Why High-End Retailers Are Not in Indianapolis

The answer is that the city just doesn't have the economic muscle, or a strong enough concentration of high-income residents or the sheer population that high-end retailers want to surround their stores.

Of 100 major U.S. cities, Indianapolis ranks:

• 33rd in retail buying power.
• 38th in total population, 1.6 million.
• 39th in cities with household incomes of $150,000 or more.
• 61st in median household buying power.

According to the retail brokerage firm Colliers Turley, Indianapolis is an average city when it comes to its average household income of $45,574. Of the surrounding major Midwest cities, only Columbus, Louisville and St. Louis have lower average household incomes.

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