Chicago, IL vs Indianapolis, IN
Moving from Chicago to Indianapolis? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($353,998 → $295,921 median home) and taxes.
Chicago 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 Chicago, IL, you'd need about $92,354 in Indianapolis, IN (−$7,646).
Livability — Chicago, IL: 63 · Indianapolis, IN: 71 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,402 sqft in Chicago vs 3,211 sqft in Indianapolis ($208 vs $156 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Chicago, IL | Indianapolis, IN | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $27,192 | $18,636 | −$8,556 |
| Groceries | $5,215 | $4,740 | −$475 |
| Transportation | $3,550 | $3,250 | −$300 |
| Utilities | $2,208 | $1,932 | −$276 |
| Insurance | $1,900 | $1,600 | −$300 |
| Taxes | $14,141 | $7,367 | −$6,774 |
| Total | $54,206 | $37,525 | −$16,681 |
Side by side
| Metric | Chicago, IL | Indianapolis, IN |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 102.5 | 94.7 |
| Unemployment rate | 6.19% | 4.28% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 0.2% | 6.1% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.83 | $5.39 |
| Median home price | $353,998 | $295,921 |
| Home price ÷ income | 4.2× | 4.0× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 4.4% | 1.3% |
| Price per square foot | $208 | $156 |
| Median rent | $2,266 | $1,553 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 12.9% | 9.3% |
| Combined sales tax | 8.86% | 7.00% |
| Capital gains tax | 4.95% | 3.05% |
| Property tax rate | 2.11% | 0.84% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,800 | $6,600 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $14,000 | $12,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | 1.20% |
| Avg commute (min) | 31 | 25 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,900 | $1,600 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,600 | $1,400 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $700 | $600 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $300 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 20.5 | 17.9 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.60 | 3.30 |
| Natural gas / mo | $82 | $72 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $57 | $102 |
| Home internet / mo | $77 | $81 |
| Violent crime /100k | 430 | 360 |
| Avg summer high °F | 85 | 86 |
| Avg winter low °F | 15 | 20 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 40.9 | 43.6 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 38.8 | 25.5 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 54% | 55% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 4 | 2 |