Seattle, WA vs Fort Wayne, IN
Moving from Seattle to Fort Wayne? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($750,279 → $259,816 median home) and taxes.
Seattle 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 Seattle, WA, you'd need about $79,613 in Fort Wayne, IN (−$20,387).
Livability — Seattle, WA: 48 · Fort Wayne, IN: 72 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 1,200 sqft in Seattle vs 3,658 sqft in Fort Wayne ($417 vs $137 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Seattle, WA | Fort Wayne, IN | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $26,784 | $15,168 | −$11,616 |
| Groceries | $5,405 | $4,740 | −$665 |
| Transportation | $4,075 | $3,250 | −$825 |
| Utilities | $1,548 | $1,932 | +$384 |
| Insurance | $1,500 | $1,600 | +$100 |
| Taxes | $8,826 | $6,922 | −$1,904 |
| Total | $48,138 | $33,612 | −$14,526 |
Side by side
| Metric | Seattle, WA | Fort Wayne, IN |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 112.7 | 89.7 |
| Unemployment rate | 4.59% | 4.76% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 7.1% | -2.2% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 47 | 47 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $6.41 | $5.11 |
| Median home price | $750,279 | $259,816 |
| Home price ÷ income | 7.0× | 3.9× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | -1.9% | 2.9% |
| Price per square foot | $417 | $137 |
| Median rent | $2,232 | $1,264 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 10.7% | 9.3% |
| Combined sales tax | 9.38% | 7.00% |
| Capital gains tax | 7.00% | 3.05% |
| Property tax rate | 0.88% | 0.81% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,600 | $6,600 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $16,000 | $12,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | 1.20% |
| Avg commute (min) | 30 | 22 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,500 | $1,600 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,600 | $1,400 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $700 | $600 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $700 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 14.4 | 17.9 |
| Gas $/gal | 4.55 | 3.30 |
| Violent crime /100k | 375 | 360 |
| Avg summer high °F | 76 | 86 |
| Avg winter low °F | 37 | 20 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 5 | 2 |