Overall
- Fort Wayne
- 92.6
- Appleton
- 92.4
Diff -0.2 RPP
Fort Wayne vs Appleton
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Appleton is 0.2% less expensive than Fort Wayne.
0.2% less expensive
Appleton, WI is 0.2% less expensive than Fort Wayne, IN on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 92.4 vs 92.6). A $100,000 salary in Fort Wayne buys about the same as $99,835 in Appleton; the largest component gap is services.
- Overall RPP 92.6 (Fort Wayne) vs 92.4 (Appleton)
- $100k in Fort Wayne ≈ $99,835 purchasing power in Appleton
- Services drives the gap (+4.3 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair IN:WI 92.6→92.4
PHOTO-FINISH · CROSS-STATE · SPLIT-BUDGET · BOTH-BELOW · PP-PAR
- PHOTO-FINISH Photo finish
- CROSS-STATE IN × WI
- SPLIT-BUDGET Split budget
- BOTH-BELOW Both below 100
- PP-PAR PP near-par
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.
Fort Wayne
92.6
Cost Index
Appleton
92.4
Cost Index
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Fort Wayne, IN and Appleton, WI are a photo finish on overall price level, only 0.2 RPP points apart. A salary conversion is therefore a fine adjustment, not evidence of a fundamentally different cost regime.
Services creates the largest separation: Appleton is 4.3 points higher. But services move against the overall direction, so this is a split budget rather than a clean across-the-board winner.
Comparable population context is incomplete for this pair, so no market-scale explanation is inferred from the price indexes.
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.
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 Fort Wayne to $99,835 in Appleton, but it is not a personal spending weight.
Category Breakdown
Goods
- Fort Wayne
- 94.3
- Appleton
- 93.8
Diff -0.5 RPP
Services
- Fort Wayne
- 86.2
- Appleton
- 90.6
Diff +4.3 RPP
Rents
- Fort Wayne
- 72.3
- Appleton
- 70.8
Diff -1.5 RPP
| Category | Fort Wayne | Appleton | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 92.6 | 92.4 | -0.2 |
| Goods | 94.3 | 93.8 | -0.5 |
| Services | 86.2 | 90.6 | +4.3 |
| Rents | 72.3 | 70.8 | -1.5 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Fort Wayne 92.6
Appleton 92.4
Goods
Fort Wayne 94.3
Appleton 93.8
Services
Fort Wayne 86.2
Appleton 90.6
Rents
Fort Wayne 72.3
Appleton 70.8
Vertical line = national average (100)
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in Fort Wayne would need to be in Appleton for the same purchasing power:
| In Fort Wayne | In Appleton | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $49,917 | $-83 |
| $75,000 | $74,876 | $-124 |
| $100,000 | $99,835 | $-165 |
| $150,000 | $149,752 | $-248 |
$ in Fort Wayne = in Appleton
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (92.6 → 92.4), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Appleton more expensive than Fort Wayne?
Appleton is 0.2% less expensive than Fort Wayne. The overall cost index is 92.4 vs 92.6 (national average = 100).
What salary in Appleton equals $100K in Fort Wayne?
A $100,000 salary in Fort Wayne has the same purchasing power as $99,835 in Appleton. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Fort Wayne and Appleton?
Rents in Fort Wayne are indexed at 72.3 while Appleton is at 70.8 (national average = 100). Fort Wayne 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.