Overall
- Barnstable Town
- 98.4
- Fort Wayne
- 92.6
Diff -5.8 RPP
Barnstable Town vs Fort Wayne
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Fort Wayne is 5.9% less expensive than Barnstable Town.
5.9% less expensive
Fort Wayne, IN is 5.9% less expensive than Barnstable Town, MA on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 92.6 vs 98.4). A $100,000 salary in Barnstable Town buys about the same as $94,124 in Fort Wayne; the largest component gap is services.
- Overall RPP 98.4 (Barnstable Town) vs 92.6 (Fort Wayne)
- $100k in Barnstable Town ≈ $94,124 purchasing power in Fort Wayne
- Services drives the gap (-72.2 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair MA:IN 98.4→92.6
TIER-NEAR · CROSS-STATE · SERVICES-LED · BOTH-BELOW · PP-SHIFT
- TIER-NEAR Near tier
- CROSS-STATE MA × IN
- SERVICES-LED Services-led gap
- BOTH-BELOW Both below 100
- PP-SHIFT PP shift
Instrument codes from this pair's BEA Regional Price Parities (overall · goods · services · rents · national benchmark 100 · purchasing-power conversion), not a ranking or recommendation.
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Both metros remain below the U.S. benchmark of 100. This comparison chooses between two below-average price levels; “more expensive” here does not mean nationally expensive.
Fort Wayne, IN is 5.9% less expensive than Barnstable Town, MA, a meaningful but not extreme shift. The move decision turns on which budget category creates the 5.8-point overall gap.
Services leads the difference, with Fort Wayne 72.2 points lower than Barnstable Town. Goods, services, and rents all point in the same broad direction, making the headline comparison more transferable across household types.
Comparable population context is incomplete for this pair, so no market-scale explanation is inferred from the price indexes.
For a service-heavy household, test childcare, health, and other locally supplied costs before relying on rent alone. The BEA ratio converts $100,000 in Barnstable Town to $94,124 in Fort Wayne, but it is not a personal spending weight.
Category Breakdown
Goods
- Barnstable Town
- 97.0
- Fort Wayne
- 94.3
Diff -2.7 RPP
Services
- Barnstable Town
- 158.4
- Fort Wayne
- 86.2
Diff -72.2 RPP
Rents
- Barnstable Town
- 90.0
- Fort Wayne
- 72.3
Diff -17.7 RPP
| Category | Barnstable Town | Fort Wayne | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 98.4 | 92.6 | -5.8 |
| Goods | 97.0 | 94.3 | -2.7 |
| Services | 158.4 | 86.2 | -72.2 |
| Rents | 90.0 | 72.3 | -17.7 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Barnstable Town 98.4
Fort Wayne 92.6
Goods
Barnstable Town 97.0
Fort Wayne 94.3
Services
Barnstable Town 158.4
Fort Wayne 86.2
Rents
Barnstable Town 90.0
Fort Wayne 72.3
Vertical line = national average (100)
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in Barnstable Town would need to be in Fort Wayne for the same purchasing power:
| In Barnstable Town | In Fort Wayne | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $47,062 | $-2,938 |
| $75,000 | $70,593 | $-4,407 |
| $100,000 | $94,124 | $-5,876 |
| $150,000 | $141,186 | $-8,814 |
$ in Barnstable Town = in Fort Wayne
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (98.4 → 92.6), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
Barnstable Town
98.4
Cost Index
Fort Wayne
92.6
Cost Index
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Fort Wayne more expensive than Barnstable Town?
Fort Wayne is 5.9% less expensive than Barnstable Town. The overall cost index is 92.6 vs 98.4 (national average = 100).
What salary in Fort Wayne equals $100K in Barnstable Town?
A $100,000 salary in Barnstable Town has the same purchasing power as $94,124 in Fort Wayne. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Barnstable Town and Fort Wayne?
Rents in Barnstable Town are indexed at 90.0 while Fort Wayne is at 72.3 (national average = 100). Barnstable Town has higher rents.
Data sources
- BEA Regional Price Parities (RPP), the cost-of-living indices shown on this page
- U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey (ACS), gross-rent observations behind the rents component
- BLS Consumer Price Index (CPI), goods and services price relatives
- BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), labor-driven services component
- HUD Fair Market Rents (FMR), 40th-percentile rent cross-reference
Every figure on PlainCost is rendered directly from BEA Regional Price Parity source data, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, our changelog, or report a data error. Data current as of 2026-08-11. Rankings measure the published cost-of-living index only; we don't recommend where to live or rate any metro's quality of life.