Indianapolis composite
49.5 /100
Grade B- · weighted across 7 dims
Metro comparison
Indianapolis vs Muncie
Indianapolis-Carmel-Greenwood, IN and Muncie, IN side by side, cost of living, rent, wages, crime, schools, childcare and environment, all from the same federal datasets so every number is directly comparable.
- 49.5
- Indianapolis Life Score
- B-
- Indianapolis grade
- 61.0
- Muncie Life Score
- A-
- Muncie grade
Head-to-head verdict
Across the seven dimensions, Indianapolis scores higher on 2 (wages, safety) and Muncie on 4 (cost of living, rent, schools, environment). The radar shows the full shape; the tables below break out every figure.
Indianapolis vs Muncie across all seven dimensions (each scored 0–100 as a national percentile, bigger area = stronger overall)
Where each metro wins, and by how much
Every dimension is a national percentile (0–100). Each bar leans toward the stronger metro, a long lean is a decisive edge, a near-even split is a toss-up. The radar shows the overall shape; this shows the per-dimension margins.
◖ Indianapolis Muncie ◗
cost of living
39
86
wages
72
25
rent
33
89
safety
51
50
schools
56
57
childcare
0
0
environment
42
62
Indianapolis and Muncie differ across eleven dimensions of livability. Indianapolis has a cost-of-living index of 95.7 vs Muncie's 88.1 (national average = 100). Median salaries are $70,366 in Indianapolis and $58,609 in Muncie. A 2-bedroom averages $1,473/mo vs $1,043/mo.
How to read this matchup
Reading the Indianapolis vs Muncie Comparison
Indianapolis (IN) and Muncie (IN) are assembled here from the same federal data pipeline, BEA Regional Price Parities, HUD Fair Market Rents, BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, FBI Uniform Crime Reports, NCES public-school counts, and EPA environmental indicators, so every number on this page is directly comparable. The overall cost index reads 95.7 for Indianapolis against 88.1 for Muncie, a 7.5-point gap on a scale where 100 equals the U.S. average. HUD's 2-bedroom Fair Market Rent, the figure used to set housing-choice voucher payment standards, is $1,473/mo in Indianapolis and $1,043/mo in Muncie, a $430/mo difference that compounds to $5,160 over a year.
On wages, BLS OES reports a median salary of $70,366 across 1,085,370 jobs in Indianapolis against $58,609 across 37,700 jobs in Muncie. Adjusted through the BEA cost-of-living lens, $100,000 earned in Indianapolis carries the same local purchasing power as $92,113 in Muncie - the most honest way to read the salary headline, because nominal wages and rents move together in tight metros. State-level violent crime, the most reliable geographic tier FBI UCR publishes, is 308.5 per 100,000 residents in IN vs 308.5 in IN, with property-crime rates of 1321.0 and 1321.0 respectively.
Schools are reported at the state tier by NCES: IN lists 1,865 public schools at a 15.9:1 student-teacher ratio, while IN lists 1,865 schools at 15.9:1, a signal of class-size staffing, though individual district and school-level variation within each state is substantial. When these pieces are read together rather than in isolation, Indianapolis and Muncie are not simply "cheaper" or "more expensive" - they trade across dimensions, and which metro wins depends on whether your household optimizes for rent, wages, schools, childcare, safety, or environment. Treat the tables below as inputs to that trade-off, not as a single ranking.
Muncie composite
61.0 /100
Grade A- · weighted across 7 dims
Cost-of-living gap
7.5 pts
Indianapolis vs Muncie BEA RPP
2-bed rent delta
$430 /mo
Indianapolis priced higher
Composite life score on the national 0–100 scale
Indianapolis
Indianapolis composite (Grade B-)
Muncie
Muncie composite (Grade A-)
Composite is a weighted roll-up of seven dimensions: cost (20%), wages (20%), rent (15%), safety (15%), schools (10%), childcare (10%), environment (10%). Each input normalized to a 0–100 percentile across all metros.
💰 Cost of Living BEA →
| Category | Indianapolis | Muncie |
|---|---|---|
| Overall RPP | 95.7 | 88.1 |
| Goods | 94.3 | 94.3 |
| Services | 86.4 | 86.4 |
| Rents | 88.9 | 57.5 |
Salary Equivalent Calculator
What salary in Muncie gives the same purchasing power as your salary in Indianapolis?
$
Equivalent in Muncie:
$92,113
Based on BEA Regional Price Parities (Indianapolis: 95.7, Muncie: 88.1, national avg = 100).
🏠 Rent (Fair Market Rent) HUD →
| Bedrooms | Indianapolis | Muncie |
|---|---|---|
| Studio | $1,118/mo | $803/mo |
| 1 Bedroom | $1,267/mo | $845/mo |
| 2 Bedroom | $1,473/mo | $1,043/mo |
| 3 Bedroom | $1,907/mo | $1,349/mo |
| 4 Bedroom | $2,338/mo | $1,685/mo |
💼 Wages & Employment BLS →
| Metric | Indianapolis | Muncie |
|---|---|---|
| Avg Median Salary | $70,366 | $58,609 |
| Total Employment | 1,085,370 | 37,700 |
🛡️ Crime Rates (state-level) FBI →
| Crime Type (per 100K) | Indianapolis (IN) | Muncie (IN) |
|---|---|---|
| Violent Crime | 308.5 | 308.5 |
| Property Crime | 1321.0 | 1321.0 |
🎓 Schools (state-level) NCES →
| Metric | IN | IN |
|---|---|---|
| Total Schools | 1,865 | 1,865 |
| Student-Teacher Ratio | 15.9:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Charter Schools | 6.5% | 6.5% |
🌿 Environment (state-level) EPA →
| Metric | IN | IN |
|---|---|---|
| EPA Facilities | 1,028 | 1,028 |
| Water Systems | 718 | 718 |
| Superfund Sites | 53 | 53 |
| Water Violations | 1,467 | 1,467 |
Government-verified data - Air quality (EPA AQS), water safety (EPA SDWIS), healthcare access (HRSA), and disaster risk (FEMA NRI) are sourced directly from U.S. federal agencies. No crowdsourced estimates.
💨 Air Quality (EPA AQS) EPA AQS →
| Metric | Indianapolis | Muncie |
|---|---|---|
| Median AQI | 55.0 | 44.0 |
| Good Air Days | 35.3% | 65.6% |
| Unhealthy Air Days | 5 days | 0 days |
💧 Water Safety (EPA SDWIS, state-level) EPA SDWIS →
| Metric | IN | IN |
|---|---|---|
| Water Safety Score | 5/100 | 5/100 |
| Total Violations | 352,710 | 352,710 |
| Health-Based Violations | 35,932 | 35,932 |
| Systems with Violations | 95.8% | 95.8% |
🏥 Healthcare Access (HRSA, state-level) HRSA →
| Metric | IN | IN |
|---|---|---|
| Healthcare Access Score | 0/100 | 0/100 |
| Population in Shortage Area | 100.0% | 100.0% |
| HPSA Designations | 362 | 362 |
HPSA = Health Professional Shortage Area, designated by HRSA. Higher access score = better healthcare availability.
⚠️ Natural Disaster Risk (FEMA NRI, state-level) FEMA NRI →
| Metric | IN | IN |
|---|---|---|
| Disaster Safety Score | 69/100 | 69/100 |
| NRI Risk Score (avg county) | 45.5 | 45.5 |
| Expected Annual Loss Score | 49.3 | 49.3 |
FEMA National Risk Index (NRI) scores are county-level percentiles (0–100). Higher disaster safety score = lower relative risk. State-level values are county averages.
Crime, schools, childcare, and environment data shown at state level. Metro-specific data for these dimensions is not available.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Indianapolis more expensive than Muncie? ▼
Indianapolis has a cost of living index of 95.7 compared to Muncie's 88.1 (national average = 100). Indianapolis is 7.5 points above Muncie on the BEA Regional Price Parity scale.
What is the rent difference between Indianapolis and Muncie? ▼
A 2-bedroom apartment averages $1,473/mo in Indianapolis vs $1,043/mo in Muncie, based on HUD Fair Market Rent data. Studios range from $1,118/mo to $803/mo.
How do salaries compare between Indianapolis and Muncie? ▼
The average median salary across all occupations is $70,366 in Indianapolis and $58,609 in Muncie, according to BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics. After adjusting for cost of living, $100,000 in Indianapolis has the same purchasing power as $92,113 in Muncie.
Is Indianapolis or Muncie safer? ▼
At the state level, IN has a violent crime rate of 308.5 per 100,000 residents compared to IN's 308.5 per 100,000. Property crime rates are 1321.0 vs 1321.0 per 100,000 respectively, based on FBI Uniform Crime Report data.
How do schools compare between Indianapolis and Muncie? ▼
IN has 1,865 public schools with an average student-teacher ratio of 15.9:1, while IN has 1,865 schools at 15.9:1. Charter schools make up 6.5% of IN schools vs 6.5% in IN. Data from the National Center for Education Statistics.
Where does the comparison data come from? ▼
All data comes from official U.S. government sources: Bureau of Economic Analysis (cost of living), HUD (fair market rents), BLS (wages), FBI UCR (crime), NCES (schools), Department of Labor (childcare), EPA (environment, air quality, water safety), HRSA (healthcare access), and FEMA NRI (disaster risk). No crowdsourced estimates or proprietary ratings are used.
Research Guides
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Data from BEA, HUD, FBI UCR, BLS OES, NCES, DOL, EPA AQS, EPA SDWIS, HRSA, and FEMA NRI. Not affiliated with the U.S. Government.
Disclaimer: This comparison is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial, legal, or relocation advice. Consult a qualified professional before making decisions based on this data.
Related
Data sourced from official public datasets, current as of 2026. See our methodology for details. Retrieved and formatted by PlainCompare Editorial