Fiona Marr moved to Indiana — where her husband has family — because it promised affordability compared to their life in Greenville, South Carolina. And in some ways, it delivered: Housing is far more affordable in Wabash, the small city about an hour from Fort Wayne where they settled.
Yet the couple discovered hidden costs to living in a rural community: They drive a long way, and use a lot of gas, to reach everything from Costco to primary care doctors. And Marr said they pay more for services like truck repairs because there’s not much competition.
“On paper, the mortgage is cheaper, and the cost of living is lower,” Marr, 37, told FPI News in an interview. But she added that when buying anything beyond day-to-day necessities, “you’re gonna be paying out the nose for it.”
“So it’s dramatically less affordable because everything is harder to get,” Marr said.
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Marr is one of 54 people who have filled out an informal survey from FPI News about whether life in Indiana feels affordable and what financial stressors families face. Answers reflected particular challenges in people’s lives — Marr and her husband face high-cost fertility treatments that she says are not covered by her Indiana health insurance.
“Not only is the cost of the procedure immense, but the cost of the medication is astronomical,” Marr wrote in the survey.
But many common themes emerged: several residents identified high electric and utility costs as burdens for their families. Others pointed to the high cost of property taxes, healthcare and childcare. Instead of focusing on costs, many respondents said Indiana is unaffordable because wages are too low.
Ron Short, 66, lives in Worthington, Ind. A machinist and a welder by trade, Short told FPI News that Indiana is unaffordable because of the low wages.
I could have moved out of state and made much more money in my lifespan than than I was able to do here in Indiana.
— Ron Short, 66, Worthington
Housing costs are a big burden
Nearly 30 people mentioned high or rising rent, mortgage payments, home prices and property taxes.
“Rental pricing is half our salary and buying a house here is completely out of the question,” wrote a South Bend resident. She said the family of four is considering leaving the state. “The housing is too expensive.”
“We struggle daily just to make it by,” wrote a single mother in Muncie who described high rent as the biggest problem for her family.
“It feels like we missed the boat by not being able to buy a home at the right time,” wrote an Indianapolis mother who said her family also struggled with “absurd” childcare costs.
“Now that we are down to only one in full-time care, it is more manageable, but at one point we were paying more than $2,600 per month for two daycare spots,” she wrote.
Childcare was a top cost for other respondents, including a Crawfordsville mother who said while she only had one child, “We pay more in childcare than our mortgage.”
“We are tight-budgeted, and do what we can to keep expenses regulated,” she wrote. “Even then, we cannot skimp on a safe place for our child to learn and play every day while we both work.”
Life is more affordable for those without children — or with grown children
Several people who said the state is affordable either do not have children or their children no longer live at home.
“Very affordable! I am retired while my wife is still working. We pay all our bills, go out to eat weekly, and still save a large chunk of our money,” wrote a resident from Petersburg.
Liz Flaherty, 75, is a lifelong Miami County resident and retired postal worker. She told FPI News in an interview that Indiana is affordable for her and her husband because their house is paid off and they both have pensions.
Flaherty, who has three grown children, worries that the higher cost of homes will make it difficult for younger people in her family to buy, she said.
“I was an extremely poor kid, but even then, you know, my parents owned our home.”
— Liz Flaherty, 75, Miami County
“We can make ends meet and have a little every week to go do something fun like get dinner or go to a Fever game,” wrote one person from Indianapolis. “I have no kids. If we had children this would be a different story.”
Even residents who are comfortable notice rising costs
A Fort Wayne resident said she and her husband have a good income and no children. That allows them to save for retirement and give to charity and family. But she has to drive to Indianapolis regularly for her hybrid job, so they invested in a new car with $900 a month payments.
“We’ve had to tighten our belts for cashflow,” she wrote. They don’t eat or drink out often, she wrote. “I love supporting local businesses, but we have had to cut back.”
Mike Martin of Greenwood said Indiana is affordable for his upper-middle-class family of four. But like many respondents, he’s noticed rising costs. One of the biggest is homeowners insurance, which has nearly doubled since the family bought their house in 2024, he said.
“I’m obviously feeling the pinch as a single-income family. Being able to afford the lifestyle that we’ve come to appreciate has been difficult over the last couple of years.”
— Mike Martin, 43, Greenwood
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FPI News reporter Dylan Peers McCoy covers pressing issues throughout the state and how local communities are tackling those challenges. Reach her at 508-259-4809 or dylan.mccoy@fpinews.org.
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