Rent is going up in Indianapolis. Here's how it compares to other cities

Indianapolis is often considered a relatively affordable city compared to high-cost metros like New York or San Francisco.

But the city also has lower wages than those places. Rental prices have jumped over the past five years, leaving many Indianapolis families struggling to afford housing.
 

Average rent in Indianapolis

The average rent in Indianapolis is about $1,463 per month, according to Zillow. That includes houses and townhomes, which average about $1,650, and apartments and condos, which average $1,188. While rent in Indianapolis remains below the national average, it's grown rapidly.
 

Rental prices have surged in Indianapolis

In December, the average rent for the metropolitan area was $1,494, according to the Zillow Observed Rent Index. That's more than $400 less than the U.S. as a whole. But Indianapolis rents have been growing faster than many higher cost cities, such as Chicago, Boston and Seattle.

While rent in Indianapolis grew nearly 48% between December 2019 and December 2025, the U.S. average increase was 36%, according to Zillow data. 
 

Is this just happening in Indianapolis?

The South Bend area has one of the fastest growing average rents in the country. It has increased 64% since 2019, to average $1,350 per month. Kokomo saw a similar increase at 61 percent. Several other Indiana metropolitan areas experienced an increase of more than 50% in the same time: Lafayette, Fort Wayne, Muncie and Evansville.
 

Indianapolis incomes are also rising — but lag the nation

Household incomes in Marion County are also on the rise. The median income reached $66,653 in 2023, a 31% increase compared to 2019, according to estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau. Nationally, the median household income was about $80,610 in 2023.
 

Rent is unaffordable for many families

The fair market rent for a two-bedroom apartment in the Indianapolis-Carmel Metropolitan area is $1,283 per month, according to Prosperity Indiana. For that to be affordable, a renter would need to make nearly $25 per hour. But Prosperity Indiana found that on average, renters in the area make under $22.

That's better than in many other parts of the state, where low wages make rental housing unaffordable for many residents. In the Anderson Metropolitan area, for example, a renter would need to make more than $20 per hour to afford rent on a two-bedroom apartment. But the average renter wage is $14 per hour.
 

Especially for extremely low-income Hoosiers

Hoosiers who are considered extremely low-income are struggling to pay rent. In the Indianapolis-Carmel-Greenwood area, there are only 26 affordable and available units of housing for every 100 extremely low-income households, according to estimates from the National Low Income Housing Coalition. 

About three out of four extremely low-income households spend more than half their income on rent.
 

Contact WFYI Education Reporter Dylan Peers McCoy at dmccoy@wfyi.org