Lafayette, IN Homes For Rent

Homes for Rent in Lafayette, IN: What You Need to Know

Lafayette, Indiana, is often confused with its namesake in Louisiana. Worse, it’s sometimes mistaken for its neighbor West Lafayette, Indiana. However, unlike other places with the same name, this Lafayette is known as the Star City.

Job Opportunities

Subaru of Indiana Automotive, based in Lafayette, is Subaru’s only manufacturing facility outside Asia. It employs 6,000 people. Other top employers in the city include Oerlikon Balzers (precision components and tools for metal and plastics processing), Caterpillar (construction equipment), IU Health Arnett Hospital, Wabash National Corp. (diversified industrial manufacturing), and Franciscan Health Lafayette.

Things to Do in Lafayette

The Haan Mansion Museum of Indiana Art devotes 5,000 square feet of space to a large collection of paintings, ceramics, and sculptures created by artists from the region. The mansion itself draws a lot of interest. It was originally the State of Connecticut Building in the 1904 St. Louis World’s Fair. William Potter bought the structure and moved it to Lafayette for use as a personal residence. In 1984, Bob and Ellie Haan bought the Potter mansion and restored it. While living in the mansion, they started collecting Indiana art. They turned it into a museum in 2015.

Cost of Living

Affordability and opportunity round out the good life in Lafayette whose cost of living rate is 6.1% lower than the national average. Food and housing costs are similarly reasonable – 0.2% and 4% lower than the national average respectively. The median gross rent in Lafayette is $817. Hoosier State residents pay a flat income tax rate of 3.23% and 7% in sales tax. Counties collect additional income taxes of up to 3.38%. 

Know Your Neighborhoods

Residents describe Lafayette (population: 71,721) in three words: small, safe, friendly. Majority (52%) of city residents rent. While Lafayette has good schools, there are other towns in Tippecanoe County known for their superb schools such as West Lafayette, Battleground, and Wabash Township. Next-door neighbor West Lafayette is home to Purdue University. Battleground and Wabash Township are both under 10 miles from Lafayette.

Weather and Climate

The city’s location along the Wabash River makes it susceptible to flooding. One of the worst floods in Indiana took place in March 1913. It affected Lafayette and most places along the Wabash, White, and Whitewater Rivers. Rainfall began on March 23, 1913, and lasted for five days. Flooding left the Wabash River nearly seven miles wide, averaging five to seven feet deep. The death toll in Indiana was estimated at 100 to 200. The state established a flood control commission after the disaster.