The 10 Most Affordable Places To Live In Indiana In 2023

The 10 cheapest places to live in Indiana for 2023

When it comes to living on a budget, it’s hard to find somewhere better in Indiana than Alexandria. With a median home price of $78,900 and a median income of $53,990, Alexandria has the best home price to income ratio in the state. You can literally pay off your mortgage in Alexandria before the new paint dries. As for renters, Alexandria’s affordability diminishes a bit. While Alexandria has the highest median rent on this list at $759/month, it’s still about 40% less than the average rent in Indiana.

Alexandria is located between Indianapolis and Fort Wayne.

Winchester is a great place to call home if you’re looking for affordable living in Indiana. With a population of 5,016, the town’s median home value is just $79,400 and its median rent isf $740. This makes it one of the most budget-friendly options in the state.

Its overall cost of living is nan, which means that everything from groceries to healthcare expenses are more manageable for residents.

Located just 20 miles west of Huntington, Wabash comes in as the third cheapest city in Indiana. The median income in Wabash is $47,132 and the median home price is $89,700, so paying of the mortgage here takes no time at all.

Once the renovations are complete on Eagles Theatre, a 114-year old historic theatre complete with two balconies and a ball room, you’ll be able to have a seriously lavish night out on the town in Wabash. You’ll have the money for it after the bills are paid anyway.

Situated between Indianapolis and Cincinnati, Rushville ranks as the fourth cheapest place to live in Indiana for 2023.

For starters, Rushville has an incredibly low overall cost of living; about 15% below Indiana and 25% below the national average. A lot of that is down to the cheap housing options Rushville has.

The median home price in Rushville is $96,100. The unemployment rate is low, and Rushville’s median household income of $54,122 has been steadily growing recently. If that trend continues, it’ll only become more affordable to live in Rushville.

If you just want to try Rushville out, rent won’t set you back too much either — the median price here is $757. For fun and cheap things to do, check out the Riverside Park Amphitheater, where shows are constantly going on.

Kendallville is a great option for those looking for an affordable place to live in Indiana. With a median home value of $103,200 and median rent of $603, Kendallville offers a cost of living that is lower than the state average.

Kendallville offers access to many amenities and attractions. The small city has a population of around 9,926 people and is located in Noble County. Residents can enjoy local parks, restaurants, and shops, as well as easy access to nearby larger cities. With its low home price to income ratio and high income to rent ratio, Kendallville is definitely worth considering for those looking for an affordable and comfortable place to call home.

Review Of Kendallville by HomeSnacks User

The m**h is crazy in Kendallville it has took over a lot of the town

Bixler is their main attraction in my eyes I grew up there and loved going to the lake I would watch out if your kids are growing up there though make sure they stay around the good crowd

Thanks to a combination of cheap homes and high earners, Huntington ranks as the sixth least expensive city in Indiana. But don’t let the low price fool you; when you’re appreciating the ritzy 19th century architecture in Drover Town Historic District, Huntington certainly won’t LOOK cheap. The median home price in Huntington is $84,100 and the median income is $47,232, putting the city in the top ten statewide for best home price to income ratio.

Huntington is about 25 miles southwest of Fort Wayne.

We’re heading an hour north of Indianapolis to reach Indiana’s seventh cheapest place to live. Elwood has safe streets and good employment numbers, but it really shines in terms of affordability.

Homes in Elwood have a median price of $70,900, the sixth cheapest in Indiana. And the median income in Elwood jumped by 10% from last year to $46,709, so you’d better believe things are looking up here.

Having fun on a budget is pretty easy in Elwood, too. There are plenty of great parks to choose from, no matter if you’re going for a picnic or playing softball. The city also hosts the annual Elwood Glass Festival, complete with crafts, local food stands, and carnival rides.

If you’re not sold, don’t worry — you can try out Elwood without much commitment or cash on hand, considering that the median price of rent is a measly $748.

Bluffton is a great option for those looking for an affordable place to live. With a median rent of just $620, residents are able to save money while still enjoying all the benefits of living in a city.

The city has a strong sense of community and a variety of amenities, including parks, restaurants, and fun things to do. Plus, with a median income of $53,221, residents are able to comfortably afford the median home value of $107,100.

Up next on our review of Indiana’s most affordable cities is North Vernon, located in the southeastern part of the state. While most elements of North Vernon’s cost of living are on par with the rest of the state, housing is about 28% cheaper here.

Homes in North Vernon go for a median price of $91,100, while a typical rental will only cost you about $767.

Another thing to note about

North Vernon is its rock-solid economy — the unemployment rate here sits at an extremely low 5.61%, and the median household income is $51,303.

If you’re looking for a way to pass the time without spending a dime, then Muscatatuck Park might just be the answer. There are campgrounds, hiking trails, and even a playground with a splash pad. If you’re looking for something a bit more exciting, you can catch a show at the local Park Theatre Civic Center.

Review Of North Vernon by HomeSnacks User

I live in north Vernon and it’s a nice place to live. The house you shown is an older couple whom can’t afford to have their home upkeep. So please take pictures across the street and the surrounding neighborhood! We have good schools good neighborhoods as well as rough neighborhoods like other cities. Check into the surrounding cities, like Austin, Scottsburg, then rate North Vernon!

Situated about 60 miles southwest of Fort Wayne, Peru ranks as the tenth most affordable place to call home in Indiana.

Peru was once the winter headquarters for several famous circuses, like the Ringling Brothers and Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show. It’s maintained that heritage into the 21st century with the annual Peru Circus City Festival and Parade, amateur circus performances, and the Circus Hall of Fame.

That’s not the only outside-the-box entertainment option in Peru, though; there’s also the Grissom Air Museum for folks interested in learning more about military aircraft. For more standard activities, there’s always fishing or kayaking on Mississinewa Lake.

Homes in Peru are the third cheapest in Indiana at $68,500, which is a big contributor to the city’s low cost of living. The median income in Peru is $41,905 and the media rent is $683.

Cheapest places to live in Indiana FAQs

Methodology: How we determined the most affordable places to live in the Hoosier State for 2023

Determining affordability for places in Indiana boils down to two factors:

1. How much money do I make?
2. How much does it cost to live here?

You need to understand your costs in the context of how much money you make to determine affordability. For example, imagine a place in Indiana where median incomes are $100,000 and housing costs $200,000 to buy. That’s more affordable than living in a place with a median income of $50,000 where houses cost $101,000. The ratio of income to home prices is higher in the first example.

With that logic in mind, we derived several cost of living statistics from the latest Census American Community Survey 2017-2021 for Indiana. The cost of living statistics are:

• Median Home Price / Median Income (lower is better)
• Median Rent / Median Income (lower is better)
• Median Home Price

You can include median home price as a stand alone variable because high home prices generally correlate with higher costs for all goods and services (heating, electricity, food, etc). You then compare these cost of living metrics for each place in Indiana to figure out which is the least expensive.

We aggregate those rankings into a “Cost of Living Index” for each city in Indiana. The “Cost of Living Index” allows you to rank all of the 124 places in Indiana that have more than 5,000 people from least expensive to most expensive.

The place in Indiana with the lowest cost of living according to the data is Alexandria.

We updated this article for 2023. This reports reflects our tenth time ranking the cheapest places to live in Indiana.