Elkhart County is also located in the Northern Indiana region known as Michiana, 20 miles east of South Bend, 110 miles east of Chicago, and 150 miles north of Indianapolis. The area is playfully referred to by locals as the RV capital of the world and is known for its sizable Amish population. For the latter reason, the county teams up with neighboring Lagrange County to promote tourism by referring to the area as Northern Indiana Amish Country. The county seat is Goshen.
As of the census of 2000, there were 182,791 people, 66,154 households, and 47,630 families residing in the county. The population density was 394 people per square mile (152/km²). There were 69,791 housing units at an average density of 150 per square mile (58/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 86.40% White, 5.23% Black or African American, 0.27% Native American, 0.92% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 5.36% from other races, and 1.78% from two or more races. 8.92% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 27.9% were of German, 14.7% American, 6.3% English and 6.2% Irish ancestry according to Census 2000.
There were 66,154 households out of which 36.40% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.80% were married couples living together, 10.50% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.00% were non-families. 22.60% of all households were made up of individuals and 8.40% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.72 and the average family size was 3.18.
In the county the population was spread out with 28.90% under the age of 18, 9.50% from 18 to 24, 29.80% from 25 to 44, 20.90% from 45 to 64, and 10.90% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females there were 98.80 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.10 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $44,478, and the median income for a family was $50,438. Males had a median income of $35,907 versus $24,051 for females. The per capita income for the county was $20,250. About 5.80% of families and 7.80% of the population were below the poverty line, including 10.20% of those under age 18 and 6.50% of those age 65 or over.
The Indiana Toll Road (Interstates 80/90) runs through the northern fringes of the county. Elkhart has two interchanges (exits 92 & 96) while Bristol and Middlebury have one apiece (exits 101 and 107 respectively.) U.S. Route 20 skirts the southern edges of Elkhart as the St. Joseph Valley Parkway until the freeway ends at the County Road 17 interchange. U.S. 20 continues eastward as a regular surface highway. County Road 17 is known as the "Michiana Parkway" and provides a connection between Goshen, U.S. 20, S.R. 120, the Elkhart East interchange (Exit 96) on the Toll Road, and US 12 in Michigan via M-217.
U.S. Highways 6, 33, and 131 also run through the county along with Indiana State Highways 4, 13, 15, 19, 119, and 219. U.S. 33 was once part of the original Lincoln Highway.
A bus system known as the Inter-Urban Trolley runs through Elkhart and Goshen with buses that look like trolley cars. These buses are manufactured at government expense in RV facilities of Elkhart County.
Elkhart and Goshen both have municipal airports and Amtrak makes four daily stops in Elkhart.