Overall
- Fort Wayne
- 92.6
Diff -5.7 RPP
Prescott Valley-Prescott vs Fort Wayne
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Fort Wayne is 5.8% less expensive than Prescott Valley-Prescott.
5.8% less expensive
Fort Wayne, IN is 5.8% less expensive than Prescott Valley-Prescott, AZ on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 92.6 vs 98.3). A $100,000 salary in Prescott Valley-Prescott buys about the same as $94,216 in Fort Wayne; the largest component gap is rents.
- Overall RPP 98.3 (Prescott Valley-Prescott) vs 92.6 (Fort Wayne)
- $100k in Prescott Valley-Prescott ≈ $94,216 purchasing power in Fort Wayne
- Rents drives the gap (-26.5 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair AZ:IN 98.3→92.6
TIER-NEAR · CROSS-STATE · RENT-LED · BOTH-BELOW · PP-SHIFT
- TIER-NEAR Near tier
- CROSS-STATE AZ × IN
- RENT-LED Rent-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.
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in Prescott Valley-Prescott would need to be in Fort Wayne for the same purchasing power:
| In Prescott Valley-Prescott | In Fort Wayne | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $47,108 | $-2,892 |
| $75,000 | $70,662 | $-4,338 |
| $100,000 | $94,216 | $-5,784 |
| $150,000 | $141,324 | $-8,676 |
$ in Prescott Valley-Prescott = in Fort Wayne
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (98.3 → 92.6), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
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 5.8% less expensive than Prescott Valley-Prescott, AZ, a meaningful but not extreme shift. The move decision turns on which budget category creates the 5.7-point overall gap.
Rents leads the difference, with Fort Wayne 26.5 points lower than Prescott Valley-Prescott. 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 housing-sensitive move, validate the rent gap first: HUD Fair Market Rent and the actual unit size can overturn what the blended index implies. On the BEA ratio alone, $100,000 in Prescott Valley-Prescott corresponds to $94,216 in Fort Wayne.
Category Breakdown
Goods
- Fort Wayne
- 94.3
Diff -1.9 RPP
Services
- Fort Wayne
- 86.2
Diff -5.2 RPP
Rents
- Fort Wayne
- 72.3
Diff -26.5 RPP
| Category | Prescott Valley-Prescott | Fort Wayne | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 98.3 | 92.6 | -5.7 |
| Goods | 96.2 | 94.3 | -1.9 |
| Services | 91.5 | 86.2 | -5.2 |
| Rents | 98.8 | 72.3 | -26.5 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Prescott Valley-Prescott 98.3
Fort Wayne 92.6
Goods
Prescott Valley-Prescott 96.2
Fort Wayne 94.3
Services
Prescott Valley-Prescott 91.5
Fort Wayne 86.2
Rents
Prescott Valley-Prescott 98.8
Fort Wayne 72.3
Vertical line = national average (100)
Prescott Valley-Prescott
98.3
Cost Index
Fort Wayne
92.6
Cost Index
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Fort Wayne more expensive than Prescott Valley-Prescott?
Fort Wayne is 5.8% less expensive than Prescott Valley-Prescott. The overall cost index is 92.6 vs 98.3 (national average = 100).
What salary in Fort Wayne equals $100K in Prescott Valley-Prescott?
A $100,000 salary in Prescott Valley-Prescott has the same purchasing power as $94,216 in Fort Wayne. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Prescott Valley-Prescott and Fort Wayne?
Rents in Prescott Valley-Prescott are indexed at 98.8 while Fort Wayne is at 72.3 (national average = 100). Prescott Valley-Prescott 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.