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CityLedger

Fort Wayne vs South Bend

Metro-area medians — Fort Wayne, IN Metro Area vs South Bend-Mishawaka, IN-MI Metro Area — not the cities proper.

Fort Wayne comes out ahead, winning 5 of the 8 clearly-decided measures.

Fort Wayne and South Bend cost about the same to live in, but Fort Wayne households earn about 12% more. Adjusted for local prices, a typical paycheck stretches further in Fort Wayne.

For your salary & household

Enter your pay and household size to see what it's really worth here — the numbers update live and the link stays shareable.

Fort Wayne, IN
$59,064
take-home / yr · 21% to tax
$63,803
real value after local prices
South Bend, IN
$59,064
take-home / yr · 21% to tax
$63,606
real value after local prices

On $75,000 for just you, Fort Wayne leaves you about $197/yr better off after tax and local prices.

Take-home estimates a single filer taking the standard deduction (2025 federal brackets, FICA, and state income tax) and isn't tax advice. “Real value” rebases take-home to average U.S. prices using the BEA cost-of-living index; the per-person figure uses the OECD square-root equivalence scale.

Measure
Fort Wayne
South Bend
Livability (CityLedger)
50/100
33/100
Cost of living (price level, US = 100)
92.6
92.9
Cost-adjusted income (pay's real value)
$76,968
$68,808
Median household income
$71,251
$63,894
Median rent
$1,056/mo
$1,101/mo
Median home value
$245,800
$216,500
Unemployment
3.5%
6.1%
Bachelor's degree or higher
31.1%
31.1%
Average commute
22.9 min
21.8 min
Air quality (median AQI)
47
45
Avg temperature
51°F
49°F

Choose Fort Wayne for

  • + Livability (CityLedger)
  • + Cost-adjusted income (pay's real value)
  • + Median household income
  • + Median rent
  • + Unemployment
Full Fort Wayne profile →

Choose South Bend for

  • + Median home value
  • + Average commute
  • + Air quality (median AQI)
Full South Bend profile →

Fort Wayne vs South Bend — frequently asked

Is Fort Wayne cheaper than South Bend?
They are about even — the overall cost of living in the Fort Wayne and South Bend metros is within 3% of each other (BEA Regional Price Parities), so neither is meaningfully cheaper.
Which has higher household income, Fort Wayne or South Bend?
Fort Wayne has the higher median household income — $71,251 versus $63,894 (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS), about 12% more.
Does a paycheck go further in Fort Wayne or South Bend?
A paycheck stretches further in Fort Wayne. Adjusted for local prices, the median income is worth $76,968 there versus $68,808 in South Bend.
Which has cheaper rent, Fort Wayne or South Bend?
Fort Wayne has cheaper rent — a median of $1,056/mo versus $1,101/mo (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS).