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CityLedger

Fort Wayne vs Rockford

Metro-area medians — Fort Wayne, IN Metro Area vs Rockford, IL Metro Area — not the cities proper.

Fort Wayne comes out ahead, winning 4 of the 7 clearly-decided measures.

Fort Wayne and Rockford are closely matched on both cost of living and household income. Adjusted for local prices, a typical paycheck stretches about as far in either.

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
Rockford, IL
$57,601
take-home / yr · 23% to tax
$62,505
real value after local prices

On $75,000 for just you, Fort Wayne leaves you about $1,298/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
Rockford
Livability (CityLedger)
50/100
37/100
Cost of living (price level, US = 100)
92.6
92.2
Cost-adjusted income (pay's real value)
$76,968
$76,080
Median household income
$71,251
$70,111
Median rent
$1,056/mo
$1,014/mo
Median home value
$245,800
$188,400
Unemployment
3.5%
6%
Bachelor's degree or higher
31.1%
26.7%
Average commute
22.9 min
24.2 min
Air quality (median AQI)
47
43
Avg temperature
51°F
49°F

Choose Fort Wayne for

  • + Livability (CityLedger)
  • + Unemployment
  • + Bachelor's degree or higher
  • + Average commute
Full Fort Wayne profile →

Choose Rockford for

  • + Median rent
  • + Median home value
  • + Air quality (median AQI)
Full Rockford profile →

Fort Wayne vs Rockford — frequently asked

Is Fort Wayne cheaper than Rockford?
They are about even — the overall cost of living in the Fort Wayne and Rockford metros is within 3% of each other (BEA Regional Price Parities), so neither is meaningfully cheaper.
Which has higher household income, Fort Wayne or Rockford?
Household incomes are similar — $71,251 in the Fort Wayne metro versus $70,111 in Rockford (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS).
Does a paycheck go further in Fort Wayne or Rockford?
It is roughly a wash. After adjusting income for local prices, a typical paycheck is worth about the same in both metros ($76,968 versus $76,080).
Which has cheaper rent, Fort Wayne or Rockford?
Rockford has cheaper rent — a median of $1,014/mo versus $1,056/mo (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS).