Fort Wayne, IN vs Las Vegas, NV
Moving from Fort Wayne to Las Vegas? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($259,816 → $430,650 median home) and taxes.
Fort Wayne vs Las Vegas 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 $109,513 in Las Vegas, NV (+$9,513).
Livability — Fort Wayne, IN: 72 · Las Vegas, NV: 65 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 3,658 sqft in Fort Wayne vs 2,206 sqft in Las Vegas ($137 vs $227 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Fort Wayne, IN | Las Vegas, NV | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $15,168 | $20,844 | +$5,676 |
| Groceries | $4,740 | $4,841 | +$101 |
| Transportation | $3,250 | $4,740 | +$1,490 |
| Utilities | $1,932 | $1,548 | −$384 |
| Insurance | $1,600 | $1,300 | −$300 |
| Taxes | $6,922 | $4,779 | −$2,143 |
| Total | $33,612 | $38,052 | +$4,440 |
Side by side
| Metric | Fort Wayne, IN | Las Vegas, NV |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 89.7 | 98.3 |
| Unemployment rate | 4.76% | 7.66% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | -2.2% | 7.3% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 47 | 64 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.11 | $5.59 |
| Median home price | $259,816 | $430,650 |
| Home price ÷ income | 3.9× | 6.2× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 2.9% | -2.7% |
| Price per square foot | $137 | $227 |
| Median rent | $1,264 | $1,737 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 9.3% | 9.6% |
| Combined sales tax | 7.00% | 8.23% |
| Capital gains tax | 3.05% | None |
| Property tax rate | 0.81% | 0.51% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,600 | $6,400 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $12,000 | $11,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | 1.20% | 2.12% |
| Avg commute (min) | 22 | 25 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,600 | $1,300 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,400 | $2,400 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $600 | $500 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $400 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 17.9 | 14.3 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.30 | 4.20 |
| Violent crime /100k | 360 | 460 |
| Avg summer high °F | 86 | 95 |
| Avg winter low °F | 20 | 30 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 2 | 3 |