PlainCompare

Metro Life Score

Fort Wayne, IN

52.1
Life Score / 100
B-
Grade (curved)
#170
of 387 metros
56%
of metros outranked

Data updated May 2026

Verify: BEA · BLS · HUD · FBI · NCES · EPA · Census

The verdict

Fort Wayne ranks #170 of 387 US metros, ahead of 56% - carried by its rent (78/100) and held back most by environment (32/100).

78
strongest: Rent
59
then: Cost of Living
32
weakest: Environment
7
weighted dimensions

Where Fort Wayne sits among all US metros

Composite Life Score vs the national field

52 56th percentile higher than 56% of 387 US metros

25–30: 1 US metros (0%). Below this entry. 30–35: 16 US metros (4%). Below this entry. 35–40: 46 US metros (12%). Below this entry. 40–45: 53 US metros (14%). Below this entry. 45–50: 81 US metros (21%). Below this entry. 50–55: 67 US metros (17%). This entry sits in this band. 55–60: 68 US metros (18%). Above this entry. 60–65: 40 US metros (10%). Above this entry. 65–70: 12 US metros (3%). Above this entry. 70–75: 3 US metros (1%). Above this entry. This metro 25 75 every US metro, bucketed by value

Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more US metros. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.

Source PlainCompare composite of BEA, BLS, HUD, FBI, NCES, DOL, EPA data · May 2026

How the score is built

Reading the Fort Wayne Life Score

Fort Wayne's composite score of 52.1 out of 100, a grade of B-, places the metro at rank #170 of 387, ahead of 56% of US metros. The strongest inputs are Rent (78/100) and Cost of Living (59/100), which pull the composite upward, while Environment (32/100) and Wages (35/100) drag it downward. (How the weighting works.)

BEA RPP 92.6 (rent-RPP 72.3). BLS median salary $61,404, 217,390 jobs (Miscellaneous Assemblers and Fabricators, Fast Food and Counter Workers, Registered Nurses). HUD 2BR FMR $1,113/mo (studio $892).

FBI UCR (IN): 308 violent, 1321 property/100K. NCES: 15.9:1 ratio, 6.5% charter. EPA: 53 Superfund sites (IN). Ranks #167-#173 below.

Dimension detail

How Fort Wayne scores, dimension by dimension

Score Breakdown

Cost of Living Wages Rent Safety Schools Childcare Environment

Dimension Scores

Cost of Living 59/100 (20%)
Wages 35/100 (20%)
Rent 78/100 (15%)
Safety 52/100 (15%)
Schools 56/100 (10%)
Childcare -/100 (10%)
Environment 32/100 (10%)

Key Data Points

92.6
Cost Index (RPP)
$61,404
Avg Median Salary
$1,113
2BR Fair Market Rent
308
Violent Crime/100K (IN)
15.9:1
Student-Teacher Ratio
53
Superfund Sites (IN)
217,390
Total Employment

Crime, schools, childcare, and environment data shown at state level where metro-specific data is unavailable.

Compare Fort Wayne With...

Fort Wayne vs Terre Haute Compare → Fort Wayne vs Muncie Compare → Fort Wayne vs Louisville/Jefferson County Compare → Fort Wayne vs Wildwood Compare → Fort Wayne vs Waterloo Compare → Fort Wayne vs Paducah Compare →

Ranking Context

Fort Wayne outranks 56% of U.S. metros.

Rank Metro Score Grade
#167 Lawton, OK 52.4 B-
#168 Elkhart-Goshen, IN 52.4 B-
#169 Watertown-Fort Drum, NY 52.5 B
#170 Fort Wayne, IN 52.1 B-
#171 Augusta-Richmond County, GA-SC 52.1 B-
#172 College Station-Bryan, TX 52.0 B-
#173 Scranton--Wilkes-Barre, PA 51.9 B-

IN Metro Scores

Terre Haute, IN A 63.5 Muncie, IN A- 61.0 Louisville/Jefferson County, KY-IN A- 60.3 Kokomo, IN B+ 57.0 South Bend-Mishawaka, IN-MI B 55.2 Evansville, IN B 53.8

Using Fort Wayne's Life Score

Fort Wayne is a regional baseline, not a neighborhood reading, use it to shortlist, then dig into the dimensions that matter to you.

  • Its strongest dimension is rent (78/100) and its weakest is environment (32/100) - weigh those against your own priorities. How the score is built
  • Put Fort Wayne head-to-head against another metro before you decide, every dimension, side by side. Compare metros
  • See where Fort Wayne lands on the national rankings for cost, safety, pay and more. Browse rankings

Scores summarize federal data at the metro level; crime, schools and cost vary widely within a single metro.

Explore more

Frequently Asked Questions

What are Fort Wayne's biggest strengths? ▼
Fort Wayne's strongest dimensions are Rent (78/100), Cost of Living (59/100), Schools (56/100). Rent is top-tier nationally.
What are Fort Wayne's weakest areas? ▼
Fort Wayne's lowest-scoring dimensions are Environment (32/100), Wages (35/100), Safety (52/100). Environment weighs heavily on the composite.
How expensive is Fort Wayne compared to the national average? ▼
Fort Wayne's Regional Price Parity is 92.6 (7.4% less than national); rent RPP 72.3.
What is the average salary in Fort Wayne? ▼
Fort Wayne median salary: $61,404, 217,390 jobs. Top: Miscellaneous Assemblers and Fabricators, Fast Food and Counter Workers, Registered Nurses.
How is the life score calculated? ▼
Fort Wayne's 52.1/100 blends 7 federal-data dimensions - see our methodology page for the weighting.

Research Guides

Data from BEA, HUD, FBI UCR, BLS OES, NCES, DOL, and EPA. Not affiliated with the U.S. Government.

Related

Data sourced from official public datasets. See our methodology for details. Retrieved and formatted by PlainCompare Editorial

Disclaimer: This information is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute professional advice. Data is sourced from BEA, BLS, HUD, FBI, NCES, DOL, and EPA. Consult a qualified professional before making decisions based on this data.

Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.

All federal data sources used on this page
  • U.S. Census Bureau ACS - multi-dimension demographic + housing + income aggregates for cross-area comparison. census.gov/programs-surveys/acs
  • BEA Regional Economic Accounts - GDP, personal income, employment by state and metro. bea.gov/data/regional
  • BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) - wage estimates for comparable-area indexing. bls.gov/oes
  • FBI Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) - crime statistics for safety-score component. fbi.gov/ucr
  • NCES Common Core of Data - public-school quality indicators by area. nces.ed.gov/ccd
  • EPA AirNow + Air Quality System (AQS) - air-quality measurements by area. epa.gov/outdoor-air-quality-data
  • HUD Fair Market Rents (FMR) - county and metro housing-cost indicators. huduser.gov/datasets/fmr

Every figure on PlainCompare is loaded directly from BEA, HUD, FBI UCR, BLS OEWS, NCES, DOL, EPA, and the Census Bureau, no number is typed in by an editor. This metro's Life Score is computed directly from the 7 federal sources cited above. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of 2026.