Overall
87.8
Cheap
Metro cost profile · 2024 BEA RPP
Terre Haute, IN
Cost-of-living indicators for Terre Haute, IN, from Bureau of Economic Analysis Regional Price Parities, overall, goods, services, and rents vs the U.S. average of 100.
- 87.8
- Overall RPP
- #340
- of 387 metros
- 51.9
- Rents RPP
- $114K
- $100K national buys
Terre Haute ranks #340 of 387 U.S. metros by cost, and its overall price index has held steady since 2008.
- stable since 2008
- similar cost to Tuscaloosa
The verdict
Terre Haute costs less than 88% of U.S. metros, an overall index of 87.8, 12.2% below the national average, with rents the biggest swing at 51.9.
- bottom 12%
- by overall cost, nationwide
- 94.3
- goods RPP, tradable items
- 86.6
- services RPP, labor-priced
A $100,000 national salary carries the purchasing power of about $113,899 here; matching a $100K lifestyle takes roughly $87,797.
Terre Haute vs every U.S. metro
Where this metro sits in the national cost distribution
88 Bottom 12% higher than 12% 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
Terre Haute cost breakdown
BEA RPP by category, 100 = national average
- Rents
Rents
51.9 RPP
- Services
Services
86.6 RPP
- Overall
Overall
87.8 RPP
- Goods
Goods
94.3 RPP
What this shows Terre Haute's cost structure is housing-led: rents at 51.9 depart furthest from 100, while services sits at 86.6. This is a rent-sensitive profile, not a claim that every local expense moves together.
Goods vs. housing, where Terre Haute's cost comes from
Metros near Terre Haute's overall cost, plotted by their goods price (horizontal) and housing price (vertical). Same headline RPP, very different structures.
Read the chart as text
- Terre Haute (Terre Haute, this metro): goods RPP 94.3, rents RPP 51.9
- Tuscaloosa: goods RPP 96.4, rents RPP 58.2
- Brunswick: goods RPP 96.3, rents RPP 56.3
- Farmington: goods RPP 96.1, rents RPP 56.6
- Watertown: goods RPP 99.7, rents RPP 53.2
- Albany: goods RPP 96.3, rents RPP 54.6
- Johnson City: goods RPP 96.2, rents RPP 63.2
Price Index Summary
Goods
94.3
Below avg
Services
86.6
Cheap
Rents
51.9
Cheap
Housing-led affordability profile
How Terre Haute's cost structure works
Housing is the strongest affordability offset in Terre Haute: rents index at 51.9, 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 87.8.
Across all reported metros, the closest component-profile matches are Joplin, MO-KS, Florence, SC, Huntington-Ashland, WV-KY-OH. They resemble Terre Haute 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, Terre Haute's overall index has stayed within 1.3 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:
$87,797
in Terre Haute, IN purchasing power
$50,000 nationally
$43,898
$75,000 nationally
$65,848
$125,000 nationally
$109,746
$150,000 nationally
$131,696
$200,000 nationally
$175,594
Use the salary calculator for custom amounts.
Affordability score
A
96/100
How far the median local paycheck goes here, combining income and housing cost
Purchasing power
Not reported
Housing affordability A
96th 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
Terre Haute's overall RPP fell -0.5 points, from 88.3 in 2023 to 87.8 in 2024. The largest category movement was rents, changing from 56.8 to 51.9. This is a relative change against the national benchmark, not a household's dollar bill.
RPP History (2008-2024)
The cost of living has remained relatively stable, changing by only 1.3 points over this period. The largest single-year move was in 2015, when the index dropped 2.4 points from the year before, a bigger swing than the full 2008-2024 change.
Terre Haute overall RPP, 2008-2024
Every year on record, national average = 100
| Year | Overall |
|---|---|
| 2008 | 89.1 |
| 2009 | 89.1 |
| 2010 | 91.1 |
| 2011 | 89.2 |
| 2012 | 89.2 |
| 2013 | 90.4 |
| 2014 | 89.9 |
| 2015 | 87.6 |
| 2016 | 87.6 |
| 2017 | 87.7 |
| 2018 | 89.6 |
| 2019 | 89.6 |
| 2020 | 87.4 |
| 2021 | 87.3 |
| 2022 | 86.8 |
| 2023 | 88.3 |
| 2024 | 87.8 |
Decision peers
Metros with a similar cost mix
These metros are closest to Terre Haute'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.
Joplin, MO-KS
Goods 94.2 · Services 85.9 · Rents 54.0 Florence, SC
Goods 96.3 · Services 87.7 · Rents 52.4 Huntington-Ashland, WV-KY-OH
Goods 96.3 · Services 87.9 · Rents 51.3 Gadsden, AL
Goods 96.4 · Services 86.7 · Rents 53.7 Wildwood-The Villages, FL
Goods 96.2 · Services 89.0 · Rents 51.7 Anniston-Oxford, AL
Goods 96.4 · Services 87.1 · Rents 54.7
Metros with Similar Cost of Living
These metros have an overall RPP closest to Terre Haute, IN's index of 87.8.
Showing the 6 closest of 387 metro areas tracked nationally.
IN-relative analysis
Rent prices places Terre Haute, IN near the bottom of IN's metros
Among the 12 IN metros PlainCost tracks with reported rent prices data, Terre Haute, IN ranks #12 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide rank above: it compares Terre Haute, IN only against its own state's metros, not the full US field.
Goods prices
#1 of 12
8th percentile in IN
Services prices
#4 of 12
67th percentile in IN
Rent prices
#12 of 12
0th 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 Terre Haute, 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 (87.8 here).
Similar rents RPP
Nearest metros by rents regional price parity (51.9 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 Terre Haute
How to read Terre Haute'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 $113,899 in Terre Haute. Salary calculator
- Start with rents: it indexes at 51.9, 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 Terre Haute 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 Terre Haute, IN?
Terre Haute, IN has a Regional Price Parity (RPP) index of 87.8, meaning it is 12.2% less expensive than the national average. Goods are indexed at 94.3, services at 86.6, and rents at 51.9. It ranks #340 out of 387 U.S. metro areas by overall cost.
What salary do I need in Terre Haute, IN to match $100K nationally?
To maintain the same purchasing power as a $100,000 salary at the national average, you would need approximately $87,797 in Terre Haute, IN. Conversely, $100K earned in Terre Haute, IN has the purchasing power of $113,899 at the national average.
How expensive is rent in Terre Haute, IN?
Rents in Terre Haute, IN are indexed at 51.9, which is 48.1% below the national average. This makes the area relatively affordable for renters.
Is Terre Haute, IN getting more expensive?
From 2008 to 2024, Terre Haute, IN's overall cost index changed by -1.3 points (from 89.1 to 87.8). The cost of living has remained relatively stable.
What costs the most in Terre Haute, IN?
The priciest category in Terre Haute, 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 51.9, 48.1% below average.
What metros have a similar cost of living to Terre Haute, IN?
Metros with the most similar overall cost index include Tuscaloosa, Brunswick-St. Simons, Farmington. These areas have RPP values within a few points of Terre Haute, IN's 87.8.
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.