Sacramento - CA vs Indianapolis - IN: 2026 Housing Comparison

What this means for buyers

Sacramento - CA is roughly 96% more expensive than Indianapolis - IN in typical home value. Indianapolis - IN sees more listings with price cuts (35.8% vs 29.8%), a sign of softening seller expectations.

Sacramento vs Indianapolis: what the numbers say

At today's 7.24% average 30-year rate with 20% down, the typical home would cost about $3,123 a month in principal and interest in Sacramento and $1,590 in Indianapolis, a gap of $1,533 a month.

Typical rent runs $2,269 in Sacramento and $1,528 in Indianapolis, so the mortgage payment alone is 1.4 times rent in Sacramento and 1.0 times rent in Indianapolis, before taxes and insurance.

Home prices are 21.0 years of rent in Sacramento and 15.9 in Indianapolis; the lower ratio in Indianapolis means buying there is cheaper relative to renting.

Over the last 23 months typical values moved -2.3% in Sacramento and +2.7% in Indianapolis; over just the last three months the change was +0.3% in Sacramento and +0.1% in Indianapolis.

Homes sell for 99.6% of list price in Sacramento and 98.4% in Indianapolis, after 22 and 20 days on the market, with price cuts on 30% and 36% of listings. The signs are mixed: Sacramento has longer time on the market, while Indianapolis has more price cuts and sales further below list.

The number of homes for sale is down 4% on a year ago in Sacramento and up 13% on a year ago in Indianapolis.

Payments assume a 30-year fixed loan at the Freddie Mac weekly average rate (2026-10-29), 20% down, principal and interest only. Home values, rents and market figures are Zillow Research metro data.