Tippecanoe County · Indiana · Midwest · 71k residents
Lafayette, IN: cost of living, taxes & quality of life
Residential facts for Lafayette: housing, taxes, monthly costs, climate, schools, and household income, with the Indiana median as the yardstick. Compare it live against any of 3,000 US cities.
Data coverage: ACS place data; supplementary fields may use state estimates.
The acs median home value in Lafayette is $172,800, 12% below the Indiana median. A two-bedroom rents for about $1,105/mo. Day-to-day costs index at 80 against a national baseline of 100. The median household here earns $53,716 a year.
What the numbers show
Source-confirmed findings- Housing value: The ACS median home value in Lafayette is $172,800, 11.7% below the median for ACS-covered places in Indiana.
- Household income: Median household income is $53,716, 16.6% below the median for ACS-covered places in Indiana.
- Adult education: 27.9% of adults have a bachelor's degree or higher, 1.8% above the median for ACS-covered places in Indiana.
- Home value to income: The ACS median home value is about 3.2 times median household income. This is a comparison measure, not a mortgage qualification or affordability promise.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates(2024 ACS 5-year; tables B01003, B15003, B19013, B25077). Geography: Census place where available. This product uses the Census Bureau Data API but is not endorsed or certified by the Census Bureau.
WhereToHQ calculates the comparisons. Figures are estimates for context, not a guarantee or personal financial advice. Read the methodology or send a correction.
What makes this place distinctive
A factual snapshot of the place, based on the profile data. It is not a tourism or cultural claim.
A researched local story is not published for this city yet. The signals below are the verified profile context.
- Scale: A mid-sized city with a population between 50,000 and 250,000 in the profile data.
- Setting: The profile places Lafayette about 86 miles from the nearest tracked lake.
- Climate signal: The profile records 190 sunny days.
- Daily pace: The profile records a walk score of 34 and an average commute of 24 minutes.
WhereToHQ derives these signals from the committed city dataset. Read the methodology for coverage and source limits.
Compare Lafayette side by side
Cost of living index
80
ACS median home value
$172,800
2-bedroom rent
$1,105/mo
Median household income
$53,716
Housing momentum
How fast Lafayette's housing market is moving, ranked against the US cities we track.
58/100
Steady
Ranks Lafayette's home-price and rent growth against the US cities we cover. The label is relative pace, not a direction, so a market can rank low while some figures still rise. A higher score moves faster, it is not cheaper or better. Not investment or relocation advice.
Adjusted by Lafayette's cost-of-living index versus the US average.
| ACS median home value | $172,800 |
| Price per sq. ft. | $150 |
| Property tax rate | 0.83% |
| 1-bedroom rent | $928/mo |
| 2-bedroom rent | $1,105/mo |
| State & local income tax | 4.75% |
| Sales tax | 7% |
| Cost of living index | 80 |
| Groceries index | 95 |
| Utilities | $165/mo |
| Transit pass | $60/mo |
| Gas price | $3.20/gal |
| Healthcare index | 95 |
| Childcare (per child) | $900/mo |
| Median household income | $53,716 |
| Unemployment rate | 3.6% |
| Population | 71k |
| Crime index | 45/100 |
| School rating | 5.8/10 |
| Walkability | 34/100 |
| Disaster risk | 82/100 |
| Avg. commute | 24 min |
| Sunny days / year | 190 days |
| July high | 84°F |
| January low | 18°F |
| Annual snowfall | — |
| Home price YoY | +2.3% |
| Home price MoM | 0.0% |
| Rent YoY | +2.7% |
| Rent MoM | -0.2% |
| Ocean coast | 638 mi |
| Big lake | 86 mi |
| Mountains | 285 mi |
| Major airport | 58 mi |
| Ski resort | 137 mi |
Popular comparisons
Nearby
- West Lafayette, IN · 45k
- Frankfort, IN · 16k
- Crawfordsville, IN · 16k
- Lebanon, IN · 18k
- Logansport, IN · 18k
Similar size
- Noblesville, IN · 73k
- Gary, IN · 68k
- Greenwood, IN · 66k
- Hammond, IN · 77k
- Muncie, IN · 65k
Real listings in Lafayette
Homes on Zillow ↗Realtor.com ↗Rentals on Zillow ↗Apartments.com ↗
Links open third-party listing searches. WhereToHQ has no paid relationship with these sites.
- What is the cost of living in Lafayette, IN?
- Lafayette indexes at 80 for day-to-day costs against a national baseline of 100, with a typical two-bedroom renting for $1,105/mo and a acs median home value of $172,800.
- How much does a house cost in Lafayette?
- The acs median home value in Lafayette is $172,800, 12% below the Indiana median (Census ACS estimate; individual listings vary).
- How much is rent in Lafayette?
- A two-bedroom in Lafayette rents for about $1,105/mo.