vs Runnells

A side-by-side comparison of Elkhart and Runnells: population, income, housing, and more.

Elkhart and Runnells are places in Iowa. This page compares them across population, income, housing, education, commuting, and how each has changed since 2019.

Elkhart has the higher population (680 vs 397 in Runnells). Runnells has the higher median household income ($98,125 vs $81,771 in Elkhart). Elkhart has the higher median home value ($241,700 vs $196,900 in Runnells).

Population, income & housing

	Elkhart	Runnells
Population	680	397
Median age	38.7 yrs	39.5 yrs
Median household income	$81,771	$98,125
Median home value	$241,700	$196,900
Median gross rent	—	$725
Housing units	318	162
Homeownership rate	85.9%	84.3%
Bachelor's degree or higher	25.8%	20.6%
Unemployment rate	0.5%	5.9%

Trends (ACS 5-year, 2019–2023)

	Elkhart	Runnells
Population	688 → 680 (-1.2%)	481 → 397 (-17.5%)
Median household income	$58,750 → $81,771 (+39.2%)	$67,500 → $98,125 (+45.4%)
Median home value	$150,500 → $241,700 (+60.6%)	$140,500 → $196,900 (+40.1%)
Median gross rent	$920 → $588 (-36.1%)	$695 → $725 (+4.3%)

Elkhart

Population

688680

Median household income

$58,750$81,771

Median home value

$150,500$241,700

Median gross rent

$920$588

Runnells

Population

481397

Median household income

$67,500$98,125

Median home value

$140,500$196,900

Median gross rent

$695$725

Age & race/ethnicity

Age distribution (share)

	Elkhart	Runnells
Under 5	6.5%	8.1%
5 to 17	17.2%	11.8%
18 to 24	7.9%	8.1%
25 to 34	14.1%	14.9%
35 to 44	16.5%	12.8%
45 to 54	11.8%	12.1%
55 to 64	14.0%	12.8%
65 to 74	9.4%	12.6%
75 and over	2.6%	6.8%

Race & ethnicity (share)

	Elkhart	Runnells
White (non-Hispanic)	92.1%	96.5%
Black or African American	3.2%	0.0%
American Indian & Alaska Native	0.1%	1.3%
Asian	0.3%	0.0%
Native Hawaiian & Pacific Islander	0.0%	0.0%
Some other race	0.3%	0.0%
Two or more races	2.2%	1.0%
Hispanic or Latino	1.8%	1.3%

Educational attainment (age 25+)

Share of adults 25+

	Elkhart	Runnells
No high school diploma	7.3%	5.9%
High school graduate	28.8%	34.6%
Some college or associate's	38.1%	38.8%
Bachelor's degree	23.2%	15.7%
Graduate or professional degree	2.6%	4.9%

Commute to work

How workers get to work (share)

	Elkhart	Runnells
Drove alone	77.9%	80.1%
Carpooled	8.7%	8.7%
Public transit	0.0%	0.0%
Walked	0.0%	0.5%
Bicycle	0.0%	0.0%
Worked from home	13.4%	8.3%
Other means	0.0%	2.4%

Housing

Units in structure (share)

	Elkhart	Runnells
1-unit, detached	65.7%	90.1%
1-unit, attached	6.9%	1.2%
2 to 4 units	11.3%	6.8%
5 to 19 units	0.6%	1.9%
20 or more units	1.6%	0.0%
Mobile home & other	13.8%	0.0%

Poverty & households

	Elkhart	Runnells
Poverty rate	9.7%	5.8%
Average household size	2.40	2.50
Mean commute (minutes)	28	29
Median year structure built	2005	1969