Overall
- Wilmington
- 96.4
Diff +0.7 RPP
Indianapolis-Carmel-Greenwood vs Wilmington
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Wilmington is 0.8% more expensive than Indianapolis-Carmel-Greenwood.
0.8% more expensive
Wilmington, NC is 0.8% more expensive than Indianapolis-Carmel-Greenwood, IN on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 96.4 vs 95.7). A $100,000 salary in Indianapolis-Carmel-Greenwood buys about the same as $100,759 in Wilmington; the largest component gap is rents.
- Overall RPP 95.7 (Indianapolis-Carmel-Greenwood) vs 96.4 (Wilmington)
- $100k in Indianapolis-Carmel-Greenwood ≈ $100,759 purchasing power in Wilmington
- Rents drives the gap (+4.3 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair IN:NC 95.7→96.4
PHOTO-FINISH · CROSS-STATE · RENT-LED · BOTH-BELOW · PP-PAR
- PHOTO-FINISH Photo finish
- CROSS-STATE IN × NC
- RENT-LED Rent-led gap
- 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.
Indianapolis-Carmel-Greenwood
95.7
Cost Index
Wilmington
96.4
Cost Index
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Indianapolis-Carmel-Greenwood, IN and Wilmington, NC are a photo finish on overall price level, only 0.7 RPP points apart. A salary conversion is therefore a fine adjustment, not evidence of a fundamentally different cost regime.
Rents leads the difference, with Wilmington 4.3 points higher than Indianapolis-Carmel-Greenwood. Goods, services, and rents all point in the same broad direction, making the headline comparison more transferable across household types.
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 housing-sensitive move, validate the rent gap first: HUD Fair Market Rent and the actual unit size can overturn what the blended index implies. On the BEA ratio alone, $100,000 in Indianapolis-Carmel-Greenwood corresponds to $100,759 in Wilmington.
Category Breakdown
Goods
- Wilmington
- 96.6
Diff +2.3 RPP
Services
- Wilmington
- 87.9
Diff +1.5 RPP
Rents
- Wilmington
- 93.2
Diff +4.3 RPP
| Category | Indianapolis-Carmel-Greenwood | Wilmington | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 95.7 | 96.4 | +0.7 |
| Goods | 94.3 | 96.6 | +2.3 |
| Services | 86.4 | 87.9 | +1.5 |
| Rents | 88.9 | 93.2 | +4.3 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Indianapolis-Carmel-Greenwood 95.7
Wilmington 96.4
Goods
Indianapolis-Carmel-Greenwood 94.3
Wilmington 96.6
Services
Indianapolis-Carmel-Greenwood 86.4
Wilmington 87.9
Rents
Indianapolis-Carmel-Greenwood 88.9
Wilmington 93.2
Vertical line = national average (100)
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in Indianapolis-Carmel-Greenwood would need to be in Wilmington for the same purchasing power:
| In Indianapolis-Carmel-Greenwood | In Wilmington | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $50,379 | +$379 |
| $75,000 | $75,569 | +$569 |
| $100,000 | $100,759 | +$759 |
| $150,000 | $151,138 | +$1,138 |
$ in Indianapolis-Carmel-Greenwood = in Wilmington
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (95.7 → 96.4), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Wilmington more expensive than Indianapolis-Carmel-Greenwood?
Wilmington is 0.8% more expensive than Indianapolis-Carmel-Greenwood. The overall cost index is 96.4 vs 95.7 (national average = 100).
What salary in Wilmington equals $100K in Indianapolis-Carmel-Greenwood?
A $100,000 salary in Indianapolis-Carmel-Greenwood has the same purchasing power as $100,759 in Wilmington. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Indianapolis-Carmel-Greenwood and Wilmington?
Rents in Indianapolis-Carmel-Greenwood are indexed at 88.9 while Wilmington is at 93.2 (national average = 100). Wilmington 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.