Moving from Boston to Indianapolis
You'd keep $575 more a month in Indianapolis
+$6,900 a year for the same registered nurse, the same household size, and the same number of bedrooms.
Boston leftover
$1,880
a month after tax and rent
Indianapolis leftover
$2,455
+$575 vs Boston
In 2022-2023, 96 households moved Boston → Indianapolis (avg AGI $91,667). 145 went the other way. The whole move →
| Per month | Boston | Indianapolis | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gross pay | $9,042 | $7,405 | −$1,637 |
| Income and payroll tax | $2,416 | $1,866 | −$550 |
| Take-home pay | $6,626 | $5,539 | −$1,087 |
| Rent | $2,619 | $1,205 | −$1,414 |
| Getting around | $445 | $545 | +$100 |
| Groceries | $464 | $368 | −$96 |
| Healthcare | $522 | $414 | −$108 |
| Utilities | $290 | $230 | −$60 |
| Everything else | $406 | $322 | −$84 |
| Left over | $1,880 | $2,455 | +$575 |
To break even in Indianapolis, you'd need to earn
$78,500
Household gross, versus $108,500 today. That's the salary that leaves you exactly as much at the end of the month as Boston does now.
The tax difference alone
+$774
A year, in state and local income tax. Effective rates: 26.7% in Boston, 25.2% in Indianapolis.
More about Indianapolis
Boston, MA in full
Great pay in medicine and research, brutal winters, tight housing stock.
Indianapolis, IN in full
Cheap housing, a 3% flat state tax, and a short commute.
The reverse move
Same two cities, but starting from Indianapolis on Indianapolis wages.
Indianapolis → Boston →Questions
Is the cost of living lower in Indianapolis than Boston?
A one-bedroom is about $2,619 in Boston versus $1,205 in Indianapolis. On a one-adult, one-bedroom household, leftover is about $575 a month higher in Indianapolis. Change the job or household on the comparison to see your number.
Does Indianapolis have state income tax?
Indianapolis is in Indiana, which taxes wage income, plus a local wage tax of 2.02%.
What changes if you move from Boston to Indianapolis?
Take-home pay is recalculated under Indiana tax, rent is priced at the same bedroom count, and leftover is the gap. The from-to page also lists IRS households that already made the move, when that data exists.
Rent is Zillow's asking rent for each metro; taxes and living costs are modelled. An estimate, not a quote or tax advice. How this is calculated.