Overall
95.7
Below avg
Metro cost profile · 2024 BEA RPP
Indianapolis-Carmel-Greenwood, IN
Cost-of-living indicators for Indianapolis-Carmel-Greenwood, IN, from Bureau of Economic Analysis Regional Price Parities, overall, goods, services, and rents vs the U.S. average of 100.
- 95.7
- Overall RPP
- #152
- of 387 metros
- 88.9
- Rents RPP
- $104K
- $100K national buys
Indianapolis ranks #152 of 387 U.S. metros by cost, and its overall price index has held steady since 2008.
- stable since 2008
- similar cost to Helena
The verdict
Indianapolis costs less than 39% of U.S. metros, an overall index of 95.7, 4.3% below the national average, with services the biggest swing at 86.4.
- bottom 61%
- by overall cost, nationwide
- 94.3
- goods RPP, tradable items
- 86.4
- services RPP, labor-priced
A $100,000 national salary carries the purchasing power of about $104,498 here; matching a $100K lifestyle takes roughly $95,696.
Service-cost relief profile
How Indianapolis's cost structure works
Services provide the strongest cost offset in Indianapolis: their index is 86.4, farther below the national baseline than rents or tradable goods. The overall RPP of 95.7 therefore has a different source than a place with cheaper housing instead.
Across all reported metros, the closest component-profile matches are Sherman-Denison, TX, Bloomington, IN, Ocala, FL. They resemble Indianapolis across goods, services, and rents together, so they are stronger structure peers than a place selected only because its overall RPP happens to be nearby.
Across 2008-2024, Indianapolis's overall index has stayed within 1.0 points. This is a relative price-level history, not a prediction or a personal affordability recommendation; pair it with current local wages and housing options before making a decision.
Indianapolis vs every U.S. metro
Where this metro sits in the national cost distribution
96 Top 39% higher than 61% of 387 US metros
Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more US metros. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities · 2024
Indianapolis cost breakdown
BEA RPP by category, 100 = national average
- Rents
Rents
88.9 RPP
- Services
Services
86.4 RPP
- Overall
Overall
95.7 RPP
- Goods
Goods
94.3 RPP
What this shows Indianapolis's strongest departure is services at 86.4; rents follows at 88.9. Labor-priced local activity, rather than housing alone, is the first budget line to investigate.
Goods vs. housing, where Indianapolis's cost comes from
Metros near Indianapolis's overall cost, plotted by their goods price (horizontal) and housing price (vertical). Same headline RPP, very different structures.
Read the chart as text
- Indianapolis (Indianapolis, this metro): goods RPP 94.3, rents RPP 88.9
- Helena: goods RPP 96, rents RPP 90.1
- Syracuse: goods RPP 99.7, rents RPP 80.7
- Salisbury: goods RPP 96.6, rents RPP 87.2
- Midland: goods RPP 93.8, rents RPP 101.5
- Buffalo: goods RPP 99.7, rents RPP 81
- Albuquerque: goods RPP 96.1, rents RPP 89.2
Price Index Summary
Goods
94.3
Below avg
Services
86.4
Cheap
Rents
88.9
Cheap
RPP History (2008-2024)
The cost of living has remained relatively stable, changing by only 1.0 points over this period. The largest single-year move was in 2011, when the index dropped 1.6 points from the year before, a bigger swing than the full 2008-2024 change.
Indianapolis overall RPP, 2008-2024
Every year on record, national average = 100
| Year | Overall |
|---|---|
| 2008 | 96.7 |
| 2009 | 96.3 |
| 2010 | 96.0 |
| 2011 | 94.3 |
| 2012 | 94.9 |
| 2013 | 95.8 |
| 2014 | 94.8 |
| 2015 | 94.3 |
| 2016 | 94.2 |
| 2017 | 93.3 |
| 2018 | 94.8 |
| 2019 | 95.2 |
| 2020 | 93.6 |
| 2021 | 94.9 |
| 2022 | 93.8 |
| 2023 | 94.7 |
| 2024 | 95.7 |
Latest BEA release change
What changed from 2023 to 2024
Indianapolis's overall RPP rose +1.0 points, from 94.7 in 2023 to 95.7 in 2024. The largest category movement was rents, changing from 87.0 to 88.9. This is a relative change against the national benchmark, not a household's dollar bill.
Salary Equivalent
A $100,000 salary at the national average cost of living equals:
$95,696
in Indianapolis-Carmel-Greenwood, IN purchasing power
$50,000 nationally
$47,848
$75,000 nationally
$71,772
$125,000 nationally
$119,620
$150,000 nationally
$143,544
$200,000 nationally
$191,392
Use the salary calculator for custom amounts.
Affordability score
D
37/100
How far the median local paycheck goes here, combining income and housing cost
Purchasing power
Not reported
Housing affordability D
37th percentile
A weighted composite (60% purchasing power, 40% housing affordability) percentile-ranked against every other tracked metro; a missing input redistributes its weight rather than deflating the score. Sources: Census ACS 5-Year 2023 (income) + BEA Regional Price Parities 2024 (cost). Vintages differ by design; see methodology.
Decision peers
Metros with a similar cost mix
These metros are closest to Indianapolis's combined goods, services, and rents profile. They may not have the same overall RPP, but their price pressures are shaped in a similar way.
Sherman-Denison, TX
Goods 93.8 · Services 83.3 · Rents 89.5 Bloomington, IN
Goods 94.3 · Services 86.5 · Rents 85.6 Ocala, FL
Goods 96.2 · Services 87.1 · Rents 86.2 Kansas City, MO-KS
Goods 94.1 · Services 89.0 · Rents 86.6 Odessa, TX
Goods 93.8 · Services 82.9 · Rents 89.7 Daphne-Fairhope-Foley, AL
Goods 96.4 · Services 83.3 · Rents 89.2
IN-relative analysis
Goods prices places Indianapolis-Carmel-Greenwood, IN near the bottom of IN's metros
Among the 12 IN metros PlainCost tracks with reported goods prices data, Indianapolis-Carmel-Greenwood, IN ranks #1 - the 8th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide rank above: it compares Indianapolis-Carmel-Greenwood, IN only against its own state's metros, not the full US field.
Goods prices
#1 of 12
8th percentile in IN
Services prices
#10 of 12
17th percentile in IN
Rent prices
#1 of 12
92nd percentile in IN
Ranked by raw value (highest first); a higher rank is not automatically "more expensive is worse", see the national comparison above for direction context. This is a comparison within IN only, not a livability score.
Nationwide metros with similar overall cost or rent prices
Two BEA RPP-derived peer sets for Indianapolis-Carmel-Greenwood, IN: nearest metros by overall regional price parity and by rents RPP. These are cross-state neighborhoods, not the in-state metro list below.
Similar overall RPP
Nearest metros by overall regional price parity (95.7 here).
Similar rents RPP
Nearest metros by rents regional price parity (88.9 here).
Other IN Metros
Bloomington, IN 95.1 Lafayette-West Lafayette, IN 93.4 Columbus, IN 93.0 South Bend-Mishawaka, IN-MI 92.9 Fort Wayne, IN 92.6 Michigan City-La Porte, IN 91.7
View all IN metros → Cheapest in IN → Most expensive in IN →
Metros with Similar Cost of Living
These metros have an overall RPP closest to Indianapolis-Carmel-Greenwood, IN's index of 95.7.
Showing the 6 closest of 387 metro areas tracked nationally.
Cost of living guides →, cheapest and most-expensive metro rankings, salary negotiation with RPP data, and step-by-step comparison walkthroughs.
Compare to Other Metros
Shareable data card
Take this cost snapshot with you
Download the data card or share this exact metro record. The card uses the same BEA-derived values shown above.
What this means for Indianapolis
How to read Indianapolis's cost of living before a move, a job offer, or a budget.
- Budget to local prices, not headline pay, a $100K national salary spends like about $104,498 in Indianapolis. Salary calculator
- Start with services: it indexes at 86.4, the largest departure from the national benchmark in this metro's BEA cost mix. Compare it with the other components before treating the overall RPP as a complete household budget.
- Compare Indianapolis head-to-head against a specific destination before you decide. Compare metros
RPP is BEA's annual price-level benchmark for the data year shown, not a live market quote. Pair it with current local wages and housing costs before deciding.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the cost of living in Indianapolis-Carmel-Greenwood, IN?
Indianapolis-Carmel-Greenwood, IN has a Regional Price Parity (RPP) index of 95.7, meaning it is 4.3% less expensive than the national average. Goods are indexed at 94.3, services at 86.4, and rents at 88.9. It ranks #152 out of 387 U.S. metro areas by overall cost.
What salary do I need in Indianapolis-Carmel-Greenwood, IN to match $100K nationally?
To maintain the same purchasing power as a $100,000 salary at the national average, you would need approximately $95,696 in Indianapolis-Carmel-Greenwood, IN. Conversely, $100K earned in Indianapolis-Carmel-Greenwood, IN has the purchasing power of $104,498 at the national average.
How expensive is rent in Indianapolis-Carmel-Greenwood, IN?
Rents in Indianapolis-Carmel-Greenwood, IN are indexed at 88.9, which is 11.1% below the national average. This makes the area relatively affordable for renters.
Is Indianapolis-Carmel-Greenwood, IN getting more expensive?
From 2008 to 2024, Indianapolis-Carmel-Greenwood, IN's overall cost index changed by -1.0 points (from 96.7 to 95.7). The cost of living has remained relatively stable.
What costs the most in Indianapolis-Carmel-Greenwood, IN?
The priciest category in Indianapolis-Carmel-Greenwood, IN is goods at 94.3, 5.7% below the national average, still the highest of the three categories. The most affordable category is services at 86.4, 13.6% below average.
What metros have a similar cost of living to Indianapolis-Carmel-Greenwood, IN?
Metros with the most similar overall cost index include Helena, Syracuse, Salisbury. These areas have RPP values within a few points of Indianapolis-Carmel-Greenwood, IN's 95.7.
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.