Austin, TX vs Fort Wayne, IN
Moving from Austin to Fort Wayne? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($428,524 → $259,816 median home) and taxes.
Austin vs Fort Wayne at a glance
Bars scaled to the range across all 200 metros; labels show actual values.
To keep the same standard of living as $100,000 in Austin, TX, you'd need about $91,322 in Fort Wayne, IN (−$8,678).
Livability — Austin, TX: 70 · Fort Wayne, IN: 72 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,450 sqft in Austin vs 3,658 sqft in Fort Wayne ($204 vs $137 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Austin, TX | Fort Wayne, IN | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $19,620 | $15,168 | −$4,452 |
| Groceries | $4,647 | $4,740 | +$93 |
| Transportation | $3,675 | $3,250 | −$425 |
| Utilities | $1,836 | $1,932 | +$96 |
| Insurance | $3,600 | $1,600 | −$2,000 |
| Taxes | $9,558 | $6,922 | −$2,636 |
| Total | $42,936 | $33,612 | −$9,324 |
Side by side
| Metric | Austin, TX | Fort Wayne, IN |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 98.3 | 89.7 |
| Unemployment rate | 4.30% | 4.76% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 14.8% | -2.2% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 52 | 47 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.59 | $5.11 |
| Median home price | $428,524 | $259,816 |
| Home price ÷ income | 4.6× | 3.9× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | -6.0% | 2.9% |
| Price per square foot | $204 | $137 |
| Median rent | $1,635 | $1,264 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 8.6% | 9.3% |
| Combined sales tax | 8.20% | 7.00% |
| Capital gains tax | None | 3.05% |
| Property tax rate | 1.71% | 0.81% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,800 | $6,600 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $9,500 | $12,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | 1.20% |
| Avg commute (min) | 27 | 22 |
| Home insurance / yr | $3,600 | $1,600 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $2,100 | $1,400 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $900 | $600 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 17.0 | 17.9 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.00 | 3.30 |
| Violent crime /100k | 430 | 360 |
| Avg summer high °F | 96 | 86 |
| Avg winter low °F | 38 | 20 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 2 | 2 |