Providence, RI vs Fort Wayne, IN
Moving from Providence to Fort Wayne? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($524,867 → $259,816 median home) and taxes.
Providence 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 Providence, RI, you'd need about $88,412 in Fort Wayne, IN (−$11,588).
Livability — Providence, RI: 58 · Fort Wayne, IN: 72 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 1,524 sqft in Providence vs 3,658 sqft in Fort Wayne ($328 vs $137 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Providence, RI | Fort Wayne, IN | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $25,956 | $15,168 | −$10,788 |
| Groceries | $4,922 | $4,740 | −$182 |
| Transportation | $3,875 | $3,250 | −$625 |
| Utilities | $3,060 | $1,932 | −$1,128 |
| Insurance | $1,700 | $1,600 | −$100 |
| Taxes | $13,121 | $6,922 | −$6,199 |
| Total | $52,634 | $33,612 | −$19,022 |
Side by side
| Metric | Providence, RI | Fort Wayne, IN |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 101.5 | 89.7 |
| Unemployment rate | 5.82% | 4.76% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 3.6% | -2.2% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.78 | $5.11 |
| Median home price | $524,867 | $259,816 |
| Home price ÷ income | 6.5× | 3.9× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 3.1% | 2.9% |
| Price per square foot | $328 | $137 |
| Median rent | $2,163 | $1,264 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 11.4% | 9.3% |
| Combined sales tax | 7.00% | 7.00% |
| Capital gains tax | 5.99% | 3.05% |
| Property tax rate | 1.31% | 0.81% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $7,600 | $6,600 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $13,000 | $12,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | 1.20% |
| Avg commute (min) | 26 | 22 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,700 | $1,600 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $2,100 | $1,400 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $900 | $600 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 28.3 | 17.9 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.35 | 3.30 |
| Natural gas / mo | $92 | $72 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $80 | $102 |
| Home internet / mo | $67 | $81 |
| Violent crime /100k | 240 | 360 |
| Avg summer high °F | 82 | 86 |
| Avg winter low °F | 21 | 20 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 47.5 | 43.6 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 36.6 | 25.5 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 56% | 55% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 4 | 2 |