Compare / Indianapolis to Louisville
Indianapolis, IN vs Louisville, KY
Simple answer
You'd likely save $260 a month in Louisville.
This is the HUD 2-bedroom fair-market rent for October 2026 through September 2027. It is not your lease.
The largest cost gap in this pair is Fair Market Rent. The 2-bedroom Fair Market Rent gap is $260: Indianapolis is higher at $1,536 versus $1,276.
Indiana taxes wages at a flat 2.95%. Kentucky taxes wages at a flat 3.50%. Combined sales tax differs by 1.0 percentage points, higher in Indiana. The effective property tax gap is 0.03 percentage points, higher in Indiana.
After a move from Indiana to Kentucky, those two example households keep the same benefit status labels. A different income can still split Medicaid and marketplace credits.
A $75,000 salary in Indianapolis lines up with about $72,945 in Louisville on the 2024 all-items price parity. Census median gross rent and the commute figures are 2024. Fair Market Rents are fiscal year 2027.
Indianapolis
Indianapolis-Carmel-Greenwood, IN
- 2-bedroom Fair Market Rent
- $1,536
- HUD area
- Indianapolis-Carmel, IN HUD Metro FMR Area
- Census median gross rent
- $1,273
- All-items price parity
- 95.7
- Goods price parity
- 94.3
- Utilities price parity
- 86.4
- Mean commute
- 25.6 min
- Median household income
- $80,239
Louisville
Louisville/Jefferson County, KY-IN
- 2-bedroom Fair Market Rent
- $1,276
- HUD area
- Louisville, KY-IN HUD Metro FMR Area
- Census median gross rent
- $1,140
- All-items price parity
- 93.1
- Goods price parity
- 96.2
- Utilities price parity
- 75.0
- Mean commute
- 25.1 min
- Median household income
- $74,305
Equivalent salary
The first number keeps the same place in the national price level. The second also runs 2026 federal income tax, employee Social Security and Medicare, and a simplified state income tax. Groceries use the BEA goods price parity, not a grocery receipt.
$72,945
Salary in Louisville that matches the 2024 all-items regional price parity.
$73,694
Gross salary in Louisville whose after-tax pay buys the same basket, using price parities.
$62,305
Scales the salary by the ratio of HUD 2-bedroom Fair Market Rents. Rent is not the whole budget.
Taxes on the two sides of the move
| Tax | Indiana | Kentucky |
|---|---|---|
| State income tax on wages | 2.95% flat | 3.50% flat |
| Combined sales tax, Jan 1, 2026 | 7.0% | 6.0% |
| Effective property tax, ACS 2024 median / median | 0.74% | 0.71% |
On a $400,000 home, the state median effective rate implies about $2,954 a year in Indiana and $2,851 in Kentucky. That illustration is not a local bill. Childcare prices are not in the verified dataset for these metros.
Benefits if you land in Kentucky
Same household, $40,000 a year, scored once in Indiana and once in Kentucky. This is an illustration, not your application.
Food stamps (SNAP)
IndianapolisLikely eligible
LouisvilleLikely eligible
Medicaid and CHIP
IndianapolisLikely eligible
LouisvilleLikely eligible
WIC
IndianapolisLikely eligible
LouisvilleLikely eligible
School meals
IndianapolisLikely eligible
LouisvilleLikely eligible
LIHEAP
IndianapolisMaybe
LouisvilleMaybe
Earned Income Tax Credit
IndianapolisLikely eligible
LouisvilleLikely eligible
Child Tax Credit
IndianapolisLikely eligible
LouisvilleLikely eligible
Marketplace premium tax credits
IndianapolisUnlikely
LouisvilleUnlikely
Lifeline phone and internet
IndianapolisLikely eligible
LouisvilleLikely eligible
SSI
IndianapolisUnlikely
LouisvilleUnlikely
| Program | Indianapolis | Louisville |
|---|---|---|
| Food stamps (SNAP) | Likely eligible | Likely eligible |
| Medicaid and CHIP | Likely eligible | Likely eligible |
| WIC | Likely eligible | Likely eligible |
| School meals | Likely eligible | Likely eligible |
| LIHEAP | Maybe | Maybe |
| Earned Income Tax Credit | Likely eligible | Likely eligible |
| Child Tax Credit | Likely eligible | Likely eligible |
| Marketplace premium tax credits | Unlikely | Unlikely |
| Lifeline phone and internet | Likely eligible | Likely eligible |
| SSI | Unlikely | Unlikely |
At $40,000 the status labels match. A single adult around $18,000 is where Medicaid expansion and the marketplace coverage gap usually split.
Related comparisons
From Indianapolis
The eight largest 2-bedroom Fair Market Rent gaps from Indianapolis.
- Indianapolis and San Francisco · rent gap $2,161
- Indianapolis and San Jose · rent gap $1,736
- Indianapolis and Boston · rent gap $1,472
- Indianapolis and New York · rent gap $1,435
- Indianapolis and Los Angeles · rent gap $1,428
- Indianapolis and San Diego · rent gap $1,287
- Indianapolis and Miami · rent gap $1,028
- Indianapolis and Seattle · rent gap $1,013
Nearby metros
How the salary and tax math works · The reverse city order redirects to this address.