All homes and bedroom counts
RENTAL MARKET INTELLIGENCE
Indianapolis, IN
Indianapolis merits investigation by income-focused buyers who can underwrite conservatively; buyers requiring current job growth should avoid it.
Median price$297k
Median rent$1,558
Gross yield6.3%
Job growth▼ 0.4%
Composite Market ScoreRank #349 of 571 scored US market areas
Direct rental answer
How much is rent in Indianapolis, IN?
Zillow's metro-wide Observed Rent Index is $1,558 per month for 2026-06-30. That is up 2.44% from a year earlier.
Studio, 1BR and 2BR listings
Occupied rental units paying rent
Two-bedroom standard
These figures are not averaged together. Zillow and Realtor describe asking-rent markets, ACS measures rent paid by surveyed households, and HUD publishes administrative bedroom standards.
Exact county schedules
HUD rent benchmarks inside Indianapolis
Every row keeps its own county FIPS schedule. No county is selected as a metro proxy and no synthetic metro FMR is calculated.
| County | Studio | 1 BR | 2 BR | 3 BR | 4 BR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Marion County, INFIPS 18097 | $1,118 | $1,267 | $1,473 | $1,907 | $2,338 |
| Hamilton County, INFIPS 18057 | $1,118 | $1,267 | $1,473 | $1,907 | $2,338 |
| Hendricks County, INFIPS 18063 | $1,118 | $1,267 | $1,473 | $1,907 | $2,338 |
| Johnson County, INFIPS 18081 | $1,118 | $1,267 | $1,473 | $1,907 | $2,338 |
| Madison County, INFIPS 18095 | $898 | $919 | $1,206 | $1,594 | $1,597 |
| Hancock County, INFIPS 18059 | $1,118 | $1,267 | $1,473 | $1,907 | $2,338 |
| Boone County, INFIPS 18011 | $1,118 | $1,267 | $1,473 | $1,907 | $2,338 |
| Morgan County, INFIPS 18109 | $1,118 | $1,267 | $1,473 | $1,907 | $2,338 |
| Shelby County, INFIPS 18145 | $1,118 | $1,267 | $1,473 | $1,907 | $2,338 |
| Brown County, INFIPS 18013 | $1,118 | $1,267 | $1,473 | $1,907 | $2,338 |
| Tipton County, INFIPS 18159 | $840 | $845 | $1,109 | $1,330 | $1,725 |
The read
Why this market scores where it does
Indianapolis merits investigation by income-focused buyers who can underwrite conservatively; buyers requiring current job growth should avoid it. A $1,558 median asking rent and 6.29% gross yield against a $297,385 median home value provide a workable starting income profile.
Rent rose 2.44% while home values rose 1.14%, and rent equals 23.42% of median household income. However, CES employment fell 0.4%. Net migration was positive at 2,183, though incoming movers had average income $5,424 below outgoing movers, tempering the demand signal.
Inventory is tight at 1.8 months, but 43.11% of listings had price drops, creating mixed bargaining signals. Permit volume of 13,918 warrants submarket-level supply checks, while inland-flood exposure calls for property-specific insurance and loss review.
Frequently Asked Investor Questions
What is the market-level rent and yield baseline?
Median asking rent is $1,558 per month, and gross yield is 6.29% on a $297,385 median home value.
Does household migration support demand?
Tax filings show 35,445 households moved in and 33,262 moved out, producing net migration of 2,183; incoming movers averaged $65,537 of income versus $70,961 for outgoing movers.
How much investor participation is recorded?
Non-occupants accounted for 7.62% of purchase mortgages, and the record lists 31,603 total purchases.
Investor Quick Takeaways
Gross Yield: 6.3%
Computed from the current Zillow rent and home-value medians.
Rent Momentum: ▲ 2.44%
Zillow ZORI rent growth trend over trailing 12 months.
Investor Activity: 7.6%
Originated investment purchase share (CFPB HMDA).
Climate Exposure: FEMA NRI
Annualized loss ratio evaluated for flood & hurricane risk.
Put the evidence to work
Test the market, then test the deal
Keep Indianapolis as the starting point or move into a more specific property and rent check.
Run cash flowStarts with this market's measured price and rentSave to shortlistCompare this metro with up to four other placesCheck rent by ZIPMove from metro context to a local rent benchmarkFind a comparison marketRead a curated two-market decision analysisShare this analysisEmail the canonical link without adding page scriptsReport a data issueSend the figure, source and release period to review
Market pulse
The current market in eight signals
Fast-moving Redfin conditions sit beside the slower fundamentals so a buyer can separate today's negotiating climate from the long-run investment case.
Months of supply1.8 mo.▼ from 2.0 mo. a year ago
Median days on market19 days▲ from 16 days a year ago
Listings with price drops43.1%▲ from 36.2% a year ago
Sale-to-list ratio98.5%2026-05-01
Home value growth▲ 1.1%Zillow ZHVI · trailing 12 months
Rent growth▲ 2.44%Zillow ZORI · trailing 12 months
Gross rental yield6.3%Rent × 12 ÷ price
Payroll job growth▼ 0.4%CES · 12m to 2026-06
Release-to-release evidence
What actually changed
This comparison exists because at least one underlying source period advanced. Rebuilding the same data never creates a new observation.
Published score held steady45→45
0 ptsThe published component scores did not move in this release.
Weights were unchanged at metro-2026-07-v2-omb2023, so the movement comes from refreshed evidence and percentile ranks.
The named source periods advanced, but the measured values on this page held steady.
The one chart
Rents versus prices, indexed to 2019
Both series start at 100. The gap between the lines is the investment case, and which line is closing it tells you what kind of market this is.
Reindexed Price vs. Rent Growth
2019 = 100 · annual · 2019–2026
Since 2019, prices are up 61% and rents 50%. Prices running ahead of rents is what compresses yield. ✓ recomputed from series
Composite breakdown
What each component measures
Weights are published, not hidden, and the arithmetic is shown. Five components, each measured as a national percentile across all tracked metros.
Published arithmeticComponent × weight = points
45| Signal | Score | Weight | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| Job growth | 29 | 30% | 8.70 |
| Rent trend | 35 | 25% | 8.75 |
| Affordability | 58 | 15% | 8.70 |
| Supply pressure | 59 | 15% | 8.85 |
| Climate risk | 67 | 15% | 10.05 |
| Published score | 45 | ||
Indianapolis, IN scoreRank #349
45Job growth29/100
CES employment fell 0.4% year over year -> current labor-market momentum is a demand risk.
Rent trend35/100
Median asking rent rose 2.44% and gross yield is 6.29% -> the income case is positive, but the yield is measured before operating costs.
Affordability58/100
Rent equals 23.42% of median household income and home value is 3.72 times income -> rental burden and purchase affordability present separate underwriting constraints.
Supply pressure59/100
Inventory is 1.8 months and median marketing time is 19 days, yet 43.11% of listings had price drops -> market timing and seller pricing send mixed signals.
Climate risk67/100
Inland flood is the dominant hazard and the annual climate loss ratio is 0.1217% of building value -> property-level flood and insurance diligence is necessary.
The numbers
What this market costs and what it earns
Every derived ratio below recomputes from the same source record used by the article and score.
ZHVI Median Price
$297k
YoY ▲ 1.1%
ZORI Median Rent
$1,558
YoY ▲ 2.44%
Gross Rental Yield
6.3%
Rent × 12 ÷ price
$1,558 × 12 ÷ $297,385
Job Growth (YoY)
▼ 0.4%
CES payrolls
Job signal 29/100
Median Household Income
$80k
Census ACS 5-year
Rent Burden
23.4%
Annual rent ÷ household income
Price-to-Income
3.7x
Median value ÷ household income
HUD 2BR Fair Market Rent
$1,473
Market rent 105.8% of FMR
Historical affordability context
Compare aligned 2019 and 2024 asking-rent and nominal household-income endpoints across the direct-overlap metro set.
Independent rent evidence
One market, several legitimate rent benchmarks
These releases observe different homes and different moments. RentMarker keeps them separate: ZORI remains the scoring baseline, while the other sources test how sensitive the market story is to bedroom mix and measurement method.
Monthly benchmark5 of 5 reported values
Zero-based scale$1,558Primary RentMarker baseline
2026-06-30
All homes and bedroom counts
A smoothed metro rent index for observed rentals; it is the primary rent used by RentMarker scores and career ratios.
View source release ↗$1,268−$290 vs ZORI
2026-05
Studio, 1BR and 2BR listings
The median advertised rent in Realtor.com's 50-largest-metro rental report; source NAs remain unavailable.
View source release ↗$1,267−$291 vs ZORI
FY2026 FMR
One-bedroom standard
An administrative gross-rent benchmark used by HUD programs; it is neither a listing median nor a prediction of one lease.
View source release ↗$1,473−$85 vs ZORI
FY2026 FMR
Two-bedroom standard
An administrative gross-rent benchmark used by HUD programs; it is neither a listing median nor a prediction of one lease.
View source release ↗$1,191−$367 vs ZORI
ACS 2024 5-year
Occupied rental units paying rent
A five-year survey estimate of contract rent plus applicable tenant-paid utilities; it is not a current asking-rent index.
View source release ↗Take the next step
Keep Indianapolis as context, then replace market-wide evidence with the candidate property's facts.
Direct local rental evidence
Recent leases and rental-market liquidity in Indianapolis, IN
These Apartment List observations match the exact metro CBSA code 26900. They are kept separate from Zillow asking rent, Census occupied-home rent and property-level comparables.
Direct recent-lease rent history
Monthly overall-rent index; missing observations are not filled from another geography.
Recent-lease rent$1,2772026-07 · -0.3% year over year
Rental vacancy7.6%2026-07 · +1.4 percentage points year over year
Time on market32 days2026-07 · +9.0 days year over year
Measured rent retention
How much of gross yield survives the first two measured deductions?
This bridge subtracts direct rental vacancy and effective property tax only. It is not net yield, NOI, cap rate or property cash flow.
measured retention property tax vacancy
- Gross yield
- 6.3%
- Vacancy
- 7.6%
- Effective tax
- 0.8%
- Retained yield
- 5.0%
Regional price level
What feels expensive inside Indianapolis
BEA compares each category with the United States, which equals 100. This is a 2024 price-level comparison—not annual inflation.
BEA Regional Price Parities · 2024US = 100
Occupation wage lens
How asking rent sits against major local occupations
Annualized Zillow asking rent is divided by each BLS annual median wage. This is a screening ratio for one wage, not a household budget or affordability verdict.
Six largest published major groupsannual rent ÷ median wage
Transportation and Material Moving Occupations$45,060 median wage
41.5%
Office and Administrative Support Occupations$47,220 median wage
39.6%
Sales and Related Occupations$37,650 median wage
49.7%
Food Preparation and Serving Related Occupations$30,000 median wage
62.3%
Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations$83,070 median wage
22.5%
Business and Financial Operations Occupations$78,230 median wage
23.9%
Supply pipeline
What is being built, and for whom
Permits are the 12-to-24 month early warning. The total matters less than the mix: apartments compete with a rental the day they open.
National supply context
Compare this authorization pipeline with asking-rent growth, jobs and for-sale liquidity across the evidence-complete metro set.
Building permits by structure type
units per year · latest year annualised
13,638 units authorised in 2026, 32% of them in 5+ unit buildings. A meaningful share is apartments, which discount first when they lease up. ✓ recomputed from series
Who is arriving, and who is buying
Demand, and the competition for it
Tax filings say how many households moved and what they earn; mortgage disclosures say how many local purchases went to someone who will not live there. Moves between counties inside this metro are netted out of both flow figures.
Net Household Move
+2,066
35,275 in vs 33,209 out (IRS SOI)
▲ 5.9% of arriving households
Mover Income Gap
−$5,582
Arriving $65,557 vs leaving $71,139
Average AGI per tax return (IRS SOI)
Investor Purchase Share
7.6%
2,386 of 31,269 originated purchase loans
CFPB HMDA 2024
Dominant Hazard
inland flooding
0.122% building value annual loss ratio
FEMA NRI · risk type: water
Compare yield and FEMA exposure →Households arrive mainly from: Monroe County · Delaware County · Cook County · Tippecanoe County · Lake County
✓ 35,275 in − 33,209 out = 2,066 netDirect market links
Where tax-return households moved from and to
These are the largest flows where both counties map to a RentMarker market area. They are a documented subset of the all-US IRS totals above.
Leading inbound markets
- Chicago, IL2,181 arriving
- Bloomington, IN1,132 arriving
- Miami, FL940 arriving
Leading outbound markets
- Chicago, IL1,817 leaving
- Bloomington, IN989 leaving
- Muncie, IN873 leaving
The other side
What would make this a bad buy
Generated from the same figures with the instruction to argue against the score, and published unedited. A page that only agrees with itself is an advertisement.
Three ways the case breaks
- CES employment declined 0.4% year over year, leaving a weak employment signal for rental demand.
- The combination of 13,918 permits and a 43.11% price-drop share creates supply and pricing risk.
- Inland flood is the dominant hazard, with an annual climate loss ratio equal to 0.1217% of building value.
Inside this metro area
Move from the market-area average to local evidence
Use the available county and city pages to add local price, rent, housing, migration and hazard context to the market-area view.
County records
County · INMarion County$234k home · 7.3% yieldCounty · INHamilton County$471k home · 4.7% yieldCounty · INHendricks County$349k home · 6.4% yieldCounty · INJohnson County$318k home · 6.2% yieldCounty · INMadison County$194k home · 6.7% yieldCounty · INHancock County$334k home · 6.1% yieldCounty · INBoone County$425k home · 5.5% yieldCounty · INMorgan County$304k home · 6.5% yield
Statistical peers
Market areas that behave like Indianapolis
Nearest neighbours on price level, income, yield and job growth — not on geography. Every market page gets a different peer set, which is the point.
| Market area | Score | Price | Rent | Yield | Job Growth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Indianapolis, IN (Target) | 45 | $297k | $1,558 | 6.3% | ▼ 0.4% |
| St. Louis, MO | 50 | $280k | $1,459 | 6.3% | ▼ 0.5% |
| Jacksonville, FL | 30 | $354k | $1,708 | 5.8% | ▼ 0.4% |
| Virginia Beach, VA | 58 | $377k | $1,878 | 6.0% | ▼ 0.4% |
| Cincinnati, OH | 56 | $313k | $1,583 | 6.1% | ▲ 0.2% |
Provenance
Where every figure came from
“Checked nightly” means every source is re-pulled and re-verified each night. It does not mean every source moves nightly — the release column tells you how fresh each number can possibly be.
| Dataset Source | Method | Release Period | Pulled Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Census ACS 5-year — household income and gross rent | direct | ACS 2024 5-year | 2026-08-05 |
| Census ACS 5-year — historical household income | direct | ACS 2019 and 2024 5-year | 2026-08-05 |
| Census ACS 5-year — population | direct | ACS 2024 5-year | 2026-07-26 |
| Apartment List Rent Estimates — recent-lease rent index | direct | Apartment List 2026-07 | 2026-08-08 |
| Apartment List Time on Market — listing liquidity | direct | Apartment List 2026-07 | 2026-08-08 |
| Apartment List Vacancy Index — rental vacancy | direct | Apartment List 2026-07 | 2026-08-08 |
| BEA County Personal Income — income and population | direct | 2024 County Personal Income (released 2026-02-05); history 1969-2024 | 2026-08-03 |
| BEA Regional Price Parities — metropolitan price levels | direct | 2024 Regional Price Parities (released 2026-02-19); history 2008-2024 | 2026-08-03 |
| BLS CES — payroll employment | direct | CES SM current | 2026-07-26 |
| BLS LAUS — resident employment | direct | LAUS current | 2026-07-26 |
| BLS OEWS — occupation employment and wages | direct | May 2025 OEWS estimates (released 2026-05-15) | 2026-08-03 |
| BLS QCEW — county employment and wages | direct | annual county employment and wages 2021-2025; latest 2025 vs 2024 | 2026-08-02 |
| OMB/BLS delineation — metro geography | direct | OMB July 2023 delineation | 2026-07-30 |
| Census Building Permits Survey — permitted units | direct | BPS through 2026 | 2026-07-26 |
| Census ACS 5-year — city population, households and housing | direct | ACS 2024 5-year | 2026-07-29 |
| Census ACS 5-year — county housing value, tenure and stock | direct | ACS 2024 5-year | 2026-07-30 |
| Census ACS 5-year — cities and communities | direct | ACS 2024 5-year | 2026-07-30 |
| Census ACS five-year — ZCTA housing and income | direct | ACS 2024 5-year ZCTA | 2026-08-08 |
| FEMA National Risk Index — hazard loss ratios | modelled | NRI counties (FEMA ArcGIS) | 2026-07-26 |
| FHFA House Price Index — annual county appreciation | direct | annual county HPI history 1975-2025; latest 2025 | 2026-08-02 |
| HMDA / CFPB — purchases by occupancy type | direct | HMDA 2024 purchase originations | 2026-07-26 |
| HUD CHAS — renter burden by HAMFI income band | direct | HUD CHAS 2018-2022 ACS 5-year (released 2025-12-23) | 2026-08-03 |
| HUD Fair Market Rents — Section 8 standard | direct | FY2026 FMR | 2026-07-26 |
| HUD USPS crosswalk and Small Area FMRs — ZIP rent fallback | direct | ZIP-CBSA 2025Q4 + SAFMR FY2026 | 2026-07-26 |
| HUD-USPS ZIP-to-county residential-address crosswalk | direct | HUD-USPS 2026Q1 | 2026-08-09 |
| IRS SOI — county migration and mover income | direct | SOI migration 2022-2023 | 2026-07-26 |
| Freddie Mac PMMS — mortgage rates | direct | week of 2026-07-30 | 2026-08-06 |
| Census ACS 5-year — effective property tax | direct | ACS 2024 5-year | 2026-08-06 |
| Realtor.com Economic Research — county listing inventory | direct | county inventory 2026-06 | 2026-07-28 |
| Realtor.com Rental Report — top-50 asking rents | direct | top-50 rental asking rents 2026-05 | 2026-08-05 |
| Redfin Data Center — inventory, days on market, and price cuts | direct | metro tracker through 2026-05-01 | 2026-07-26 |
| Redfin Data Center — ZIP resale activity and supply | direct | ZIP rolling 3 months through 2026-06-30; updated 2026-07-03 | 2026-08-12 |
| USDA ERS — Rural-Urban Continuum Codes | direct | USDA ERS 2023 Rural-Urban Continuum Codes | 2026-08-02 |
| Zillow ZHVI and ZORI — county values and rents | direct | county ZHVI/ZORI 2026-06 | 2026-07-26 |
| Zillow ZHVI — metro home values | direct | Metro_zhvi_uc_sfrcondo_tier_0.33_0.67_sm_sa_month.csv | 2026-07-26 |
| Zillow ZHVI — city home values | direct | zillow_zhvi_city.csv | 2026-07-29 |
| Zillow ZORI — metro market rents | direct | Metro_zori_uc_sfrcondomfr_sm_sa_month.csv | 2026-07-26 |
| Zillow ZORI — city market rents | direct | zillow_zori_city.csv | 2026-07-29 |
| Zillow ZORI - metro market rents, not seasonally adjusted | direct | Metro_zori_uc_sfrcondomfr_sm_month.csv | 2026-08-15 |
| Zillow ZORI — ZIP market rents | direct | ZORI ZIP 2026-06 | 2026-08-08 |