What is the cost of living in Indianapolis-Carmel-Greenwood?

Indianapolis-Carmel-Greenwood has a Regional Price Parity (RPP) of 95.7, where 100 represents the national average. Housing costs index at 88.9, which is below the national average. The average 2-bedroom rent is $1,473/month.

What is the median salary in Indianapolis-Carmel-Greenwood?

The median salary in Indianapolis-Carmel-Greenwood is $70,366 annually (mean: $73,933). Top occupations include Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand, Retail Salespersons, Fast Food and Counter Workers.

How safe is Indianapolis-Carmel-Greenwood?

The violent crime rate in the Indianapolis-Carmel-Greenwood area is 308 per 100,000 population (state-level data). Property crime rate is 1321 per 100K.

What are the schools like in Indianapolis-Carmel-Greenwood?

The state of IN has 1,865 schools (state-level data, no metro-level federal count exists) with an average student-teacher ratio of 15.9:1. Charter schools make up 6.5% of all schools.

How much does childcare cost in Indianapolis-Carmel-Greenwood?

Childcare cost data is not currently available for Indianapolis-Carmel-Greenwood.

Is Indianapolis-Carmel-Greenwood a good place to relocate?

Indianapolis-Carmel-Greenwood has a Life Score of 46.5/100 (D), based on 6 of 7 available dimensions among cost of living, wages, rent, crime, schools, childcare, and environment (missing dims omitted, weights renormalized). This is a middle-of-the-pack score, where the composite lands for most US metros; look at individual dimensions to see the real trade-offs.

Where does Indianapolis-Carmel-Greenwood sit among US metros on LiveAbility?

According to PlainRelocate's LiveAbility composite, Indianapolis-Carmel-Greenwood ranks #286 of 387 scored US metros by LiveAbility Score (highest score = #1). That ordinal matches the /rankings/livability listing. See /methodology#corpus-placement for the exact sort basis.

Relocation profile · Federal data

Indianapolis-Carmel-Greenwood, IN

LiveAbility 44.6/100 places Indianapolis-Carmel-Greenwood #286 of 387 (bottom third of scored metros).

Compiled by PlainRelocate · June 15, 2026

95.7
Cost index (US=100): $1,473
2BR rent / mo: $70,366
Median salary: 44.6
LiveAbility Score

The verdict

As of June 2026, Indianapolis-Carmel-Greenwood ranks #286 of 387 US metros on the LiveAbility Score (44.6/100), with its strongest marks in low hazard and job market.

#286
of 387 US metros · Near median: 6,924,275
metro-area population: 308
violent crimes per 100K (state-level): 1,865
schools in the state (NCES)

Weakest dimension: air quality (8/100). Weigh every dimension against your own priorities, use the City Finder to re-rank by what matters to you.

According to PlainRelocate's LiveAbility composite (BEA, BLS, HUD, FBI, NCES, EPA, NOAA, and FEMA inputs), Indianapolis-Carmel-Greenwood ranks #286 of 387 scored US metros by LiveAbility Score (highest score = #1). Cost-of-living index 95.7 (100 = national average), median 2-bedroom rent $1,473/mo, median salary $70,366; LiveAbility Score 44.6/100, strongest in low hazard and job market.

Signature: LiveAbility 44.6/100 places Indianapolis-Carmel-Greenwood #286 of 387 (bottom third of scored metros).

Purchasing power sits mid-band: BEA RPP 95.7 between corpus terciles 91.5 and 97.0. Median 2BR rent $1,473/mo.

LiveAbility 44.6/100 puts Indianapolis-Carmel-Greenwood in the bottom third (#286 of 387).

BLS OEWS total employment in the Indianapolis-Carmel-Greenwood area is 1,085,370.

Indianapolis-Carmel-Greenwood vs all US metros by LiveAbility Score

Where this metro's LiveAbility Score falls among every scored US metro (composite placement, not a desirability verdict)

45 Top 74% higher than 26% of 387 US metros

Metros banded by LiveAbility Score (0–100)

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 and share, and where it sits relative to this entry.

Source PlainRelocate LiveAbility Score · June 2026

Indianapolis-Carmel-Greenwood housing and rent

HUD Fair Market Rents for the Indianapolis-Carmel-Greenwood MSA; housing RPP 88.9 (100 = national average); 2BR $1,473/mo.

Studio

$1,118

/month

1 Bedroom

$1,267

/month

2 Bedroom

$1,473

/month

3 Bedroom

$1,907

/month

4 Bedroom

$2,338

/month

Indianapolis-Carmel-Greenwood wages and employment

Indianapolis-Carmel-Greenwood posts 1,085,370 total employment with median salary $70,366.

Median Salary

$70,366

Mean Salary

$73,933

Total Employment

1,085,370

Top Occupations by Employment

Occupation	Median Salary
Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand	$44,180
Retail Salespersons	$31,530
Fast Food and Counter Workers	$29,040
Registered Nurses	$84,230
Stockers and Order Fillers	$37,120

Schools & Education

State-level education data for the Indianapolis-Carmel-Greenwood area from NCES.

Schools

1,865

Enrollment

1,033,761

Student:Teacher

15.9:1

Title I %

Life Score Breakdown

Indianapolis-Carmel-Greenwood's composite Life Score is 46.5/100 (D), computed across 6 of 7 dimensions (missing dims omitted; remaining weights renormalized).

Cost

39/100

Below average

Wages

72/100

Strong

Rent

33/100

Weak

Crime

50/100

Average

Schools

56/100

Above average

Environment

16/100

Bottom decile

LiveAbility Score

View full rankings →

Indianapolis-Carmel-Greenwood ranks #286 out of 387 metros with a LiveAbility Score of 44.6/100 - a composite of 8 of 8 quality-of-life dimensions from federal data. Customize the weights to match your priorities →

Strongest dimension: Low hazard (74/100)

Low hazard

74
Job market

72
Safety

50
Schools

44
Cost of living

39
Housing

33
Climate

31
Air quality

8

What this shows Indianapolis-Carmel-Greenwood's strongest dimensions are low hazard and job market; its weakest among scored dims is air quality at 8/100. Default weights: cost 18%, jobs & housing 15% each, safety & schools 12%, air & hazard 10%, climate 8%.

Compare Indianapolis-Carmel-Greenwood to

Memphis Merced Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach Michigan City-La Porte Midland Midland

Metros near Indianapolis-Carmel-Greenwood on cost, LiveAbility, or wages

Nearest out-of-state neighbors to Indianapolis-Carmel-Greenwood on BEA RPP, LiveAbility, or BLS median salary, a different lens than the size-ranked list.

Similar cost of living (BEA RPP)

Similar LiveAbility score

Source: BEA Regional Price Parities, HUD Fair Market Rents, BLS OES, FBI UCR, NCES, DOL, EPA June 2026

Indianapolis-Carmel-Greenwood cost figures follow BEA Regional Price Parities and HUD Fair Market Rents; Indianapolis-Carmel-Greenwood wages and LiveAbility inputs follow BLS OEWS plus the federal sources listed in methodology. This information is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute professional advice. Scores are federal-data percentiles, not a move recommendation. How this data is sourced.

Verify with BEA → · Verify with BLS → · Verify with HUD → · Verify with NOAA → · Verify with FEMA → · Verify with Census →

Thinking about Indianapolis-Carmel-Greenwood?

Indianapolis-Carmel-Greenwood runs a $70,366 median salary at a 95.7 cost index, ranking #286 of 387 nationally on LiveAbility.

See exactly what Indianapolis-Carmel-Greenwood's pay and cost figures mean for your own budget. Salary calculator
Put Indianapolis-Carmel-Greenwood head-to-head against another city on the same dimensions. Compare Indianapolis-Carmel-Greenwood
Abilene is the closest related metro in this corpus -- see how it stacks up. Abilene profile
A cheaper cost index and a higher LiveAbility score don't always point the same direction -- here's how to weigh the trade-off. Cost vs quality guide

Cost, salary and score figures are federal-data percentiles, not a move recommendation.