Fort Wayne composite
52.1 /100
Grade B- · weighted across 7 dims
Metro comparison
Fort Wayne vs Louisville/Jefferson County
Fort Wayne, IN and Louisville/Jefferson County, KY-IN side by side, cost of living, rent, wages, crime, schools, childcare and environment, all from the same federal datasets so every number is directly comparable.
- 52.1
- Fort Wayne Life Score
- B-
- Fort Wayne grade
- 60.3
- Louisville/Jefferson County Life Score
- A-
- Louisville/Jefferson County grade
Head-to-head verdict
Across the seven dimensions, Fort Wayne scores higher on 3 (cost of living, rent, schools) and Louisville/Jefferson County on 4 (wages, safety, childcare, environment). The radar shows the full shape; the tables below break out every figure.
Fort Wayne vs Louisville/Jefferson County across all seven dimensions (each scored 0–100 as a national percentile, bigger area = stronger overall)
Where each metro wins, and by how much
Every dimension is a national percentile (0–100). Each bar leans toward the stronger metro, a long lean is a decisive edge, a near-even split is a toss-up. The radar shows the overall shape; this shows the per-dimension margins.
◖ Fort Wayne Louisville/Jefferson County ◗
cost of living
59
53
wages
35
52
rent
78
54
safety
52
77
schools
56
52
childcare
0
89
environment
32
55
Fort Wayne and Louisville/Jefferson County differ across eleven dimensions of livability. Fort Wayne has a cost-of-living index of 92.6 vs Louisville/Jefferson County's 93.1 (national average = 100). Median salaries are $61,404 in Fort Wayne and $66,989 in Louisville/Jefferson County. A 2-bedroom averages $1,113/mo vs $1,272/mo.
How to read this matchup
Reading the Fort Wayne vs Louisville/Jefferson County Comparison
Fort Wayne (IN) and Louisville/Jefferson County (KY) are assembled here from the same federal data pipeline, BEA Regional Price Parities, HUD Fair Market Rents, BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, FBI Uniform Crime Reports, NCES public-school counts, and EPA environmental indicators, so every number on this page is directly comparable. The overall cost index reads 92.6 for Fort Wayne against 93.1 for Louisville/Jefferson County, a 0.5-point gap on a scale where 100 equals the U.S. average. HUD's 2-bedroom Fair Market Rent, the figure used to set housing-choice voucher payment standards, is $1,113/mo in Fort Wayne and $1,272/mo in Louisville/Jefferson County, a $159/mo difference that compounds to $1,908 over a year.
On wages, BLS OES reports a median salary of $61,404 across 217,390 jobs in Fort Wayne against $66,989 across 667,710 jobs in Louisville/Jefferson County. Adjusted through the BEA cost-of-living lens, $100,000 earned in Fort Wayne carries the same local purchasing power as $100,542 in Louisville/Jefferson County - the most honest way to read the salary headline, because nominal wages and rents move together in tight metros. State-level violent crime, the most reliable geographic tier FBI UCR publishes, is 308.5 per 100,000 residents in IN vs 225.5 in KY, with property-crime rates of 1321.0 and 1397.1 respectively.
Schools are reported at the state tier by NCES: IN lists 1,865 public schools at a 15.9:1 student-teacher ratio, while KY lists 1,395 schools at 15.2:1, a signal of class-size staffing, though individual district and school-level variation within each state is substantial. When these pieces are read together rather than in isolation, Fort Wayne and Louisville/Jefferson County are not simply "cheaper" or "more expensive" - they trade across dimensions, and which metro wins depends on whether your household optimizes for rent, wages, schools, childcare, safety, or environment. Treat the tables below as inputs to that trade-off, not as a single ranking.
Louisville/Jefferson County composite
60.3 /100
Grade A- · weighted across 7 dims
Cost-of-living gap
-0.5 pts
Fort Wayne vs Louisville/Jefferson County BEA RPP
2-bed rent delta
$159 /mo
Louisville/Jefferson County priced higher
Composite life score on the national 0–100 scale
Fort Wayne
Fort Wayne composite (Grade B-)
Louisville/Jefferson County
Louisville/Jefferson County composite (Grade A-)
Composite is a weighted roll-up of seven dimensions: cost (20%), wages (20%), rent (15%), safety (15%), schools (10%), childcare (10%), environment (10%). Each input normalized to a 0–100 percentile across all metros.
💰 Cost of Living BEA →
| Category | Fort Wayne | Louisville/Jefferson County |
|---|---|---|
| Overall RPP | 92.6 | 93.1 |
| Goods | 94.3 | 96.2 |
| Services | 86.2 | 75.0 |
| Rents | 72.3 | 78.6 |
Salary Equivalent Calculator
What salary in Louisville/Jefferson County gives the same purchasing power as your salary in Fort Wayne?
$
Equivalent in Louisville/Jefferson County:
$100,542
Based on BEA Regional Price Parities (Fort Wayne: 92.6, Louisville/Jefferson County: 93.1, national avg = 100).
🏠 Rent (Fair Market Rent) HUD →
| Bedrooms | Fort Wayne | Louisville/Jefferson County |
|---|---|---|
| Studio | $892/mo | $966/mo |
| 1 Bedroom | $916/mo | $1,047/mo |
| 2 Bedroom | $1,113/mo | $1,272/mo |
| 3 Bedroom | $1,381/mo | $1,625/mo |
| 4 Bedroom | $1,512/mo | $1,891/mo |
💼 Wages & Employment BLS →
| Metric | Fort Wayne | Louisville/Jefferson County |
|---|---|---|
| Avg Median Salary | $61,404 | $66,989 |
| Total Employment | 217,390 | 667,710 |
🛡️ Crime Rates (state-level) FBI →
| Crime Type (per 100K) | Fort Wayne (IN) | Louisville/Jefferson County (KY) |
|---|---|---|
| Violent Crime | 308.5 | 225.5 |
| Property Crime | 1321.0 | 1397.1 |
🎓 Schools (state-level) NCES →
| Metric | IN | KY |
|---|---|---|
| Total Schools | 1,865 | 1,395 |
| Student-Teacher Ratio | 15.9:1 | 15.2:1 |
| Charter Schools | 6.5% | 0.0% |
🌿 Environment (state-level) EPA →
| Metric | IN | KY |
|---|---|---|
| EPA Facilities | 1,028 | 489 |
| Water Systems | 718 | 376 |
| Superfund Sites | 53 | 20 |
| Water Violations | 1,467 | 1,788 |
Government-verified data - Air quality (EPA AQS), water safety (EPA SDWIS), healthcare access (HRSA), and disaster risk (FEMA NRI) are sourced directly from U.S. federal agencies. No crowdsourced estimates.
💨 Air Quality (EPA AQS) EPA AQS →
| Metric | Fort Wayne | Louisville/Jefferson County |
|---|---|---|
| Median AQI | 47.0 | 51.0 |
| Good Air Days | 59.3% | 47.3% |
| Unhealthy Air Days | 0 days | 13 days |
💧 Water Safety (EPA SDWIS, state-level) EPA SDWIS →
| Metric | IN | KY |
|---|---|---|
| Water Safety Score | 5/100 | 1/100 |
| Total Violations | 352,710 | 80,482 |
| Health-Based Violations | 35,932 | 12,554 |
| Systems with Violations | 95.8% | 99.1% |
🏥 Healthcare Access (HRSA, state-level) HRSA →
| Metric | IN | KY |
|---|---|---|
| Healthcare Access Score | 0/100 | 0/100 |
| Population in Shortage Area | 100.0% | 100.0% |
| HPSA Designations | 362 | 687 |
HPSA = Health Professional Shortage Area, designated by HRSA. Higher access score = better healthcare availability.
⚠️ Natural Disaster Risk (FEMA NRI, state-level) FEMA NRI →
| Metric | IN | KY |
|---|---|---|
| Disaster Safety Score | 69/100 | 71/100 |
| NRI Risk Score (avg county) | 45.5 | 44.2 |
| Expected Annual Loss Score | 49.3 | 41.4 |
FEMA National Risk Index (NRI) scores are county-level percentiles (0–100). Higher disaster safety score = lower relative risk. State-level values are county averages.
Crime, schools, childcare, and environment data shown at state level. Metro-specific data for these dimensions is not available.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Fort Wayne more expensive than Louisville/Jefferson County? ▼
Fort Wayne has a cost of living index of 92.6 compared to Louisville/Jefferson County's 93.1 (national average = 100). Louisville/Jefferson County is 0.5 points above Fort Wayne on the BEA Regional Price Parity scale.
What is the rent difference between Fort Wayne and Louisville/Jefferson County? ▼
A 2-bedroom apartment averages $1,113/mo in Fort Wayne vs $1,272/mo in Louisville/Jefferson County, based on HUD Fair Market Rent data. Studios range from $892/mo to $966/mo.
How do salaries compare between Fort Wayne and Louisville/Jefferson County? ▼
The average median salary across all occupations is $61,404 in Fort Wayne and $66,989 in Louisville/Jefferson County, according to BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics. After adjusting for cost of living, $100,000 in Fort Wayne has the same purchasing power as $100,542 in Louisville/Jefferson County.
Is Fort Wayne or Louisville/Jefferson County safer? ▼
At the state level, IN has a violent crime rate of 308.5 per 100,000 residents compared to KY's 225.5 per 100,000. Property crime rates are 1321.0 vs 1397.1 per 100,000 respectively, based on FBI Uniform Crime Report data.
How do schools compare between Fort Wayne and Louisville/Jefferson County? ▼
IN has 1,865 public schools with an average student-teacher ratio of 15.9:1, while KY has 1,395 schools at 15.2:1. Charter schools make up 6.5% of IN schools vs 0.0% in KY. Data from the National Center for Education Statistics.
Where does the comparison data come from? ▼
All data comes from official U.S. government sources: Bureau of Economic Analysis (cost of living), HUD (fair market rents), BLS (wages), FBI UCR (crime), NCES (schools), Department of Labor (childcare), EPA (environment, air quality, water safety), HRSA (healthcare access), and FEMA NRI (disaster risk). No crowdsourced estimates or proprietary ratings are used.
Research Guides
Explore more
Fort Wayne full Life Score
All seven dimensions, ranked nationally
Louisville/Jefferson County full Life Score
All seven dimensions, ranked nationally
Compare a different pair
Any two metros or states, side by side
National rankings
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Data from BEA, HUD, FBI UCR, BLS OES, NCES, DOL, EPA AQS, EPA SDWIS, HRSA, and FEMA NRI. Not affiliated with the U.S. Government.
Disclaimer: This comparison is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial, legal, or relocation advice. Consult a qualified professional before making decisions based on this data.
Related
Data sourced from official public datasets, current as of 2026. See our methodology for details. Retrieved and formatted by PlainCompare Editorial