Elkhart vs Fort Wayne leftover
You'd keep $73 more a month in Fort Wayne
$2,479/mo leftover in Fort Wayne vs $2,406 in Elkhart after tax and rent ($73 more). +$876 a year for the same registered nurse, the same household size, and the same number of bedrooms. Not a cost-of-living index.
Elkhart leftover
$2,406
a month after tax and rent
Fort Wayne leftover
$2,479
+$73 vs Elkhart
Compare Elkhart to another metro
Same paycheck. Try a different city next to Elkhart.
Monthly gap
Elkhart → Fort Wayne
$73
more / month in Fort Wayne
$2,479 in Fort Wayne · $2,406 in Elkhart · One adult, renting a 1-bedroom
Home
Only when you tap. We match the nearest metro and don't keep the coordinates.
Destination
In 2022-2023, 112 households moved Elkhart → Fort Wayne (avg AGI $44,009). 41 went the other way. The whole move →
+$73 / mo
| Per month | Elkhart | Fort Wayne | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gross pay | $6,917 | $7,135 | +$219 |
| Income and payroll tax | $1,661 | $1,735 | +$75 |
| Take-home pay | $5,256 | $5,400 | +$144 |
| Rent | $884 | $970 | +$86 |
| Getting around | $594 | $579 | −$15 |
| Groceries | $378 | $378 | $0 |
| Healthcare | $426 | $426 | $0 |
| Utilities | $237 | $237 | $0 |
| Everything else | $331 | $331 | $0 |
| Left over | $2,406 | $2,479 | +$73 |
To break even in Fort Wayne, you'd need to earn
$84,500
Household gross, versus $83,000 today. That's the salary that leaves you exactly as much at the end of the month as Elkhart does now.
The tax difference alone
−$118
A year, in state and local income tax. Effective rates: 24.0% in Elkhart, 24.3% in Fort Wayne.
More about Fort Wayne
Elkhart, IN in full
A flat 3% state income tax, a median 2-bedroom asking rent of $1,052 and 181 sunny days; commutes average 19 minutes.
Fort Wayne, IN in full
A flat 3% state income tax, a median 2-bedroom asking rent of $1,155 and 187 sunny days; commutes average 22 minutes.
The reverse move
Same two cities, but starting from Fort Wayne on Fort Wayne wages.
Fort Wayne → Elkhart →Questions
Is the cost of living lower in Fort Wayne than Elkhart?
A one-bedroom is about $884 in Elkhart versus $970 in Fort Wayne. On a one-adult, one-bedroom household, leftover is about $73 a month higher in Fort Wayne. Change the job or household on the comparison to see your number.
Does Fort Wayne have state income tax?
Fort Wayne is in Indiana, which taxes wage income, plus a local wage tax of 1.50%.
What changes if you move from Elkhart to Fort Wayne?
Take-home pay is recalculated under Indiana tax, rent is priced at the same bedroom count, and leftover is the gap. The from-to page also lists IRS households that already made the move, when that data exists.
Leftover is take-home after federal, state and city wage tax, minus asking rent at the bedroom count you set, minus a modelled month of groceries, utilities, healthcare, transport and childcare. It is not a cost-of-living index and not a moving quote. The dollar gap between Elkhart and Fort Wayne moves when you change the job, remote versus local pay, or bedrooms. How the math works · Leftover vs a COL index · Why a cheaper COL% can still lose leftover.
Rent is Zillow's asking rent for each metro; taxes and living costs are modelled. An estimate, not a quote or tax advice. How this is calculated.