Indiana is full of growing cities with good jobs. Good jobs increase median incomes. Higher incomes increase real estate budgets. Higher real estate budgets increase home prices.
This logic means finding the most affordable places to live in Indiana is becoming increasingly important.
We used Saturday Night Science to consult the latest Indiana Census data on the cost of living, home prices, incomes, and rents to find the affordable places in Indiana.
Luckily, affordable places in Indiana include millennial cities like Indianapolis, fantastic college cities like West Lafayette, and cities like Hillsboro.
Table Of Contents: Top Ten | Methodology | Table | FAQs | Summary
The 10 most affordable places to live in Indiana
What’s the cheapest place to live in Indiana? The cheapest place to live in Indiana is Muncie. They definitely have affordable living figured out.
In addition to a cheap cost of living, Indiana offers a strong economy and plenty of things to do. Companies, including Subaru, Angie’s List, and Vera Bradley, offer many job opportunities. Indiana’s higher education institutions, like Purdue and the University of Indiana, produce intelligent, hard-working individuals who want to make Indiana available and affordable for all.
Check out some more reading about Indiana and the cheapest places in the country:
The 10 Cheapest Places To Live In Indiana For 2026
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Population: 64,751
Overall Cost Of Living Index: 80
Median Income: $44,471
Median Home Price: $151,291
Median Rent: $904
Muncie is an incorporated city and the seat of Delaware County, Indiana. It is located in East Central Indiana, about 50 miles northeast of Indianapolis. The United States Census for 2010 reported the city’s population was 70,085. It is the principal city of the Muncie metropolitan statistical area, which has a population of 117,671.
More on Muncie: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Movers
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Population: 27,531
Overall Cost Of Living Index: 80
Median Income: $43,343
Median Home Price: $136,312
Median Rent: $805
Marion – no relation to my great-mother-in-law – ranks as the second cheapest city in Indiana. Located in Grant County, this city keeps living expenses down with a reasonable $805 median rent. The overall cost of living is 11.1% lower than the state average.
The money you’ll save on housing costs can be put towards a long weekend to watch the Colts in Indianapolis.
More on Marion: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Movers
not much crime in my area and its pretty peaceful most of the time.
watch out for the ROADS! THEY S**K HERE IN MARION!!!!
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Population: 17,367
Overall Cost Of Living Index: 80
Median Income: $51,606
Median Home Price: $164,335
Median Rent: $781
New Castle is a city in Henry County, Indiana, 44 miles east-northeast of Indianapolis, on the Big Blue River. The city is the county seat of Henry County. New Castle is home to New Castle Fieldhouse, the largest high school gymnasium in the world. The city is surrounded by agricultural land. In the past, it was a manufacturing center for the production of sheet iron and steel, automobiles, caskets, clothing, scales, bridges, pianos, furniture, handles, shovels, lathes, bricks, and flour.
More on New Castle: Data | Cost Of Living | Movers
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Population: 10,901
Overall Cost Of Living Index: 80
Median Income: $46,159
Median Home Price: $149,303
Median Rent: $826
Situated about 60 miles southwest of Fort Wayne, Peru ranks as the fourth 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 eighth cheapest in Indiana at $149,303, which is a big contributor to the city’s low cost of living. The median income in Peru is $46,159 and the media rent is $826.
More on Peru: Data | Cost Of Living | Movers
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Population: 68,113
Overall Cost Of Living Index: 81
Median Income: $38,731
Median Home Price: $86,989
Median Rent: $1,012
Gary is a city in Lake County, Indiana, United States, 25 miles from downtown Chicago, Illinois.
More on Gary: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Movers
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Population: 17,790
Overall Cost Of Living Index: 81
Median Income: $47,291
Median Home Price: $153,142
Median Rent: $786
Situated about 60 miles southwest of Fort Wayne, Peru ranks as the fourth 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 eighth cheapest in Indiana at $149,303, which is a big contributor to the city’s low cost of living. The median income in Peru is $46,159 and the media rent is $826.
More on Logansport: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Movers
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Population: 13,109
Overall Cost Of Living Index: 81
Median Income: $48,854
Median Home Price: $157,813
Median Rent: $787
Connersville, located in Fayette County about 70 miles east of Indianapolis, shines as a great savings spot in Indiana. The city’s $157,813 median home price and $787 rent push the city to the top of the list. Particularly in intra-state rankings, home prices and rent will be the most significant factors in determining how expensive a place in Indiana is.
The overall cost of living is 10.0% lower than the Hoosier average.
More on Connersville: Data | Cost Of Living | Movers
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Population: 6,396
Overall Cost Of Living Index: 81
Median Income: $54,421
Median Home Price: $240,497
Median Rent: $887
Huntingburg is a city in Patoka Township, Dubois County, in the U.S. state of Indiana. The population was 6,057 at the 2010 census.
More on Huntingburg: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Movers
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Population: 5,794
Overall Cost Of Living Index: 81
Median Income: $41,752
Median Home Price: $139,703
Median Rent: $730
Located between Indianapolis and Fort Wayne, Hartford City ranks as the ninth cheapest city in Indiana. Indiana is already a stand-out for being one of the cheapest states in America, but Hartford City takes that to the extreme with the fifth cheapest homes in the state. Hartford City residents earn a median income of $41,752, putting Hartford City in the top five statewide for home price to income ratio.
More on Hartford City: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Movers
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Population: 55,367
Overall Cost Of Living Index: 82
Median Income: $46,909
Median Home Price: $135,173
Median Rent: $925
Anderson is a city in and the county seat of Madison County, Indiana, United States. It is the principal city of the Anderson, Indiana Metropolitan Statistical Area which encompasses Madison County. Anderson is the headquarters of the Church of God and home of Anderson University, which is affiliated with that denomination. Highlights of the city include the historic Paramount Theatre and the Gruenewald Historic House.
More on Anderson: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Movers
Cheapest places to live in Indiana FAQs
The county in Indiana with the lowest cost of living is Randolph County. The average living wage in Randolph County is $75,145 according to MIT data. Randolph County has the lowest cost of living because it has relatively less expensive childcare and housing costs compared to Indiana as a whole. Childcare costs $8,340 a year in Randolph County for two children compared to the Indiana average of $12,286. Housing costs, defined as a blend of the average rent and average mortgage payment, are $8,784 per year in Randolph County compared to $10,258 on average in Indiana.
The cost of living in Indiana is 9.4% lower than the US average. According to MIT, the required living wage for a family of four with two working parents in Indiana is $81,321 vs the national average for a family of four with two working parents of $89,744. The median income of a Indiana household is $58,235.
The cheapest housing market in Indiana is Hartford City. The average home value in Hartford City is $61,500, the lowest in the state. The average home value in Indiana is $148,900, almost 2.4 times higher than Hartford City.
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The county in Indiana with the lowest cost of living is Randolph County. The average living wage in Randolph County is $75,145 according to MIT data. Randolph County has the lowest cost of living because it has relatively less expensive childcare and housing costs compared to Indiana as a whole. Childcare costs $8,340 a year in Randolph County for two children compared to the Indiana average of $12,286. Housing costs, defined as a blend of the average rent and average mortgage payment, are $8,784 per year in Randolph County compared to $10,258 on average in Indiana.
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The cost of living in Indiana is 9.4% lower than the US average. According to MIT, the required living wage for a family of four with two working parents in Indiana is $81,321 vs the national average for a family of four with two working parents of $89,744. The median income of a Indiana household is $58,235.
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Methodology: How we determined the most affordable places to live in the Hoosier State for 2026
Determining affordability for places in Indiana boils down to how much it costs to live here.
You need to understand your costs relative to what people in the rest of the state are paying.
With that logic in mind, we derived several cost of living statistics from the latest Census American Community Survey 2020-2024 for Indiana using Saturday Night Science. We indexed the cost of living statistics across the following categories:
- Housing
- Transportation
- Services
- Groceries
- Healthcare
- Utilities
These are then weighted together to produce an overall cost of living index where 100 is the United States average. Anything below 100 is relatively affordable. Anything over 100 is relatively expensive.
We applied the biggest weight to housing as it typically accounts for 25% or more of your budget. Additionally, housing costs are the highest variant cost across a state. We then compare these cost of living metrics for each place in Indiana to figure out which is the least expensive.
The “Cost of Living Index” allows you to rank all of the 122 places in Indiana that have more than 5,000 people from least expensive to most expensive. Any ties went to the larger city.
The place in Indiana with the lowest cost of living according to the data is Muncie.
We updated this article for 2026. This report reflects our eleventh time ranking the cheapest places to live in Indiana.
Indiana Affordabilility Summary
This is an accurate list of the most affordable places to live in Indiana for 2026, if you’re looking at the cost of living numbers in Indiana.
The cheapest cities in Indiana are Muncie, Marion, New Castle, Peru, Gary, Logansport, Connersville, Huntingburg, Hartford City, and Anderson.
Here’s a look at the most expensive cities in Indiana according to the data:
- Zionsville
- Carmel
- Winfield
For more Indiana reading, check out:
Cheapest Places To Live In Indiana
| Rank | City | Population | Cost Of Living Index | Median Income | Home Prices | Rent |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Muncie | 64,751 | 80 | $44,471 | $151,291 | $904 |
| 2 | Marion | 27,531 | 80 | $43,343 | $136,312 | $805 |
| 3 | New Castle | 17,367 | 80 | $51,606 | $164,335 | $781 |
| 4 | Peru | 10,901 | 80 | $46,159 | $149,303 | $826 |
| 5 | Gary | 68,113 | 81 | $38,731 | $86,989 | $1,012 |
| 6 | Logansport | 17,790 | 81 | $47,291 | $153,142 | $786 |
| 7 | Connersville | 13,109 | 81 | $48,854 | $157,813 | $787 |
| 8 | Huntingburg | 6,396 | 81 | $54,421 | $240,497 | $887 |
| 9 | Hartford City | 5,794 | 81 | $41,752 | $139,703 | $730 |
| 10 | Anderson | 55,367 | 82 | $46,909 | $135,173 | $925 |
| 11 | Wabash | 10,358 | 82 | $53,410 | $179,808 | $739 |
| 12 | Elwood | 8,356 | 82 | $53,280 | $148,428 | $860 |
| 13 | Portland | 6,416 | 82 | $51,513 | $162,774 | $763 |
| 14 | Linton | 5,260 | 82 | $45,440 | $171,818 | $812 |
| 15 | Huntington | 17,030 | 83 | $56,520 | $192,024 | $879 |
| 16 | Vincennes | 16,586 | 83 | $53,637 | $164,630 | $793 |
| 17 | Gas City | 6,076 | 83 | $55,982 | $157,193 | $901 |
| 18 | Elkhart | 53,733 | 84 | $51,028 | $222,794 | $998 |
| 19 | East Chicago | 26,022 | 84 | $42,125 | $128,170 | $854 |
| 20 | Lake Station | 13,185 | 84 | $59,591 | $151,774 | $1,124 |
| 21 | Plymouth | 10,664 | 84 | $58,623 | $238,868 | $957 |
| 22 | Tell City | 7,505 | 84 | $52,949 | $181,284 | $657 |
| 23 | Boonville | 6,702 | 84 | $63,580 | $230,216 | $873 |
| 24 | Rushville | 6,036 | 84 | $53,434 | $202,258 | $911 |
| 25 | Winchester | 5,284 | 84 | $52,439 | $152,402 | $756 |
| 26 | Alexandria | 5,155 | 84 | $64,317 | $182,198 | $801 |
| 27 | South Bend | 103,085 | 85 | $55,786 | $192,339 | $1,033 |
| 28 | Mishawaka | 51,021 | 85 | $54,291 | $206,366 | $1,070 |
| 29 | Richmond | 35,581 | 85 | $45,399 | $156,510 | $822 |
| 30 | La Porte | 22,449 | 85 | $59,307 | $271,480 | $948 |
| 31 | Bluffton | 10,529 | 85 | $57,539 | $183,602 | $732 |
| 32 | Salem | 6,489 | 85 | $56,538 | $208,086 | $690 |
| 33 | Hammond | 76,768 | 86 | $55,504 | $170,817 | $1,134 |
| 34 | Shelbyville | 20,296 | 86 | $55,602 | $222,048 | $995 |
| 35 | Crawfordsville | 16,491 | 86 | $55,033 | $219,772 | $857 |
| 36 | Frankfort | 15,917 | 86 | $57,412 | $209,855 | $898 |
| 37 | Beech Grove | 14,913 | 86 | $49,973 | $191,935 | $1,091 |
| 38 | Princeton | 8,372 | 86 | $57,618 | $187,282 | $1,022 |
| 39 | Garrett | 6,642 | 86 | $64,179 | $187,133 | $858 |
| 40 | Rochester | 6,215 | 86 | $57,008 | $210,468 | $867 |
| 41 | Monticello | 5,496 | 86 | $52,798 | $235,504 | $927 |
| 42 | Kokomo | 59,122 | 87 | $55,360 | $180,398 | $939 |
| 43 | Terre Haute | 58,427 | 87 | $43,126 | $155,801 | $922 |
| 44 | Washington | 12,367 | 87 | $50,331 | $147,888 | $858 |
| 45 | Decatur | 9,811 | 87 | $58,646 | $229,668 | $820 |
| 46 | Brazil | 7,831 | 87 | $52,055 | $188,386 | $869 |
| 47 | North Vernon | 7,078 | 87 | $51,429 | $212,243 | $938 |
| 48 | Rensselaer | 5,573 | 87 | $60,331 | $242,740 | $936 |
| 49 | Lawrenceburg | 5,179 | 87 | $51,250 | $248,400 | $767 |
| 50 | Evansville | 116,116 | 88 | $53,387 | $198,977 | $975 |
| 51 | Lafayette | 71,159 | 88 | $53,716 | $262,730 | $1,079 |
| 52 | Goshen | 34,420 | 88 | $59,184 | $275,119 | $1,093 |
| 53 | Michigan City | 31,814 | 88 | $53,089 | $187,488 | $967 |
| 54 | Bedford | 13,837 | 88 | $49,553 | $207,924 | $828 |
| 55 | Martinsville | 11,933 | 88 | $60,177 | $288,805 | $983 |
| 56 | Kendallville | 10,556 | 88 | $58,939 | $220,523 | $821 |
| 57 | Scottsburg | 7,362 | 88 | $38,578 | $187,043 | $831 |
| 58 | Tipton | 5,280 | 88 | $59,828 | $237,894 | $848 |
| 59 | Lebanon | 17,812 | 89 | $65,154 | $299,031 | $962 |
| 60 | Warsaw | 16,768 | 89 | $61,035 | $271,690 | $1,066 |
| 61 | New Haven | 15,698 | 89 | $70,970 | $240,072 | $998 |
| 62 | Columbia City | 9,897 | 89 | $68,089 | $279,168 | $963 |
| 63 | Nappanee | 6,815 | 89 | $68,892 | $288,904 | $856 |
| 64 | New Whiteland | 5,704 | 89 | $89,918 | $228,046 | $1,465 |
| 65 | New Albany | 37,581 | 90 | $54,710 | $235,058 | $1,026 |
| 66 | Jasper | 15,991 | 90 | $68,817 | $266,264 | $810 |
| 67 | Auburn | 13,565 | 90 | $68,750 | $275,151 | $865 |
| 68 | Greensburg | 12,229 | 90 | $62,655 | $261,665 | $859 |
| 69 | Greencastle | 9,864 | 90 | $55,565 | $243,386 | $908 |
| 70 | Angola | 9,408 | 90 | $64,540 | $302,980 | $933 |
| 71 | Westville | 5,279 | 90 | $60,794 | $357,284 | $1,019 |
| 72 | Fort Wayne | 268,589 | 91 | $61,422 | $242,384 | $999 |
| 73 | Seymour | 22,371 | 91 | $64,426 | $230,828 | $1,011 |
| 74 | Charlestown | 8,294 | 91 | $77,288 | $302,063 | $1,033 |
| 75 | Batesville | 7,282 | 91 | $62,292 | $317,504 | $847 |
| 76 | Mount Vernon | 6,400 | 91 | $62,263 | $221,083 | $783 |
| 77 | Merrillville | 36,476 | 92 | $67,587 | $240,328 | $1,282 |
| 78 | Speedway | 13,968 | 92 | $60,147 | $236,684 | $1,141 |
| 79 | Madison | 12,223 | 92 | $61,183 | $240,679 | $820 |
| 80 | Greenfield | 24,940 | 93 | $76,127 | $285,065 | $1,177 |
| 81 | Clarksville | 22,016 | 93 | $60,467 | $203,068 | $1,110 |
| 82 | Mooresville | 9,751 | 93 | $68,983 | $308,098 | $1,089 |
| 83 | Ellettsville | 6,698 | 93 | $90,213 | $274,445 | $855 |
| 84 | Indianapolis | 885,860 | 94 | $66,219 | $229,209 | $1,156 |
| 85 | Highland | 23,680 | 94 | $78,062 | $262,851 | $1,230 |
| 86 | Whiteland | 5,173 | 94 | $96,944 | $296,965 | $1,661 |
| 87 | Jeffersonville | 51,043 | 95 | $70,930 | $251,611 | $1,148 |
| 88 | Lawrence | 49,517 | 95 | $74,022 | $268,724 | $1,178 |
| 89 | Hobart | 29,558 | 95 | $75,160 | $238,195 | $1,206 |
| 90 | Griffith | 16,273 | 95 | $76,636 | $247,098 | $1,235 |
| 91 | Danville | 11,714 | 95 | $97,083 | $337,029 | $1,151 |
| 92 | Winona Lake | 5,080 | 95 | $82,188 | $297,378 | $1,132 |
| 93 | Greenwood | 66,029 | 96 | $83,608 | $326,491 | $1,312 |
| 94 | Columbus | 51,824 | 96 | $77,456 | $276,889 | $1,157 |
| 95 | Portage | 38,082 | 96 | $76,276 | $264,578 | $1,231 |
| 96 | Valparaiso | 34,733 | 96 | $69,872 | $355,844 | $1,224 |
| 97 | Franklin | 26,168 | 96 | $82,380 | $279,167 | $1,186 |
| 98 | Pendleton | 5,321 | 96 | $86,806 | $334,738 | $1,209 |
| 99 | Sellersburg | 10,137 | 97 | $72,179 | $296,867 | $1,151 |
| 100 | Cumberland | 6,267 | 97 | $87,364 | $289,408 | $1,157 |