Chattanooga, TN vs Indianapolis, IN
Moving from Chattanooga to Indianapolis? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($326,370 → $295,921 median home) and taxes.
Chattanooga vs Indianapolis at a glance
Bars scaled to the range across all 200 metros; labels show actual values.
To keep the same standard of living as $100,000 in Chattanooga, TN, you'd need about $102,491 in Indianapolis, IN (+$2,491).
Livability — Chattanooga, TN: 67 · Indianapolis, IN: 71 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 3,064 sqft in Chattanooga vs 3,211 sqft in Indianapolis ($163 vs $156 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Chattanooga, TN | Indianapolis, IN | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $18,360 | $18,636 | +$276 |
| Groceries | $4,704 | $4,740 | +$36 |
| Transportation | $3,130 | $3,250 | +$120 |
| Utilities | $1,608 | $1,932 | +$324 |
| Insurance | $2,200 | $1,600 | −$600 |
| Taxes | $4,907 | $7,367 | +$2,461 |
| Total | $34,908 | $37,525 | +$2,617 |
Side by side
| Metric | Chattanooga, TN | Indianapolis, IN |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 92.3 | 94.7 |
| Unemployment rate | 4.49% | 4.28% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 2.9% | 6.1% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.25 | $5.39 |
| Median home price | $326,370 | $295,921 |
| Home price ÷ income | 5.0× | 4.0× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 0.2% | 1.3% |
| Price per square foot | $163 | $156 |
| Median rent | $1,530 | $1,553 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 7.6% | 9.3% |
| Combined sales tax | 9.55% | 7.00% |
| Capital gains tax | None | 3.05% |
| Property tax rate | 0.71% | 0.84% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,300 | $6,600 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $9,000 | $12,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | 1.20% |
| Avg commute (min) | 24 | 25 |
| Home insurance / yr | $2,200 | $1,600 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,600 | $1,400 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $700 | $600 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $350 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 14.9 | 17.9 |
| Gas $/gal | 2.95 | 3.30 |
| Natural gas / mo | $62 | $72 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $121 | $102 |
| Home internet / mo | $80 | $81 |
| Violent crime /100k | 600 | 360 |
| Avg summer high °F | 89 | 86 |
| Avg winter low °F | 30 | 20 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 50.5 | 43.6 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 4.7 | 25.5 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 60% | 55% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 2 | 2 |