Cost of living comparison
compared to
Fort Wayne vs. United States Cost of Living Summary
Fort Wayne is 13.7% cheaper than United States overall.
- Restaurants
-
pay 6.4% less in Fort Wayne
- Groceries
-
pay 11.0% less in Fort Wayne
- Transportation
-
pay 17.7% less in Fort Wayne
- Housing
-
pay 19.5% less in Fort Wayne
- Childcare
-
pay 22.5% less in Fort Wayne
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 14.4% less in Fort Wayne
- Clothing
-
pay 4.4% less in Fort Wayne
Expenses including childcare, housing, transportation, entertainment and sports, groceries, and restaurants are lower in Fort Wayne.
Fort Wayne vs. United States Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Fort Wayne instead of United States, you would:
pay 6.4% less for restaurants
|
United States
|
Fort Wayne
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$19.45
|
$16.00
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$11.12
|
$10.00
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.56
|
$2.33
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.00
|
$2.23
|
|
United States vs. Fort Wayne - Cost of restaurants
pay 11.0% less for groceries
|
United States
|
Fort Wayne
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$3.56
|
$2.99
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$6.50
|
$8.45
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$3.97
|
$3.03
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$4.27
|
$3.40
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$5.41
|
$4.35
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$2.37
|
$2.46
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.78
|
$0.56
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$2.04
|
$1.58
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$2.21
|
$2.32
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.34
|
$0.97
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.38
|
$1.37
|
|
United States vs. Fort Wayne - Cost of groceries
pay 17.7% less for transportation
|
United States
|
Fort Wayne
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$3.41
|
$3.19
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$65.85
|
$32.50
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$32,336.38
|
$31,965.00
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$17.61
|
$15.43
|
|
United States vs. Fort Wayne - Cost of transportation
pay 19.5% less for housing
|
United States
|
Fort Wayne
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$68.97
|
$70.62
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$1,664.59
|
$1,233.33
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,416.15
|
$1,016.67
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$150.19
|
$110.66
|
|
United States vs. Fort Wayne - Cost of housing
pay 22.5% less for childcare
|
United States
|
Fort Wayne
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$1,387.27
|
$955.56
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$23,196.46
|
$20,000.00
|
|
United States vs. Fort Wayne - Cost of childcare
pay 14.4% less for entertainment and sports
|
United States
|
Fort Wayne
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$5.84
|
$4.25
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$5.15
|
$4.47
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$9.90
|
$8.26
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$51.45
|
$50.00
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$13.64
|
$12.00
|
|
United States vs. Fort Wayne - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 4.4% less for clothing
|
United States
|
Fort Wayne
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$51.08
|
$51.00
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$41.81
|
$37.00
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$87.56
|
$91.67
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$112.04
|
$100.00
|
|
United States vs. Fort Wayne - Cost of clothing
The statistics used to build this comparison are calculated using data from users just like you.
We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world.
Learn more about our data sources. Page last updated: December 2025
Change currency:
Help us improve these prices
MyLifeElsewhere is a collaborative project. Please enter price information for your location to help assist us in making these comparisons more accurate.
Learn more
ASK THE ELSEWHERE COMMUNITY
Join the Elsewhere community and ask a question about Fort Wayne or United States. It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.