PlainCompare

Metro Life Score

Indianapolis-Carmel-Greenwood, IN

49.5
Life Score / 100
B-
Grade (curved)
#199
of 387 metros
49%
of metros outranked

Data updated May 2026

Verify: BEA · BLS · HUD · FBI · NCES · EPA · Census

The verdict

Indianapolis ranks #199 of 387 US metros, ahead of 49% - carried by its wages (72/100) and held back most by rent (33/100).

72
strongest: Wages
56
then: Schools
33
weakest: Rent
7
weighted dimensions

Where Indianapolis sits among all US metros

Composite Life Score vs the national field

50 49th percentile higher than 49% of 387 US metros

25–30: 1 US metros (0%). Below this entry. 30–35: 16 US metros (4%). Below this entry. 35–40: 46 US metros (12%). Below this entry. 40–45: 53 US metros (14%). Below this entry. 45–50: 81 US metros (21%). This entry sits in this band. 50–55: 67 US metros (17%). Above this entry. 55–60: 68 US metros (18%). Above this entry. 60–65: 40 US metros (10%). Above this entry. 65–70: 12 US metros (3%). Above this entry. 70–75: 3 US metros (1%). Above this entry. This metro 25 75 every US metro, bucketed by value

Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more US metros. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.

Source PlainCompare composite of BEA, BLS, HUD, FBI, NCES, DOL, EPA data · May 2026

How the score is built

Reading the Indianapolis Life Score

Indianapolis's composite score of 49.5 out of 100, a grade of B-, places the metro at rank #199 of 387, ahead of 49% of US metros. The strongest inputs are Wages (72/100) and Schools (56/100), which pull the composite upward, while Rent (33/100) and Cost of Living (39/100) drag it downward. (How the weighting works.)

BEA RPP 95.7 (rent-RPP 88.9). BLS median salary $70,366, 1,085,370 jobs (Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand, Retail Salespersons, Fast Food and Counter Workers). HUD 2BR FMR $1,473/mo (studio $1,118).

FBI UCR (IN): 308 violent, 1321 property/100K. NCES: 15.9:1 ratio, 6.5% charter. EPA: 53 Superfund sites (IN). Ranks #196-#202 below.

Dimension detail

How Indianapolis scores, dimension by dimension

Score Breakdown

Cost of Living Wages Rent Safety Schools Childcare Environment

Dimension Scores

Cost of Living 39/100 (20%)
Wages 72/100 (20%)
Rent 33/100 (15%)
Safety 51/100 (15%)
Schools 56/100 (10%)
Childcare -/100 (10%)
Environment 42/100 (10%)

Key Data Points

95.7
Cost Index (RPP)
$70,366
Avg Median Salary
$1,473
2BR Fair Market Rent
308
Violent Crime/100K (IN)
15.9:1
Student-Teacher Ratio
53
Superfund Sites (IN)
1,085,370
Total Employment

Crime, schools, childcare, and environment data shown at state level where metro-specific data is unavailable.

Compare Indianapolis With...

Indianapolis vs Terre Haute Compare → Indianapolis vs Muncie Compare → Indianapolis vs Louisville/Jefferson County Compare → Indianapolis vs Wildwood Compare → Indianapolis vs Waterloo Compare → Indianapolis vs Paducah Compare →

Ranking Context

Indianapolis outranks 49% of U.S. metros.

Rank Metro Score Grade
#196 Walla Walla, WA 49.6 B-
#197 Springfield, MO 49.7 B-
#198 Akron, OH 49.7 B-
#199 Indianapolis-Carmel-Greenwood, IN 49.5 B-
#200 Crestview-Fort Walton Beach-Destin, FL 49.5 B-
#201 Lafayette-West Lafayette, IN 49.5 B-
#202 Spokane-Spokane Valley, WA 49.4 B-

IN Metro Scores

Terre Haute, IN A 63.5 Muncie, IN A- 61.0 Louisville/Jefferson County, KY-IN A- 60.3 Kokomo, IN B+ 57.0 South Bend-Mishawaka, IN-MI B 55.2 Evansville, IN B 53.8

Using Indianapolis's Life Score

Indianapolis is a regional baseline, not a neighborhood reading, use it to shortlist, then dig into the dimensions that matter to you.

  • Its strongest dimension is wages (72/100) and its weakest is rent (33/100) - weigh those against your own priorities. How the score is built
  • Put Indianapolis head-to-head against another metro before you decide, every dimension, side by side. Compare metros
  • See where Indianapolis lands on the national rankings for cost, safety, pay and more. Browse rankings

Scores summarize federal data at the metro level; crime, schools and cost vary widely within a single metro.

Explore more

Frequently Asked Questions

What are Indianapolis's biggest strengths? ▼
Indianapolis's strongest dimensions are Wages (72/100), Schools (56/100), Safety (51/100). Wages is top-tier nationally.
What are Indianapolis's weakest areas? ▼
Indianapolis's lowest-scoring dimensions are Rent (33/100), Cost of Living (39/100), Environment (42/100). Rent weighs heavily on the composite.
How expensive is Indianapolis compared to the national average? ▼
Indianapolis's Regional Price Parity is 95.7 (4.3% less than national); rent RPP 88.9.
What is the average salary in Indianapolis? ▼
Indianapolis median salary: $70,366, 1,085,370 jobs. Top: Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand, Retail Salespersons, Fast Food and Counter Workers.
How is the life score calculated? ▼
Indianapolis's 49.5/100 blends 7 federal-data dimensions - see our methodology page for the weighting.

Research Guides

Data from BEA, HUD, FBI UCR, BLS OES, NCES, DOL, and EPA. Not affiliated with the U.S. Government.

Related

Data sourced from official public datasets. See our methodology for details. Retrieved and formatted by PlainCompare Editorial

Disclaimer: This information is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute professional advice. Data is sourced from BEA, BLS, HUD, FBI, NCES, DOL, and EPA. Consult a qualified professional before making decisions based on this data.

Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.

All federal data sources used on this page
  • U.S. Census Bureau ACS - multi-dimension demographic + housing + income aggregates for cross-area comparison. census.gov/programs-surveys/acs
  • BEA Regional Economic Accounts - GDP, personal income, employment by state and metro. bea.gov/data/regional
  • BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) - wage estimates for comparable-area indexing. bls.gov/oes
  • FBI Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) - crime statistics for safety-score component. fbi.gov/ucr
  • NCES Common Core of Data - public-school quality indicators by area. nces.ed.gov/ccd
  • EPA AirNow + Air Quality System (AQS) - air-quality measurements by area. epa.gov/outdoor-air-quality-data
  • HUD Fair Market Rents (FMR) - county and metro housing-cost indicators. huduser.gov/datasets/fmr

Every figure on PlainCompare is loaded directly from BEA, HUD, FBI UCR, BLS OEWS, NCES, DOL, EPA, and the Census Bureau, no number is typed in by an editor. This metro's Life Score is computed directly from the 7 federal sources cited above. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of 2026.