Fort Wayne → Kenosha
Relocation analysis based on 7 federal data sources
Pros of Moving
- + $7K higher median salary
- + Better student-teacher ratios
Cons of Moving
- - 9% higher cost of living
- - $289/mo more expensive rent (2BR)
- - More environmental violations
Moving from Fort Wayne to Kenosha shifts your BEA Regional Price Parity from 92.6 to 101.1 (100 = US average), so a Fort Wayne salary needs to be multiplied by 1.09 to hold the same purchasing power in Kenosha. On rent, HUD Fair Market Rent for a 2-bedroom goes from $1,113/month in Fort Wayne to $1,402/month in Kenosha - a higher monthly bill of $289, or $3,468/year. That rent delta alone is often the single biggest line item when relocating.
Wages tell the other half. BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics report a median salary of $61,404 in Fort Wayne versus $68,406 in Kenosha - a raw gap of $7,002 higher. The Kenosha labor market has 69,670 tracked jobs against 217,390 in Fort Wayne, shaping how easy it is to find a comparable role. Combine that with the cost-of-living shift above and you get the real purchasing-power delta, sometimes a "higher salary" is actually a pay cut once rent and RPP are applied.
Safety, schools, and childcare round out the move. FBI UCR violent crime rates near Fort Wayne and Kenosha are 308 and 280 per 100,000 (state-level). NCES student-teacher ratios run 15.9:1 at origin versus 14.4:1 at destination. Our composite verdict - Less Favorable - weighs all seven federal sources; the dimension table below lets you override that with your personal priorities.
Salary Adjustment Calculator
Enter your current salary in Fort Wayne to see what you'd need to earn in Kenosha to maintain the same purchasing power.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Is Kenosha more expensive than Fort Wayne?
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Source: BEA Regional Price Parities, HUD Fair Market Rents, BLS OES, FBI UCR, NCES, DOL, EPA June 2026
Data Sources
- Cost of Living: Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) Regional Price Parities
- Rent: HUD Fair Market Rents (FMR)
- Wages: Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OES)
- Crime: FBI Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) - state level
- Schools: National Center for Education Statistics (NCES)
- Childcare: Department of Labor (DOL) - state level
- Environment: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.