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Place dossier plate
SheetIN-FORT-WAYNE-IN · Fort Wayne, IN 266,235 pop · income 36th pct · 96 tracts
Instrument codes from this place’s ACS population and household income, BEA state COL, FBI safety, national income percentile, photo-finish peer city, home-value band, and matched Census-tract book - not a moving recommendation.
Income neighbourhood around Fort Wayne
Lowest/highest poles plus peers nearest Fort Wayne on median household income. Full ladder: /browse and /rankings.
median HH income
Toledo · lowest
47,532
Toledo · lowest
47,532 median HH income
35.3% of the leader · rank #1
Mingo Junction · near
60,288
Mingo Junction · near
60,288 median HH income
44.8% of the leader · rank #2
Kendall · near
60,291
Kendall · near
60,291 median HH income
44.8% of the leader · rank #3
Fort Wayne · this city
60,293
Fort Wayne · this city
60,293 median HH income
44.8% of the leader · rank #4
Knob Noster · near
60,294
Knob Noster · near
60,294 median HH income
44.8% of the leader · rank #5
Bellefontaine · near
60,296
Bellefontaine · near
60,296 median HH income
44.8% of the leader · rank #6
Carmel · highest
134,602
Carmel · highest
134,602 median HH income
100.0% of the leader · rank #7
What this shows Neighbourhood peers only - not a full nationwide city board. Open a near peer when the gap is small; open the poles when the spread is wide.
Compare beyond this state
Nationwide peers by population, income, and FBI crime rate
Out-of-state nearest neighbors for Fort Wayne on ACS population and median household income
, plus FBI UCR reporting rate when the extract covers this place. Link sets are deduped so each column is a distinct comparison path, not a forecast that peers share a labor market or climate.
Similar population
Nearest out-of-state cities by ACS population. This city: 266,235.
Agency-reported UCR totals per 100,000 population, not a neighborhood safety grade or a prediction of personal risk.
Fort Wayne - the verdict
Out of every US city with 1,000+ residents, Fort Wayne places in the 36th percentile for household income and the 22nd percentile for safety. Source: Census ACS + FBI UCR.
36th
percentile, household income
33rd
percentile, home value
27th
percentile, median rent
22nd
percentile, safety
📝 How we sourced this
Population, income, and housing-cost figures come from the U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-year estimates (B-series tables). Crime data uses FBI UCR; climate uses NOAA Climate Normals; school counts come from NCES Common Core of Data; permits use the Census Building Permits Survey (BPS). See our methodology page for the full ETL pipeline and OMB / FIPS join keys.
Data Snapshot: Fort Wayne, IN
Census ACS 2023 estimates count 266,235 residents in Fort Wayne, a mid-sized U.S. city within Indiana. The typical household in Fort Wayne brings in $60,293 a year, below the median for U.S. cities on this measure, with a poverty rate of 11.8%. Home values in Fort Wayne run a median of $169,700, and the median resident age is 35.0 years. About 28.5% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, while 62.1% of working-age residents are in the labor force.
Crime here tracks close to the national norm: FBI UCR reporting places total crime at 2531.2 incidents per 100,000 residents, near the national average (voluntary agency reporting, reflects reporting activity, not a definitive danger score). NOAA climate normals record an annual average temperature of 50.9°F with 39.5 inches of precipitation per year and 33.6 inches of snowfall.
Living costs in Indiana run below the national norm: BEA Regional Price Parities 2024 puts Indiana at 93.3 on a 100-equals-national-average scale (Below Average). A typical two-bedroom carries a HUD Fair Market Rent of $1,096 per month statewide. Statewide, average monthly utility bills in Indiana run around $235, per EIA 2023 residential energy data. On FEMA's National Risk Index, this area rates 45.5 out of 100 for natural-hazard exposure (Low).
A decision-led reading path
Useful questions to ask of Fort Wayne's data
How this reading path is ordered
This is not a composite city score. It is a city-specific route through the available public records, ordered for this profile so the page starts with questions the joined data can actually answer. The route here runs from population change to within-city variation to comparison shortlist to housing and income to reported crime to work and mobility to schools and households to climate and hazard context; another city can have a different sequence or fewer supported layers because the source joins are not uniform.
For Fort Wayne, city-specific coverage includes FBI reported-crime rates, commute-mode shares, matched public-school count, annual population history, within-city Census tract profiles.
No matched row is reported here for local building permits; the page leaves those layers out instead of substituting a statewide or national value.
1. Population change
Is Fort Wayne growing, shrinking, or holding steady?
Recent estimates point upward. Growth can increase housing demand and service needs, but the permit record must move in the same direction before calling it a supply response; the two series measure different things.
Census PEP estimates show the population grew by +10,826 residents from 2020 to 2025, a +4.1% change. No comparable local building-permit series is available here, so population change should not be read as a housing-supply measure. PEP and ACS are different Census series, so the trend is kept separate from the headline ACS population.
What can 96 Census tracts reveal inside Fort Wayne?
That layer breaks the citywide income, rent, and home-value medians into smaller Census geographies, which can reveal differences that one municipal median necessarily hides. A tract is a statistical area, not a locally defined neighborhood or a promise about conditions on a particular block. Start with the city profile for the broad comparison, then use the tract layer to test whether the same housing and income pattern is consistent across the city. Large within-city spreads are a reason to avoid treating any citywide median as a universal resident experience.
PlainCities matches 96 Census tracts to this city.
Which cities make useful reference points for Fort Wayne?
Within Indiana, the closest population matches are Evansville (116,441 residents, $52,251 income); South Bend (102,866 residents, $52,512 income); Fishers (100,918 residents, $128,141 income). Outside the state, the closest population matches in this dataset are Toledo, OH (268,461 residents); Reno, NV (268,959 residents); North Las Vegas, NV (270,773 residents). A third, income-matched reference set of 6 out-of-state cities sits in the income neighbourhood chart near the Place Dossier plate. These are mechanical peer sets, not claims that the places share a labor market, climate, culture, or metro context.
Use the in-state set to hold state policy and broad price conditions more nearly constant. Use the nationwide size set to ask whether cities with a similar resident count produce different housing, income, or commute outcomes. The income set is a third lens, deliberately separate from population matching. The nationwide peer panel below adds a fourth FBI UCR reporting-rate lens, not personal risk.
How far does income reach against housing in Fort Wayne?
The home-value-to-income reference sits in a middle range: the ACS median home value is 2.8 times median household income. The ACS poverty estimate is 11.8%, which keeps the citywide median from describing every household.
This is a citywide price-to-income reference, not a mortgage-affordability test; it does not include interest rates, taxes, insurance, household size, or an individual buyer's down payment. Income and home value move within the same broad scale here. The useful next check is not a generic affordability label, but whether similar-size cities offer a materially different income, housing, or commute trade-off.
These joined records add useful context, but they do not need another full-size panel. Each remains a separate measure with its own geography and source boundary.
Reported crime
What can the FBI record say about safety in Fort Wayne?
Treat this as a reporting-rate comparison, not a prediction of personal risk or a neighborhood-level safety grade. Tourism, daytime population, reporting practices, and variation inside the city are not adjusted away. The state rank and same-state peer table are the narrower comparisons available on this page.
The joined FBI UCR record reports 2531.2 violent and property crimes per 100,000 residents, above the 2280.5 national reference used here. The difference is 11% higher in arithmetic terms, but agency participation is voluntary and reporting completeness varies.
Property rate
2223.7
Violent rate
307.5
Total reported rate
2531.2
FBI Uniform Crime Reporting, incidents per 100,000. Voluntary agency reporting; not a danger score.
What does the journey to work look like in Fort Wayne?
Mode share answers how workers usually travel; it does not measure congestion, reliability, distance to a particular job, or the quality of transit service. No single mode completely explains the work trip here. The mix is more useful than a one-number commute grade, especially when comparing places where transit, walking, and remote work divide the non-driving share differently.
Driving alone is the largest reported mode at 78.1%. A reliable mean commute time is not available for this row, so the mode shares carry the comparison.
Public transit
1.2%
Work from home
8.2%
Drive alone
78.1%
City-level Census ACS commuting estimates covering 127,093 workers age 16+.
What does the education layer cover for Fort Wayne?
The NCES join finds 75 public schools within the city match. 28.5% of adults age 25+ hold a bachelor's degree or higher in the ACS estimate. These measures answer different questions: the school count describes local institutions, while adult attainment describes residents and cannot be used as a school-quality rating.
The city has a broader matched school footprint, but count alone does not describe performance, capacity, program availability, or attendance boundaries. This profile deliberately avoids converting it into an unsupported family-friendliness score.
Matched public schools
75
Bachelor's degree+
28.5%
Poverty estimate
11.8%
NCES Common Core of Data school locations plus Census ACS resident characteristics.
What physical conditions frame life in Fort Wayne?
NOAA normals put the annual mean temperature at 50.9°F, with 39.5 inches of precipitation and 33.6 inches of annual snowfall. FEMA's state-averaged National Risk Index score for Indiana is 45.5 out of 100. Climate normals describe long-run weather; the FEMA score on PlainCities is a state average of county NRI inputs and combines hazards, exposure, vulnerability, and resilience.
The two sources should not be blended into one comfort or safety score. Use the climate values for baseline conditions and the risk index as a prompt to inspect specific hazards, insurance, and local emergency guidance for a particular address.
Mean temperature
50.9°F
Annual precipitation
39.5 in
FEMA risk index (state avg)
45.5
NOAA Climate Normals and FEMA National Risk Index (state-averaged on PlainCities). Hazard context is not address-level.
Below median income · poverty 11.8% (Above-median poverty)
Cost of Living Index (state)
93.3 (US=100)
Near national cost · BEA RPP 2024, Indiana average
D
City profile score · Fort Wayne, IN
44/100
5 published dimensions · ACS/FBI 2023
Comparative score against U.S. cities with population of 1,000 or more on Census ACS medians
(income, poverty, bachelor's share, cost of living) and FBI UCR violent-crime rates when
published. Higher means a stronger standing on those published figures, not a livability
rating, not a recommendation to move, buy, or pick a "best" city. Missing inputs drop out
and redistribute weight.
How it is calculated.
Cost of living B
93.3 index
BEA state Regional Price Parities index (100 ≈ national average); lower is stronger on this axis. Same value for every city in the state.
Bachelor's+ share C
28.5%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or higher; ACS.
Household income F
$60,293
Median household income vs U.S. cities (pop ≥1,000); ACS.
Poverty rate F
11.8%
Share of residents below the poverty line; lower scores better on this axis.
Violent crime F
308 /100k
FBI UCR violent offenses per 100,000 residents; lower is stronger on this axis.
Fort Wayne profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions)Read the chart values
Cost of living: 72/100 (B) · 93.3 index
Bachelor's+ share: 55/100 (C) · 28.5%
Household income: 35/100 (F) · $60,293
Poverty rate: 33/100 (F) · 11.8%
Violent crime: 32/100 (F) · 308 /100k
Where Fort Wayne sits on home value vs crime among peer cities
Fort Wayne's median home value and FBI crime rate plotted with similar-size and
same-state peers (padded with large cities when the peer set is thin). The second
read: pricey does not always mean safer, check which quadrant this city lands in.
Census ACS median home value vs FBI UCR crime rate - Fort Wayne highlighted among 13 peers.Read the chart values
Fort Wayne, IN (this city): home $169,700, crime 2,531/100k
Toledo, OH : home $107,000, crime 3,773/100k
Reno, NV : home $498,600, crime 2,975/100k
North Las Vegas, NV : home $372,300, crime 2,350/100k
Gilbert, AZ : home $518,600, crime 1,100/100k
Lubbock, TX : home $197,900, crime 3,450/100k
St. Petersburg, FL : home $331,500, crime 3,079/100k
Evansville, IN : home $129,100, crime 4,885/100k
South Bend, IN : home $124,500, crime 3,009/100k
Fishers, IN : home $370,200, crime 732/100k
Carmel, IN : home $455,500, crime 879/100k
Bloomington, IN : home $289,700, crime 3,005/100k
Hammond, IN : home $141,700, crime 3,814/100k
How does Fort Wayne compare to other US cities?
Where Fort Wayne sits among all US cities (population 1,000+) on each measure, computed live from Census and FBI data.
Household income36% higher than other cities
Home value33% pricier than other cities
Median rent27% pricier than other cities
Safety22% safer than other cities
"Safer than" reflects total crime rate from FBI UCR; the others use Census ACS estimates.
National percentiles can mask local variation. Looking only at Indiana, Fort Wayne ranks #93 of 110 Indiana cities by lowest crime rate - a narrower, more locally useful cut than the national comparison above.
How we calculate these percentiles & ranks
Each percentile compares Fort Wayne against every qualifying US city; each in-state rank narrows that to Indiana only. Full formula and direction notes: methodology.
Indiana-relative analysis
Median Gross Rent places Fort Wayne near the bottom of Indiana's cities
Among the 850 Indiana cities PlainCities tracks with reported median gross rent data, Fort Wayne ranks #1 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide percentiles above: it compares Fort Wayne only against its own state's cities, not the full US field.
Median Household Income
#428 of 766
44th percentile in Indiana
Median Gross Rent
#1 of 850
0th percentile in Indiana
Median Home Value
#259 of 771
66th percentile in Indiana
Poverty Rate
#239 of 849
71st percentile in Indiana
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
#161 of 850
81st percentile in Indiana
How in-state ranks are ordered
Ranked by raw value (highest first); a higher rank is not automatically "better" for every measure, see each metric's own context above. This is a comparison within Indiana only, not a livability score. See the methodology for the source and calculation.
Gauge source note
36th percentile nationally for median household income · 22nd percentile for safety (lower crime rate). Source: Census ACS 2023 / FBI UCR 2023.
Fort Wayne's profile vs. every US city
Income, affordability, and safety percentile
Fort Wayne's percentile rank on 3 favorable-direction measures (income, affordability, safety) vs. every tracked US city -- higher on every axis is more favorable. Not a composite quality score, just the arithmetic mean of the axes shown.
How Fort Wayne's home value compares nationally
Median home value vs. every US city (population 1,000+)
$169,700Among the most affordablemore affordable than 67% of 15,600 US cities
Show national distribution
Each bar is a $25K-wide band; taller bars hold more US cities. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source U.S. Census Bureau ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2023
Fort Wayne's home-value-to-income ratio: 2.8×
ACS median home value divided by median household income.
Band
affordable
< 3.0×
National rank
#5,672 of 15,516
More affordable than 63% of tracked cities (pop. 1,000+)
Size class
#5 of 117
Large cities (200,000–999,999)
At 2.8×, Fort Wayne sits in the affordable band:
national rank #5,672 of 15,516 and #5 of 117large cities (200,000–999,999).
The multiple is comparatively compact among tracked cities, but a low ratio can still coexist with slow demand or household-level hardship.
How this ratio is calculated
Ratio = Census ACS 2023 median home value ÷ median household income for cities with both fields and population ≥ 1,000.
Rank 1 = lowest ratio (most compact). Bands match the fleet affordability thresholds used on guides (<3.0 / 3.0–5.0 / >5.0).
This is not a mortgage payment estimate and does not include rates, taxes, insurance, or down payment.
Income distribution context
$60,293Fort Wayne, IN median household income (Census ACS)
Show U.S. national quintile / Lorenz context Fort Wayne, IN median household income (Census ACS 5-year) with U.S. national quintile shares for context. Diagonal = equality; the curve is national, not computed for Fort Wayne, IN.
Key socioeconomic indicators
Bachelor's degree or higher (adults 25+)28.5%
Census ACS S1501, educational attainment
Poverty rate (households below FPL)11.8%
Census ACS S1701, poverty status
Labor force participation (adults 16+)62.1%
Census ACS S2301, share of working-age residents in the labor force
Population
266,235
Median Income
$60,293
Median Home Value
$169,700
Median Age
35.0
Poverty Rate
11.8%
Labor force participation
62.1%
Bachelor's Degree+
28.5%
Safety & Crime
Total Crime Rate
2531.2
per 100,000 residents
Violent Crime
307.5
per 100,000 residents
Property Crime
2223.7
per 100,000 residents
Crime reporting caveat
Reflects incidents reported to the FBI's Uniform Crime Reporting program — agency participation is voluntary and reporting completeness varies by jurisdiction and year, so this reflects reporting activity, not a definitive danger score. Not adjusted for tourism, commuter, or daytime population.
Climate
Avg Temperature
50.9°F
Annual Precipitation
39.5"
Annual Snowfall
33.6"
Schools
Total Schools
75
Public schools in this city
Population Change
PEP vintage
Annual U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program (PEP) estimates, 2020–2025
Fort Wayne's Census PEP population estimates, 2020–2025.Read the chart as text
Period
Population
2020
264,377 residents
2021
266,262 residents
2022
268,123 residents
2023
270,181 residents
2024
273,030 residents
2025
275,203 residents
Commute Patterns
Commute source
How workers travel to work, Census ACS 2023
Drive Alone
78.1%
Carpool
9.9%
Public Transit
1.2%
Walk
1.5%
Work from Home
8.2%
Other
1.1%
Based on 127,093 workers 16 and over.
Monthly Utility Costs
Indiana statewide monthly utility average (EIA 2023): $235
EIA 2023 residential energy data puts average monthly utilities across Indiana at $235 (electricity about $110 , water and sewer about $45 ).
These are Indiana statewide averages, not a meter reading for Fort Wayne. Actual bills vary by home size, usage, and local rates. Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) 2023.
Living Costs & Risk
Indiana's BEA cost-of-living index is 93.3 (Below Average; US average = 100, RPP 2024). HUD Fair Market Rent for a typical two-bedroom in the county around Fort Wayne is $1,096/mo. FEMA's National Risk Index, averaged to Indiana statewide on PlainCities, rates natural-hazard exposure at 45.5 / 100 (Low).
Cost/risk geography note
Cost of living is a Indiana statewide BEA average; rent is a county-level HUD Fair Market Rent for the county Fort Wayne sits in; the FEMA hazard score shown here is a statewide average of county NRI inputs, not a parcel-level reading.
How Fort Wayne compares to similar-size Indiana cities
Same-state peer method
Closest same-state population matches, not geographic neighbors. Population + median household income come from Census Bureau ACS 5-year B01001 and B19013.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau ACS 5-Year 2023, FBI UCR, NOAA Climate Normals, NCES CCD, Census ACS B08301/B08136, U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) 2023, BEA Regional Price Parities 2024, HUD Fair Market Rents 2026, FEMA National Risk Index.