Fort Wayne, IN vs Denver, CO
Moving from Fort Wayne to Denver? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($259,816 → $573,221 median home) and taxes.
Fort Wayne vs Denver 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 Fort Wayne, IN, you'd need about $117,850 in Denver, CO (+$17,850).
Livability — Fort Wayne, IN: 72 · Denver, CO: 52 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 3,658 sqft in Fort Wayne vs 1,657 sqft in Denver ($137 vs $302 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Fort Wayne, IN | Denver, CO | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $15,168 | $22,920 | +$7,752 |
| Groceries | $4,740 | $5,079 | +$339 |
| Transportation | $3,250 | $4,050 | +$800 |
| Utilities | $1,932 | $1,788 | −$144 |
| Insurance | $1,600 | $2,800 | +$1,200 |
| Taxes | $6,922 | $9,828 | +$2,906 |
| Total | $33,612 | $46,464 | +$12,852 |
Side by side
| Metric | Fort Wayne, IN | Denver, CO |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 89.7 | 105.8 |
| Unemployment rate | 4.76% | 4.26% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | -2.2% | 5.7% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.11 | $6.02 |
| Median home price | $259,816 | $573,221 |
| Home price ÷ income | 3.9× | 5.9× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 2.9% | -2.9% |
| Price per square foot | $137 | $302 |
| Median rent | $1,264 | $1,910 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 9.3% | 9.7% |
| Combined sales tax | 7.00% | 7.77% |
| Capital gains tax | 3.05% | 4.40% |
| Property tax rate | 0.81% | 0.52% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,600 | $6,800 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $12,000 | $16,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | 1.20% | 1.79% |
| Avg commute (min) | 22 | 28 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,600 | $2,800 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,400 | $2,000 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $600 | $550 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 17.9 | 16.5 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.30 | 3.30 |
| Natural gas / mo | $72 | $65 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $102 | $120 |
| Home internet / mo | $81 | $87 |
| Violent crime /100k | 360 | 490 |
| Avg summer high °F | 86 | 88 |
| Avg winter low °F | 20 | 18 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 43.6 | 15.4 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 25.5 | 49.0 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 55% | 69% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 2 | 3 |