Portland, ME vs Indianapolis, IN
Moving from Portland to Indianapolis? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($542,063 → $295,921 median home) and taxes.
Portland 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 Portland, ME, you'd need about $90,701 in Indianapolis, IN (−$9,299).
Livability — Portland, ME: 58 · Indianapolis, IN: 71 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 1,568 sqft in Portland vs 3,211 sqft in Indianapolis ($319 vs $156 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Portland, ME | Indianapolis, IN | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $27,840 | $18,636 | −$9,204 |
| Groceries | $4,917 | $4,740 | −$177 |
| Transportation | $2,775 | $3,250 | +$475 |
| Utilities | $3,072 | $1,932 | −$1,140 |
| Insurance | $1,000 | $1,600 | +$600 |
| Taxes | $12,997 | $7,367 | −$5,630 |
| Total | $52,601 | $37,525 | −$15,076 |
Side by side
| Metric | Portland, ME | Indianapolis, IN |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 104.4 | 94.7 |
| Unemployment rate | 3.37% | 4.28% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 5.2% | 6.1% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.94 | $5.39 |
| Median home price | $542,063 | $295,921 |
| Home price ÷ income | 6.4× | 4.0× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 1.0% | 1.3% |
| Price per square foot | $319 | $156 |
| Median rent | $2,320 | $1,553 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 12.4% | 9.3% |
| Combined sales tax | 5.50% | 7.00% |
| Capital gains tax | 7.15% | 3.05% |
| Property tax rate | 1.14% | 0.84% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $8,000 | $6,600 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $12,000 | $12,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | 2.40% | 1.20% |
| Avg commute (min) | 25 | 25 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,000 | $1,600 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,000 | $1,400 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $700 | $600 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 28.4 | 17.9 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.35 | 3.30 |
| Natural gas / mo | $78 | $72 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $86 | $102 |
| Home internet / mo | $71 | $81 |
| Violent crime /100k | 110 | 360 |
| Avg summer high °F | 80 | 86 |
| Avg winter low °F | 10 | 20 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 43.6 | 43.6 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 49.2 | 25.5 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 48% | 55% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 3 | 2 |