Huntington, WV vs Indianapolis, IN
Moving from Huntington to Indianapolis? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($166,506 → $295,921 median home) and taxes.
Huntington 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 Huntington, WV, you'd need about $107,426 in Indianapolis, IN (+$7,426).
Livability — Huntington, WV: 77 · Indianapolis, IN: 71 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 5,107 sqft in Huntington vs 3,211 sqft in Indianapolis ($98 vs $156 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Huntington, WV | Indianapolis, IN | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $13,128 | $18,636 | +$5,508 |
| Groceries | $4,773 | $4,740 | −$33 |
| Transportation | $3,410 | $3,250 | −$160 |
| Utilities | $1,740 | $1,932 | +$192 |
| Insurance | $1,300 | $1,600 | +$300 |
| Taxes | $8,423 | $7,367 | −$1,055 |
| Total | $32,774 | $37,525 | +$4,751 |
Side by side
| Metric | Huntington, WV | Indianapolis, IN |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 88.1 | 94.7 |
| Unemployment rate | 5.32% | 4.28% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | -0.4% | 6.1% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 44 | 55 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.01 | $5.39 |
| Median home price | $166,506 | $295,921 |
| Home price ÷ income | 3.0× | 4.0× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 0.5% | 1.3% |
| Price per square foot | $98 | $156 |
| Median rent | $1,094 | $1,553 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 9.8% | 9.3% |
| Combined sales tax | 6.55% | 7.00% |
| Capital gains tax | 5.12% | 3.05% |
| Property tax rate | 0.71% | 0.84% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $7,200 | $6,600 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $9,000 | $12,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | 1.66% | 1.20% |
| Avg commute (min) | 24 | 25 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,300 | $1,600 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,700 | $1,400 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $650 | $600 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 16.1 | 17.9 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.30 | 3.30 |
| Violent crime /100k | 280 | 360 |
| Avg summer high °F | 84 | 86 |
| Avg winter low °F | 26 | 20 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 2 | 2 |