Housing & affordability
18% of the score · 79/100
B+
Median home value$486,800
Indianapolis $265,900
Median rent$1,712/mo
Indianapolis $1,191/mo
Cost-burdened households21%
Indianapolis 27%
Carmel
Hamilton County101,651 residentsCarmel Clay Schools
77
B
Suburbgrade score
1st of 23 Indianapolis suburbs. Strong on schools and amenities, held back by cost of living.
77
Indianapolis median 65
0 · F
A+ · 100
Launch-day rule. Residents is not counted for Carmel yet: no poll responses so far. The overall score of 77 is computed on the other six categories, re-normalised to 100%. Answer the poll →
What living here is actually like
Written summary in preparation This page is waiting for its written summary, and for a person to check it. Until then it is excluded from search engines.
What Carmel is like to live in, by category
Bars show Carmel against Indianapolis. Weights are published in full.Schools
18% of the score · 89/100
A
Within-state proficiency99th pct
Indianapolis median 82nd pct
Student–teacher ratio15.2
Indianapolis median 16.1
Graduation rate98%
Indianapolis median 95%
Cost of living
14% of the score · 58/100
C
Housing cost index150
Indianapolis 100
Eff. tax rate0.85%
Indianapolis 0.82%
Local sales tax7.00%
Indianapolis median 7.00%
Commute & transport
14% of the score · 66/100
C+
Mean commute24.6 min
Indianapolis 25.5 min
Under 30 minutes62%
Indianapolis 63%
Transit stops / sq mi0.0
Indianapolis median 0.0 · within 2 miles
Amenities
12% of the score · 84/100
A−
Restaurants & cafés114
Indianapolis median 23 · within 2 miles
Groceries7
Indianapolis median 3 · within 2 miles
Parks39
Indianapolis median 25 · within 2 miles
Employment & income
12% of the score · 82/100
B+
Median household income$141,505
Indianapolis $79,852
Unemployment2.7%
Indianapolis 4.0%
Professional occupations65%
Indianapolis 44%
Residents
12% of the score · inactive
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No responses yet. Residents is excluded from the score until eight people answer.
Ask the people who live here
Twelve yes/no questions, one tap each. No dataset knows whether the yards are kept or whether anyone talks to their neighbours. Answers feed the Residents grade, which needs eight responses before it counts.
Nobody has answered for Carmel yet. If you live here, you can be the first.
Is it quiet at night?
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Do you feel safe walking after dark?
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Can you walk to a grocery store?
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Is it good for young children?
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Are yards and streets well kept?
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Tap either button to answer — no account neededAll twelve questions →
Better than Carmel on cost of living
Carmel's weakest grade is C. Six suburbs are within 25 miles and score higher on the same four inputs.
SuburbCost of livingOverall
Lebanon17 mi from CarmelB+ 58 C Speedway13 mi from CarmelB+ 67 C+ Greenfield23 mi from CarmelB+ 60 C Beech Grove18 mi from CarmelB 52 D+ Indianapolis city (balance)13 mi from CarmelB 61 C Lawrence11 mi from CarmelB 54 C− Cost-of-living index composed in-house from housing cost, utilities, effective property tax and local sales tax · Median home value: ACS 2020–24 · Effective property tax: ACS 2020–24
Common questions about living in Carmel
Is Carmel, IN a good place to live?
Carmel scores 77 out of 100, 1st of 23 Indianapolis suburbs. It is strongest on schools and weakest on cost of living. Every weight behind that score is published on the methodology page.
Is Carmel expensive to live in?
Cost of living grades C. The median home is $486,800, 83% above the Indianapolis median, and the effective property tax rate is 0.85%. $1,712/mo is the median gross rent.
How good are the schools in Carmel?
Schools grade A. The districts serving Carmel sit at the 99th pct within-state proficiency percentile, with a 98% graduation rate and a 15.2 student–teacher ratio. Carmel is served by Carmel Clay Schools. Proficiency is only ever compared inside the same state.
How long is the commute from Carmel?
The mean commute is 24.6 min, with 62% of workers travelling under 30 minutes and 27% working from home. Transit density is 0.0 stops per square mile.
Can you walk anywhere in Carmel?
Within two miles there are 7 groceries, 114 restaurants and cafés and 39 parks, which grades A− on amenities.
Are the homes in Carmel old or new?
The median home in Carmel was built in 1998 — newer than the Indianapolis median of 1983. That is a median, so a town can be half post-war and half new-build and still land there. 76% of homes are houses rather than flats.
Every answer is built from the figures on this page, with their sources and as-of dates on the methodology page.