State cost profile · 2024 BEA RPP
Cost of Living in Indiana
Statewide Regional Price Parities for Indiana from the Bureau of Economic Analysis, overall, goods, services, and rents vs the U.S. average of 100, across 12 metro areas.
- 93.3
- Statewide RPP
- #34
- of 51 states by cost
- 73.9
- Rents RPP
- 12
- Metro areas
Indiana ranks #34 of 51 states by cost, and its statewide price index has held steady since 2008.
- stable since 2008
- rose +1.2 points in the 2023-2024 release
- similar cost to South Carolina
The verdict
Indiana costs less than 67% of U.S. states, a statewide index of 93.3, 6.7% below the national average.
- Rents
- furthest category from 100, at 73.9
- South Carolina
- closest statewide cost peer, 0.4 points away
- Indianapolis-Carmel-Greenwood
- highest-cost metro, 95.7
- Terre Haute
- lowest-cost metro, 87.8
A $100,000 national salary carries the purchasing power of about $107,148 when earned in Indiana.
Metro areas in Indiana, ranked by cost
| # | Metro area | Overall | Goods | Services | Rents |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Indianapolis-Carmel-Greenwood | 95.7 | 94.3 | 86.4 | 88.9 |
| 2 | Bloomington | 95.1 | 94.3 | 86.5 | 85.6 |
| 3 | Lafayette-West Lafayette | 93.4 | 94.3 | 86.4 | 76.4 |
| 4 | Columbus | 93.0 | 94.3 | 86.6 | 75.5 |
| 5 | South Bend-Mishawaka | 92.9 | 94.2 | 87.7 | 74.6 |
| 6 | Fort Wayne | 92.6 | 94.3 | 86.2 | 72.3 |
| 7 | Michigan City-La Porte | 91.7 | 94.3 | 86.4 | 68.5 |
| 8 | Evansville | 91.5 | 94.3 | 86.7 | 66.7 |
| 9 | Elkhart-Goshen | 90.3 | 94.3 | 86.4 | 64.3 |
| 10 | Kokomo | 89.6 | 94.3 | 86.3 | 59.3 |
| 11 | Muncie | 88.1 | 94.3 | 86.4 | 57.5 |
| 12 | Terre Haute | 87.8 | 94.3 | 86.6 | 51.9 |
The Rents RPP index measures housing costs relative to the national average (100). For the federal 40th-percentile Fair Market Rent by bedroom size and county, see the HUD Fair Market Rents dataset.
Indiana vs every U.S. state
Where this state sits in the national cost distribution
93 Bottom 33% higher than 33% of 51 US states
Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more US states. 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
Reading the Indiana Cost of Living Picture
Indiana sits in an affordability lane closest to South Carolina, Ohio, Wyoming. A lower statewide index does not mean every place or budget category is cheap; it means this state belongs with those peers before a household narrows to a metro. Its category range is 21.6 points: large enough to separate housing-sensitive and service-heavy budgets, but not a single-component outlier.
Indiana captures 12 metro areas in the BEA dataset, and the range across them is meaningful. Indianapolis-Carmel-Greenwood, IN leads on cost at 95.7, while Terre Haute, IN sits at the opposite end at 87.8 - a gap of 7.9 index points inside a single state. For goods the state indexes at 95.5, for services 85.5, and for rents 73.9. Rents run 19.4 points below the statewide index here, so housing is what pulls the whole figure down — a household that already owns outright captures much less of that discount than a renter does.
Over time, Indiana's statewide index has held steady within 1.4 points, suggesting a stable competitive position against other states. Practically, this means a $100,000 national salary delivers the purchasing power of about $107,148 of national buying power when earned inside Indiana, and a household relocating here would need roughly $93,329 to reproduce a $100K lifestyle. With 12 reporting metros inside the state, treat this figure as the midpoint of a range rather than a quote for any one address.
Latest BEA release change
What changed from 2023 to 2024
Indiana's overall RPP rose +1.2 points, from 92.1 in 2023 to 93.3 in 2024. The largest category move was rents, changing from 71.3 to 73.9. RPP is a relative price index, so this reports a change against the national benchmark rather than a household's dollar bill.
Indiana RPP history, 2008–2024
The statewide index has changed by only 1.4 points from 2008 to 2024. The line shows every retained BEA release against the national benchmark of 100; the table preserves the component detail.
| Year | Overall |
|---|---|
| 2008 | 91.9 |
| 2009 | 92.6 |
| 2010 | 93.0 |
| 2011 | 92.4 |
| 2012 | 92.8 |
| 2013 | 92.9 |
| 2014 | 92.6 |
| 2015 | 91.4 |
| 2016 | 91.3 |
| 2017 | 90.9 |
| 2018 | 92.8 |
| 2019 | 92.8 |
| 2020 | 91.8 |
| 2021 | 92.6 |
| 2022 | 91.9 |
| 2023 | 92.1 |
| 2024 | 93.3 |
What this means in Indiana
The statewide index is a starting point, cost varies metro to metro within Indiana.
- Don't rely on the state figure alone: Indianapolis-Carmel-Greenwood (95.7) and Terre Haute (87.8) sit 8 index points apart inside Indiana. Check your specific metro.
- Rents index at 73.9 (26.1% below average) - the largest swing in the RPP. Review the housing line before any relocation decision. Highest rents
- Weighing Indiana against another state? Convert your salary to local purchasing power first. Salary calculator
RPP is BEA's annual price-level benchmark (national average = 100) for the data year shown, pair it with local wages and current rents before deciding.
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Cost of living guides →, cheapest and most-expensive rankings, cost of living vs wages, and how BEA constructs RPP data.
States with Similar Cost of Living
These states have RPP indices closest to Indiana, making them useful peers for relocation or budget comparison.
Nationwide states with similar overall cost or rent prices
Two BEA RPP-derived peer sets for Indiana: nearest states by overall regional price parity and by rents RPP. These are labelled nationwide neighborhoods, distinct from the closest-RPP list above.
Similar overall RPP
Nearest states by overall regional price parity (93.3 here).
Similar rents RPP
Nearest states by rents regional price parity (73.9 here).
Source: Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities Index where national average = 100
Frequently Asked Questions
How much cheaper is living in Indiana than the U.S. average?
Indiana has a Regional Price Parity (RPP) index of 93.3, meaning it is 6.7% less expensive than the national average. Goods are indexed at 95.5, services at 85.5, and rents at 73.9.
What salary in Indiana equals $100K nationally?
To maintain the same purchasing power as a $100,000 salary at the national average, you would need approximately $93,329 in Indiana. Conversely, $100K earned in Indiana has the purchasing power of $107,148 at the national average.
How much of Indiana's affordability is rents?
Rents in Indiana are indexed at 73.9, which is 26.1% below the national average. The state is relatively affordable for renters.
Which metros stretch Indiana's cost range the widest?
The most expensive metro area in Indiana is Indianapolis-Carmel-Greenwood, IN with an RPP of 95.7. The most affordable is Terre Haute, IN at 87.8. There are 12 metro areas in Indiana with BEA price data.
Is Indiana getting more expensive?
From 2008 to 2024, Indiana's overall cost index changed by +1.4 points (from 91.9 to 93.3). The cost of living has remained relatively stable.
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 2024. Rankings measure the published cost-of-living index only; we don't recommend where to live or rate any metro's quality of life.