Indianapolis, IN vs Lubbock, TX
Moving from Indianapolis to Lubbock? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($295,921 → $213,766 median home) and taxes.
Indianapolis vs Lubbock 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 Indianapolis, IN, you'd need about $96,133 in Lubbock, TX (−$3,867).
Livability — Indianapolis, IN: 71 · Lubbock, TX: 74 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 3,211 sqft in Indianapolis vs 4,912 sqft in Lubbock ($156 vs $102 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Indianapolis, IN | Lubbock, TX | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $18,636 | $17,040 | −$1,596 |
| Groceries | $4,740 | $4,647 | −$93 |
| Transportation | $3,250 | $3,675 | +$425 |
| Utilities | $1,932 | $1,836 | −$96 |
| Insurance | $1,600 | $3,600 | +$2,000 |
| Taxes | $7,367 | $5,790 | −$1,577 |
| Total | $37,525 | $36,588 | −$937 |
Side by side
| Metric | Indianapolis, IN | Lubbock, TX |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 94.7 | 91.0 |
| Unemployment rate | 4.28% | 4.56% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 6.1% | 4.1% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.39 | $5.18 |
| Median home price | $295,921 | $213,766 |
| Home price ÷ income | 4.0× | 3.5× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 1.3% | 1.7% |
| Price per square foot | $156 | $102 |
| Median rent | $1,553 | $1,420 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 9.3% | 8.6% |
| Combined sales tax | 7.00% | 8.20% |
| Capital gains tax | 3.05% | None |
| Property tax rate | 0.84% | 1.62% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,600 | $6,800 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $12,000 | $9,500 |
| Vehicle property tax | 1.20% | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 25 | 17 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,600 | $3,600 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,400 | $2,100 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $600 | $900 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 17.9 | 17.0 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.30 | 3.00 |
| Natural gas / mo | $72 | $52 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $102 | $134 |
| Home internet / mo | $81 | $83 |
| Violent crime /100k | 360 | 430 |
| Avg summer high °F | 86 | 96 |
| Avg winter low °F | 20 | 38 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 43.6 | 18.0 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 25.5 | 6.7 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 55% | 74% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 2 | 2 |