Scores by category

Each category averages its indicators' percentile scores among US cities and towns.

Safety32#10,703/15,637
Economy27#11,419/15,631
Housing78#3,222/14,977
Health31#10,709/15,609
Healthcare57#6,737/15,650
Environment20#12,287/15,453
Education40#9,379/15,649
Infrastructure51#7,621/15,650
Community42#9,124/15,651
Leisure & amenities41#9,228/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Fort Wayne, Indiana ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Allen County value” are the county’s: the source publishes no figure for this city or town, and the county holding most of its residents stands in.

Strengths

Distance to an emergency room · low3.6 mi
85/100Indiana 5.2 miUnited States 5.5 miJul 2026Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesAllen County value
Dental care shortage · low0.0
84/100Indiana 6.4United States 5.7Oct 2026Health Resources and Services AdministrationAllen County value
Average commute time · low21.5 min
79/100Indiana 24.1 minUnited States 26.4 min2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B08013
Job growth · high0.9%
75/100Indiana -0.1%United States 0.1%2026 Q1U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsProvisional dataAllen County value
Rent as share of income · low28.5%
75/100Indiana 29.1%United States 30.6%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25071
Flu vaccinations · high50.0%
74/100Indiana 47.0%United States 44.0%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteAllen County value

Weaknesses

Child poverty rate · high23.8%
10/100Indiana 15.8%United States 15.5%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B17001
Grocery stores · low1.0 /10k
14/100Indiana 1.3 /10kUnited States 1.7 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsAllen County value
Adult obesity · high41.2%
16/100Indiana 39.7%United States 38.2%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteModel-based estimate
Fine particulate matter (PM2.5) · high8.9 µg/m³
16/100Indiana 8.8 µg/m³United States 8.0 µg/m³2022Centers for Disease Control and Prevention · U.S. Environmental Protection AgencyAllen County value
Homicide rate · high6.3 /100k
20/100Indiana 5.6 /100kUnited States 4.8 /100kMay 2025–Apr 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionProvisional dataAllen County value
Distance to an airport · high75 mi
20/100Indiana 38 miUnited States 33 mi2025Federal Aviation Administration · Bureau of Transportation Statistics · U.S. Census BureauAllen County value

Trends

The largest changes over about five years, next to the country's over the same periods.

Broadband subscriptionsImproving
83.7% (2015-2019) → 90.6% (2020-2024)
+6.9 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Home price to income ratioWorsening
2.3× (2015-2019) → 3.1× (2020-2024)
+32%5 yearsCensus table B25077US 3.5× → 4.1×
Median household incomeImproving
$49,411 (2015-2019) → $61,422 (2020-2024)
+24%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604
Rent-burdened householdsWorsening
44.7% (2015-2019) → 46.7% (2020-2024)
+2 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Bachelor's degree or higherImproving
27.8% (2015-2019) → 29.0% (2020-2024)
+1.2 pts5 yearsCensus table B15003US 32.1% → 35.7%

What changed in five years

How each measure moved between two periods about five years apart, read against whether more or less is better, the published margin of error and the same change in other places.

Over about five years, Fort Wayne, Indiana improved on 2 of 15 measures with a comparison and declined on 1. 11 moved within the margin of error and 1 barely changed.

Earlier (2015-2019)
Latest (2020-2024)
Lower standingHigher standing

Position is the place's standing among cities and towns: further right is better, whichever way the measure counts.

Improved2

Household income+24%$49,411 → $61,422
Broadband+6.9 points83.7% → 90.6%

Declined1

Price / income+0.7×2.3× → 3.1×

All 15 measures

Change of every measure of Fort Wayne, Indiana between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	21.2 min2015-2019	21.5 min2020-2024	+0.3 min	Within the margin of error	44%
Bachelor's degree or higher	27.8%2015-2019	29.0%2020-2024	+1.2 points	Within the margin of error	36%
Broadband subscriptions	83.7%2015-2019	90.6%2020-2024	+6.9 points	Improved	43%
Child poverty rate	24.1%2015-2019	23.8%2020-2024	−0.3 points	Within the margin of error	47%
Effective property tax rate	0.93%2015-2019	0.83%2020-2024	−0.1 points	Little change	35%
High school diploma or higher	88.5%2015-2019	89.1%2020-2024	+0.6 points	Within the margin of error	40%
Home price to income ratio	2.3×2015-2019	3.1×2020-2024	+0.7×	Declined	33%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4442015-2019	0.4442020-2024	+0.001	Within the margin of error	50%
Median household income	$49,4112015-2019	$61,4222020-2024	+24%	Improved	42%
Poverty rate	16.0%2015-2019	16.0%2020-2024	+0.1 points	Within the margin of error	43%
Public transit commuters	0.9%2015-2019	1.0%2020-2024	+0.1 points	Within the margin of error	97%
Rent as share of income	27.8%2015-2019	28.5%2020-2024	+0.7 points	Within the margin of error	49%
Rent-burdened households	44.7%2015-2019	46.7%2020-2024	+2 points	Within the margin of error	49%
Unemployment rate	5.5%2015-2019	5.6%2020-2024	+0.1 points	Within the margin of error	47%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	10.3%2015-2019	11.0%2020-2024	+0.6 points	Within the margin of error	38%

“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 14640 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.

Sources: American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates. Values are the latest and the one five years earlier of the same publisher dataset; datasets that changed publisher in between are never compared.

Survey estimates (American Community Survey) compare the two most recent 5-year windows that do not share years, so the margin of error of the difference holds. The 2015-2019 window predates the pandemic and 2020-2024 includes it.
A change counts only when it is larger than 1.645 times the square root of the two standard errors squared, summed (a 90% margin). Measures published without a margin must change by at least 5% to count.
“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 15651 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.
Standing is a percentile among the same places: 0 is the lowest value on the measure (or the worst when lower is better), 100 the best.

Cities and towns like Fort Wayne, Indiana five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Fort Wayne, Indiana in the earlier period, ranked by how many measures improved beyond the margin of error, minus how many declined. A comparison of published data, not a forecast and not advice.

For comparison, Fort Wayne, Indiana itself moved −4.5 points in standing on average over the same 10 measures (standings of all places average about zero).

How the ranking works

Similarity is the root-mean-square difference of standings in the earlier period over the measures most places have. Places are ranked by measures that improved beyond the margin of error minus those that declined (a count that estimation noise in small places cannot inflate), then by the mean change of standing over the measures a place has in both periods. Only places with more improvements than declines and a rise in standing are listed. Standings are relative, so a place can improve in absolute terms and still lose standing.

Who lives here

Age, race and education of residents, from the American Community Survey. Shares are of all residents (age), residents of every origin (race) or adults 25 and over (education).

Age and sex

268,589 residents (±295)

Men
Women

80 and over
70–79
60–69
50–59
40–49
30–39
20–29
10–19
Under 10

Share of all residents, each sex

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: 70–79 women (+0.8 points).

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B01001View table on data.census.gov

Race and Hispanic origin

268,589 residents (±295)

Fort Wayne, Indiana
Indiana share

White63%169,868
Black14%37,558
Hispanic or Latino11%28,508
Asian6.1%16,331
American Indian and Alaska Native0.1%†170
Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander0.0%†105
Other or two or more races6.0%16,049

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: White (−3.8 points).

† Wide margin of error (more than 30% of the estimate): read with care.

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B03002View table on data.census.gov

Education

175,804 residents (±1,181)

Fort Wayne, Indiana
Indiana share

No high school diploma11%19,159
High school or GED29%50,810
Some college21%37,513
Associate degree9.9%17,339
Bachelor's degree20%34,844
Graduate degree9.2%16,139

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: Bachelor's degree (+1.6 points).

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B15003View table on data.census.gov

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

Income

How household income is spread, not just the middle: each bar is the share of households in that income range.

Household income

110,929 households (±910)

Fort Wayne, Indiana
Indiana share

Under $25k17%19,022
$25k–50k23%25,490
$50k–75k19%21,602
$75k–100k15%16,191
$100k–150k16%17,201
$150k–200k5.3%5,931
$200k or more5.0%5,492

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: Under $25k (−5.7 points).

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B19001View table on data.census.gov

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

Homes

Who owns and who rents, what homes cost, and what the housing stock looks like.

Owners and renters

110,929 households (±910)

Fort Wayne, Indiana
Indiana share

Own62%68,641
Rent38%42,288

No change since 2015–2019 is larger than the margin of error.

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B25003View table on data.census.gov

Rent paid

40,858 households (±1,169)

Fort Wayne, Indiana
Indiana share

Under $75021%8,673
$750–1,00029%11,818
$1,000–1,50041%16,628

Home values

68,641 homes (±1,118)

Fort Wayne, Indiana
Indiana share

Under $150k34%23,016
$150k–250k39%26,530
$250k–400k21%14,444

Age of homes

118,657 homes (±833)

Fort Wayne, Indiana
Indiana share

2010 or later4.7%5,594
2000–20097.5%8,915
1980–199924%28,701

Size of homes

118,657 homes (±833)

Fort Wayne, Indiana
Indiana share

Studio1.9%2,252
1 bedroom13%14,996
2 bedrooms23%27,672

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

Getting to work

How workers travel to their job and how long it takes them.

How people get to work

128,055 workers (±1,878)

Fort Wayne, Indiana
Indiana share

Drive alone77%98,338
Carpool10%13,410
Public transit1.0%1,243
Walk1.5%1,984
Bike0.3%†395
Work from home9.0%11,532
Other0.9%1,153

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: Drive alone (−6.6 points).

† Wide margin of error (more than 30% of the estimate): read with care.

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B08301View table on data.census.gov

Time to get to work

116,523 workers (±1,937)

Fort Wayne, Indiana
Indiana share

Under 15 min30%34,958
15–29 min49%57,369
30–44 min14%15,819

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

Jobs and pay

What the largest occupations here pay, from the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes pay by metro area, not by county or city. The metro area page lists its largest occupations and lets you look up any job.

Pay in the Fort Wayne, IN

Local businesses

Employer businesses and sole proprietors by industry, per resident and against the state and the nation. Counts of businesses next to counts of people, not a measure of demand.

The Census Bureau publishes business counts by county, not by city, so these are the figures of Allen County, the county holding most of Fort Wayne's residents.

Allen County has 9,696 employer establishments, 246 for every 10,000 residents (0.99× the US rate of 248; 1.09× Indiana's), with 190,285 paid employees at an average annual pay of $56,031. The Census Bureau also counts 29,848 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 9,696; 29,848 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 246; US 248 · Indiana 226
Paid employees: 190,285
Average annual pay: $56,031; US $68,342

Employer establishments, employees, average pay and nonemployers of Allen County by industry, with the density per resident against the nation

Ambulatory health care services	805	20.4	0.98×About typical	16,961	$74,404	1,220
Restaurants and other eating places	663	16.8	0.91×About typical	15,899	$19,640	136
Specialty trade contractors	653	16.5	1.07×About typical	8,293	$73,422	1,910
Lessors of real estate	447	11.3	0.92×About typical	1,521	$51,583	3,078
Limited-service restaurants	316	8	1.00×About typical	7,305	$17,062	58
Construction of buildings	311	7.9	1.04×About typical	2,532	$71,447	1,138
Offices of other health practitioners	303	7.7	1.26×More than typical	2,077	$43,276	596
Services to buildings and dwellings	298	7.5	1.12×About typical	3,082	$35,586	1,656
Religious organizations	283	7.2	1.29×More than typical	4,879	$25,789	—
Full-service restaurants	259	6.6	0.85×About typical	7,428	$22,240	53
Building equipment contractors	241	6.1	1.01×About typical	4,285	$81,808	249
Insurance agencies and brokerages	221	5.6	1.27×More than typical	1,976	$94,747	549

Rank places for an industry Open Allen County

County Business Patterns (2023); Nonemployer Statistics (2024)

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 394,845 residents here, 336,755,052 in the United States. County Business Patterns counts establishments in 2023; the Nonemployer Statistics count businesses in 2024.
“More than typical” is a density at least 1.25 times the nation's per resident, “fewer” at most 0.8 times, with at least 10 establishments. It compares counts of businesses with counts of people: it says nothing about demand, incomes, size, quality or profit, and visitors and commuters are not residents.
The Census Bureau adds noise to employment and payroll to protect confidentiality, and withholds some figures: an industry with few establishments can show employees or pay as unavailable.
Industries overlap: a narrower industry (full-service restaurants) is part of a broader one (restaurants), so the rows do not add up.
Industries follow the North American Industry Classification System; the two surveys use different editions (NAICS 2017 and 2022), which this page matches industry by industry.

Federal contracts performed here

In FY2026, an estimated $60.5M of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Fort Wayne, Indiana: $225 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $60.5M; −45% vs FY2025
Per resident: $225; US $1,994
Sole-source: 26%; US 30%
Single offer: 11%; US 8.8%

A signal is a reason to look closer, not evidence of wrongdoing: most sole-source awards are lawful and justified.

Top buying agencies

Defense Logistics Agency$32M53%
Department of the Army$10.3M17%
Department of Veterans Affairs$7.6M13%
National Aeronautics and Space Administration$3.5M5.8%
Defense Health Agency$1.3M2.1%
USTRANSCOM$1.2M2.0%
Public Buildings Service$1.2M1.9%
Office of the Chief Financial Officer$889.6K1.5%

Top recipients

Spending by fiscal year

166.7MFY2017
174.8MFY2018
175.3MFY2019
186.6MFY2020
171.1MFY2021
157.6MFY2022
164MFY2023
147.1M

Top industries (NAICS)

Architectural, engineering, and related services · 5413$17.4M29%
Petroleum and coal products manufacturing · 3241$17.3M29%
Aerospace product and parts manufacturing · 3364$3.7M6.1%
Motor vehicle parts manufacturing · 3363$2.5M4.1%
Communications equipment manufacturing · 3342$2.5M4.1%
Employment services · 5613

Largest awards whose ZIP code lies mostly in Fort Wayne, Indiana

VINSON/ADVANCED NARROWBAND DIGITAL VOICE TERMINAL (ANDVT) CRYPTOLOGIC MODERNIZATION (VACM) FULL RATE PRODUCTION (FRP).$37.1M
RAYTHEON COMPANY· Allen County, IN· Other equipment & supplies· Sep 26, 2024 – May 14, 2026· FA830724FB103
VINSON/ADVANCED NARROWBAND DIGITAL VOICE TERMINA (ANDVT) CRYPTOLOGIC MODERNIZATION (VACM) FULL RATE PRODUCTION (RFP).$34.8M
RAYTHEON COMPANY· Allen County, IN· Other equipment & supplies· Dec 21, 2023 – May 13, 2026· FA830724FB012
VINSON/ADVANCED NARROWBAND DIGITAL VOICE TERMINA (ANDVT) CRYPTOLOGIC MODERNIZATION (VACM) FULL RATE PRODUCTION (RFP).$29.2M
RAYTHEON COMPANY· Allen County, IN· Other equipment & supplies· Feb 28, 2023 – Feb 4, 2026· FA830723F0007

Source: Federal contract transactions (Federal Procurement Data System) (U.S. Department of the Treasury, USAspending.gov), data current to Oct 3, 2026, loaded Oct 3, 2026.

How this is estimated

Agencies report each contract action's place of performance as a county and a ZIP code. A ZIP code's money is split among the cities it covers by the share of its land inside each (Census 2020 ZIP code tabulation areas); the part outside city limits stays with the county.

The place of performance is what the contracting agency reports, often the contractor's office rather than where the work happens.
Shares are of land, not of people or businesses: a ZIP code that is mostly rural land but has its offices in town gives the town less than it should.
ZIP codes that are not mapped areas (post office boxes, the unique ZIP codes of large federal sites and companies) stay with their county, unless one city covers nearly all of it.
Counts of actions and awards include those only partly in Fort Wayne, Indiana, so they do not add up across cities.

Fort Wayne, Indiana's figures are part of those of Allen County, IN ($130.3M in FY2026), never added to them: 46% of that total.

Grants and other federal assistance are counted by county here, not split among cities: Fort Wayne is mostly in Allen County.

See federal money in Allen County

Representation in Congress

Members serving today, with their record in the current Congress (party-unity votes cast with their caucus, roll calls missed). Not a grade.

Fort Wayne, Indiana is represented in the 119th Congress by these members.

House

Marlin A. StutzmanR-IN-3 · 100% of residentsWith party 99%Missed 3.0%

Senate

Explore Congress The 2026 races

County

A city can lie in several counties. Some indicators are published for counties only: the page marks them.

Allen County61100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Fort Wayne, IN63

Other cities and towns in Allen County

Largest first.

Similar cities and towns

Closest indicator profiles across the country (no model: score distances).

Data and sources

Latest published value of each indicator; periods differ by source. Values flagged by their publisher are marked.

PLACES: Local Data for Better HealthCenters for Disease Control and Prevention · release 2025
Local Area Unemployment StatisticsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · release 2025
American Community Survey 5-Year EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2017-2024
Population Estimates ProgramU.S. Census Bureau · release 2025
Small Area Health Insurance EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
Small Area Income and Poverty EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
County Health Rankings & RoadmapsUniversity of Wisconsin Population Health Institute · release 2022-2025+2026-03-supplement

JSON · /api/v1/places/1825000

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends