Overall
88.1
Cheap
Metro cost profile · 2024 BEA RPP
Muncie, IN
Cost-of-living indicators for Muncie, IN, from Bureau of Economic Analysis Regional Price Parities, overall, goods, services, and rents vs the U.S. average of 100.
- 88.1
- Overall RPP
- #332
- of 387 metros
- 57.5
- Rents RPP
- $113K
- $100K national buys
Muncie ranks #332 of 387 U.S. metros by cost, and its overall price index has fallen 5.7 points since 2008.
- falling since 2008
- similar cost to Mobile
The verdict
Muncie costs less than 86% of U.S. metros, an overall index of 88.1, 11.9% below the national average, with rents the biggest swing at 57.5.
- bottom 14%
- 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 $113,446 here; matching a $100K lifestyle takes roughly $88,148.
Muncie vs every U.S. metro
Where this metro sits in the national cost distribution
88 Bottom 14% higher than 14% 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
Muncie cost breakdown
BEA RPP by category, 100 = national average
- Rents
Rents
57.5 RPP
- Services
Services
86.4 RPP
- Overall
Overall
88.1 RPP
- Goods
Goods
94.3 RPP
What this shows Muncie's cost structure is housing-led: rents at 57.5 depart furthest from 100, while services sits at 86.4. This is a rent-sensitive profile, not a claim that every local expense moves together.
Goods vs. housing, where Muncie's cost comes from
Metros near Muncie's overall cost, plotted by their goods price (horizontal) and housing price (vertical). Same headline RPP, very different structures.
Read the chart as text
- Muncie (Muncie, this metro): goods RPP 94.3, rents RPP 57.5
- Mobile: goods RPP 96.4, rents RPP 60.1
- Cleveland: goods RPP 96.2, rents RPP 60.3
- Valdosta: goods RPP 96.3, rents RPP 58.8
- Sumter: goods RPP 96.3, rents RPP 60.8
- Rocky Mount: goods RPP 96.6, rents RPP 56.1
- Jefferson City: goods RPP 94.2, rents RPP 62.1
Price Index Summary
Goods
94.3
Below avg
Services
86.4
Cheap
Rents
57.5
Cheap
Housing-led affordability profile
How Muncie's cost structure works
Housing is the strongest affordability offset in Muncie: rents index at 57.5, the component furthest below the national benchmark. That does not make every local expense low, but it is the clearest explanation for the metro's overall RPP of 88.1.
Across all reported metros, the closest component-profile matches are Cape Girardeau, MO-IL, Kokomo, IN, Brunswick-St. Simons, GA. They resemble Muncie 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, Muncie's overall index has fallen by 5.7 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.
Salary Equivalent
A $100,000 salary at the national average cost of living equals:
$88,148
in Muncie, IN purchasing power
$50,000 nationally
$44,074
$75,000 nationally
$66,111
$125,000 nationally
$110,185
$150,000 nationally
$132,222
$200,000 nationally
$176,296
Use the salary calculator for custom amounts.
Affordability score
B
88/100
How far the median local paycheck goes here, combining income and housing cost
Purchasing power
Not reported
Housing affordability B
88th 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.
Latest BEA release change
What changed from 2023 to 2024
Muncie's overall RPP fell -0.5 points, from 88.7 in 2023 to 88.1 in 2024. The largest category movement was rents, changing from 61.1 to 57.5. This is a relative change against the national benchmark, not a household's dollar bill.
RPP History (2008-2024)
The cost of living has been trending downward, decreasing by 5.7 points over this period. The largest single-year move was in 2019, when the index dropped 2.5 points from the year before.
Muncie overall RPP, 2008-2024
Every year on record, national average = 100
| Year | Overall |
|---|---|
| 2008 | 93.8 |
| 2009 | 91.4 |
| 2010 | 91.6 |
| 2011 | 91.2 |
| 2012 | 90.5 |
| 2013 | 92.1 |
| 2014 | 89.9 |
| 2015 | 88.3 |
| 2016 | 88.6 |
| 2017 | 89.0 |
| 2018 | 91.0 |
| 2019 | 88.5 |
| 2020 | 87.2 |
| 2021 | 89.0 |
| 2022 | 88.2 |
| 2023 | 88.7 |
| 2024 | 88.1 |
Decision peers
Metros with a similar cost mix
These metros are closest to Muncie'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.
Cape Girardeau, MO-IL
Goods 94.2 · Services 85.6 · Rents 56.4 Kokomo, IN
Goods 94.3 · Services 86.3 · Rents 59.3 Brunswick-St. Simons, GA
Goods 96.3 · Services 87.3 · Rents 56.3 Greenville, NC
Goods 96.6 · Services 87.3 · Rents 57.3 Valdosta, GA
Goods 96.3 · Services 87.8 · Rents 58.8 Goldsboro, NC
Goods 96.6 · Services 87.9 · Rents 57.7
Metros with Similar Cost of Living
These metros have an overall RPP closest to Muncie, IN's index of 88.1.
Showing the 6 closest of 387 metro areas tracked nationally.
IN-relative analysis
Goods prices places Muncie, IN near the bottom of IN's metros
Among the 12 IN metros PlainCost tracks with reported goods prices data, Muncie, IN ranks #1 - the 8th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide rank above: it compares Muncie, IN only against its own state's metros, not the full US field.
Goods prices
#1 of 12
8th percentile in IN
Services prices
#6 of 12
50th percentile in IN
Rent prices
#11 of 12
8th 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 Muncie, 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 (88.1 here).
Similar rents RPP
Nearest metros by rents regional price parity (57.5 here).
Other IN Metros
Indianapolis-Carmel-Greenwood, IN 95.7 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
View all IN metros → Cheapest in IN → Most expensive in IN →
Compare to Other Metros
Cost of living guides →, cheapest and most-expensive metro rankings, salary negotiation with RPP data, and step-by-step comparison walkthroughs.
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 Muncie
How to read Muncie'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 $113,446 in Muncie. Salary calculator
- Start with rents: it indexes at 57.5, 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 Muncie 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 Muncie, IN?
Muncie, IN has a Regional Price Parity (RPP) index of 88.1, meaning it is 11.9% less expensive than the national average. Goods are indexed at 94.3, services at 86.4, and rents at 57.5. It ranks #332 out of 387 U.S. metro areas by overall cost.
What salary do I need in Muncie, IN to match $100K nationally?
To maintain the same purchasing power as a $100,000 salary at the national average, you would need approximately $88,148 in Muncie, IN. Conversely, $100K earned in Muncie, IN has the purchasing power of $113,446 at the national average.
How expensive is rent in Muncie, IN?
Rents in Muncie, IN are indexed at 57.5, which is 42.5% below the national average. This makes the area relatively affordable for renters.
Is Muncie, IN getting more expensive?
From 2008 to 2024, Muncie, IN's overall cost index changed by -5.7 points (from 93.8 to 88.1). The cost of living has been declining.
What costs the most in Muncie, IN?
The priciest category in Muncie, IN is goods at 94.3, 5.7% below the national average, still the highest of the three categories. The most affordable category is rents at 57.5, 42.5% below average.
What metros have a similar cost of living to Muncie, IN?
Metros with the most similar overall cost index include Mobile, Cleveland, Valdosta. These areas have RPP values within a few points of Muncie, IN's 88.1.
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.