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Everyone wants a home that mixes affordability with comfort and Indiana does this very well. Families love the Hoosier State's beaches, midlands, and mountains as tourists before moving here and calling it home.
But before you decide to relocate, you have to do some research into the exact cost of living around the state -- and that's how we're going to help you.
These are the places in Indiana that cost a pretty penny -- the most expensive cities in the state.
After we saved up for months and could finally afford it, we landed on this list of the ten most expensive cities in Indiana for 2021.
So where is the most expensive place to live in Indiana? That would be West Lafayette.
the 2015-2019 American Community Survey for the 117 places in Indiana with more than 5,000 people.
Here are the 10 most expensive places to live in Indiana for 2021:
What's the most expensive place to live in Indiana? Well, HomeSnacks crunched the numbers and discovered that West Lafayette is the most expensive place to live in Indiana.
So hopefully New Whiteland (the cheapest place to live in Indiana) can show these guys how to live on a budget in the coming years. Read on for how these places had costs rise faster than inflation.
And if you already knew these places were expensive, check out some more reading about Indiana and the most expensive cities in the country:
The 10 Most Expensive Places To Live In Indiana For 2021
/10
Population: 48,551
Rank Last Year: 1 (No Change)
Home Price To Income Ratio: 6.5x (most expensive)
Income To Rent Ratio: 38.0x (most expensive)
More on West Lafayette: Real Estate | Data | Photos
The median income in West Lafayette comes in at $34,650 and the median home value is $224,000 for 2021.
/10
Population: 84,116
Rank Last Year: 2 (No Change)
Home Price To Income Ratio: 5.4x (2nd most expensive)
Income To Rent Ratio: 40.4x (2nd most expensive)
More on Bloomington: Real Estate | Data | Photos
The median income in Bloomington comes in at $37,077 and the median home value is $200,700 for 2021.
/10
Population: 864,447
Rank Last Year: 5 (Up 2)
Home Price To Income Ratio: 2.9x (10th most expensive)
Income To Rent Ratio: 53.7x (18th most expensive)
More on Indianapolis: Real Estate | Data | Photos
The median income in Indianapolis comes in at $47,873 and the median home value is $137,000 for 2021.
/10
Population: 11,813
Rank Last Year: 7 (Up 3)
Home Price To Income Ratio: 3.3x (3rd most expensive)
Income To Rent Ratio: 55.9x (25th most expensive)
More on Madison: Real Estate | Data | Photos
The median income in Madison comes in at $40,231 and the median home value is $133,000 for 2021.
/10
Population: 12,266
Rank Last Year: 5 (No Change)
Home Price To Income Ratio: 2.9x (9th most expensive)
Income To Rent Ratio: 51.1x (12th most expensive)
More on Speedway: Real Estate | Data | Photos
The median income in Speedway comes in at $42,188 and the median home value is $122,000 for 2021.
/10
Population: 32,879
Rank Last Year: 16 (Up 10)
Home Price To Income Ratio: 2.8x (13th most expensive)
Income To Rent Ratio: 61.0x (45th most expensive)
More on Plainfield: Real Estate | Data | Photos
The median income in Plainfield comes in at $61,046 and the median home value is $170,400 for 2021.
/10
Population: 33,355
Rank Last Year: 4 (Down 3)
Home Price To Income Ratio: 3.1x (4th most expensive)
Income To Rent Ratio: 64.4x (59th most expensive)
More on Valparaiso: Real Estate | Data | Photos
The median income in Valparaiso comes in at $59,533 and the median home value is $185,800 for 2021.
/10
Population: 8,312
Rank Last Year: 3 (Down 5)
Home Price To Income Ratio: 2.6x (2most expensive)
Income To Rent Ratio: 64.5x (60th most expensive)
More on Whitestown: Real Estate | Data | Photos
The median income in Whitestown comes in at $85,000 and the median home value is $225,000 for 2021.
/10
Population: 8,199
Rank Last Year: 37 (Up 28)
Home Price To Income Ratio: 3.0x (6th most expensive)
Income To Rent Ratio: 59.7x (42nd most expensive)
More on Charlestown: Real Estate | Data | Photos
The median income in Charlestown comes in at $45,278 and the median home value is $136,500 for 2021.
/10
Population: 15,953
Rank Last Year: 11 (Up 1)
Home Price To Income Ratio: 2.5x (33rd most expensive)
Income To Rent Ratio: 64.2x (56th most expensive)
More on Dyer: Real Estate | Data | Photos
The median income in Dyer comes in at $84,202 and the median home value is $212,400 for 2021.
How We Determined The Most Expensive Places To Live In The Hoosier State For 2021
The two most important things to think about when it comes to being able to afford if you can live comes down to:
- How much do money do I make?
- How much do I have spend to live there?
You need to understand your costs in the context of how much money you make.
For example, if the median household earns $100,000 and spends $40,000 on housing it's actually cheaper to live there than a place with a median income of $50,000 and housing costs of $21,000. You might spend more on housing, but you have more money overall to play with.
With that example in mind, we derived several statistics from the latest Census American Community Survey 2015-2019 around incomes and costs. They are:
- Median Home Price / Median Income (lower is better)
- Median Income / Median Rent (Higher is better)
- Median Home Price
We added simply median home price because high home prices generally correlate with higher expenses for all costs related to homes (heating, electricity, etc).
You can then compare these metrics in each of the places in Indiana to figure out which is the most expensive.
What you are left with is a "Cost of Living Index" by taking the average rank of each of these metrics for each city.
So we used that cost of living index in order to rank all of the 117 places in Indiana that have more than 5,000 people.
The place with the highest cost of living in Indiana according to the data is West Lafayette. You can download the data here.
Taking A Chunk Out Of Your Paycheck In Indiana For 2021
Well there you have it, the places in Indiana that have the highest cost of living, with West Lafayette ranking as the most expensive city in the Hoosier State.
Here's a look at the most affordable cities in Indiana according to the data:
- New Whiteland
- Wabash
- Rushville
For more Indiana reading, check out:
- Best Places To Live In Indiana
- Cheapest Places To Live In Indiana
- Most Dangerous Cities In Indiana
- Best Places To Raise A Family In Indiana
- Safest Places In Indiana
- Worst Places To Live In Indiana
Detailed List Of The Most Expensive Cities In Indiana
| Rank | City | ExpensiveScore |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | West Lafayette | 3.67 |
| 2 | Bloomington | 6.33 |
| 3 | Indianapolis | 22.67 |
| 4 | Madison | 24.33 |
| 5 | Speedway | 25.0 |
| 6 | Plainfield | 26.33 |
| 7 | Valparaiso | 27.33 |
| 8 | Whitestown | 29.67 |
| 9 | Charlestown | 30.0 |
| 10 | Dyer | 33.67 |
| 11 | Lowell | 34.33 |
| 12 | Winfield | 34.33 |
| 13 | Clarksville | 35.0 |
| 14 | Seymour | 35.67 |
| 15 | Greenfield | 36.33 |
| 16 | Schererville | 36.33 |
| 17 | Lawrence | 36.67 |
| 18 | Angola | 38.33 |
| 19 | Munster | 38.67 |
| 20 | Cedar Lake | 39.0 |
| 21 | Columbus | 40.67 |
| 22 | Highland | 40.67 |
| 23 | Sellersburg | 41.0 |
| 24 | Portage | 41.0 |
| 25 | Carmel | 41.67 |
| 26 | Hobart | 42.33 |
| 27 | Zionsville | 42.67 |
| 28 | Lafayette | 43.33 |
| 29 | Batesville | 44.67 |
| 30 | St. John | 44.67 |
| 31 | Greenwood | 44.83 |
| 32 | Scottsburg | 45.0 |
| 33 | New Albany | 45.33 |
| 34 | Brownsburg | 45.67 |
| 35 | Merrillville | 45.67 |
| 36 | Westfield | 46.33 |
| 37 | Goshen | 46.33 |
| 38 | Crown Point | 47.33 |
| 39 | Mishawaka | 48.0 |
| 40 | Plymouth | 48.0 |
| 41 | Noblesville | 48.67 |
| 42 | Mooresville | 50.0 |
| 43 | Chesterton | 50.0 |
| 44 | Elkhart | 50.17 |
| 45 | Jeffersonville | 50.67 |
| 46 | Beech Grove | 52.0 |
| 47 | Jasper | 52.5 |
| 48 | Bargersville | 53.0 |
| 49 | Evansville | 53.0 |
| 50 | Ellettsville | 53.33 |
| 51 | La Porte | 53.67 |
| 52 | Columbia City | 55.33 |
| 53 | Warsaw | 55.67 |
| 54 | Mccordsville | 57.67 |
| 55 | East Chicago | 58.33 |
| 56 | Rensselaer | 59.0 |
| 57 | Lebanon | 60.33 |
| 58 | Michigan City | 61.0 |
| 59 | Fort Wayne | 61.0 |
| 60 | Crawfordsville | 62.0 |
| 61 | Martinsville | 62.33 |
| 62 | Westville | 62.67 |
| 63 | Avon | 62.67 |
| 64 | Greencastle | 62.67 |
| 65 | Muncie | 63.0 |
| 66 | Nappanee | 63.83 |
| 67 | South Bend | 64.0 |
| 68 | Hunte | 64.0 |
| 69 | Terre Haute | 64.67 |
| 70 | Gas City | 65.0 |
| 71 | Kendallville | 65.0 |
| 72 | Auburn | 65.67 |
| 73 | Mount Vernon | 66.83 |
| 74 | Richmond | 67.0 |
| 75 | Cumberland | 67.67 |
| 76 | Griffith | 68.33 |
| 77 | Hammond | 68.33 |
| 78 | Connersville | 68.33 |
| 79 | Franklin | 69.33 |
| 80 | Gary | 69.67 |
| 81 | Greensburg | 70.0 |
| 82 | Monticello | 70.5 |
| 83 | New Haven | 70.67 |
| 84 | Marion | 71.0 |
| 85 | Anderson | 71.33 |
| 86 | Lake Station | 73.33 |
| 87 | Bedford | 73.33 |
| 88 | Yor | 74.0 |
| 89 | Huntingburg | 74.33 |
| 90 | Frankfort | 75.0 |
| 91 | Washington | 75.0 |
| 92 | Salem | 76.0 |
| 93 | Vincennes | 76.33 |
| 94 | Danville | 76.67 |
| 95 | Boonville | 77.0 |
| 96 | New Castle | 77.67 |
| 97 | Tell City | 80.33 |
| 98 | Brazil | 81.0 |
| 99 | Shelbyville | 81.0 |
| 100 | Garrett | 81.33 |
