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Data from U.S. Census Bureau · 2026 · Methodology
CitySpend

Fort Wayne, IN vs Gary, IN

Side-by-side fiscal comparison · U.S. Census Bureau data (2023)

Summary

Gary spends 51.5% more per capita than Fort Wayne ($11,235/person difference). Fort Wayne, IN has the stronger Fiscal Health Score (A, 90/100).

Fiscal Health Score

City A
Fort Wayne, IN
Pop. 264,514
A
90/100
Budget Balance100
Debt Burden100
Pension Funding76
Spending Efficiency100
Revenue Diversity100
Trend Direction50
City B
Gary, IN
Pop. 69,136
B
71/100
Budget Balance100
Debt Burden100
Pension Funding76
Spending Efficiency39
Revenue Diversity0
Trend Direction50

Key Metrics

Metric
Fort Wayne
Gary
Total Spending
$2.8B
$1.5B
Spending / Capita
$10,590
$21,825
Total Revenue
$5.4B
$2.1B
Revenue / Capita
$20,350
$30,129
Total Debt
$0
$0
Debt / Capita
$0
$0
Population
264,514
69,136
Gov Employees / 10K
0.0
0.0
Avg Gov Salary
$0
$0

Per Capita Spending by Department

Fire Protection
Fort Wayne$423
Gary$231
Highways & Roads
Fort Wayne$77
Gary$210
Parks & Recreation
Fort Wayne$856
Gary$358

Revenue Breakdown (Per Capita)

Fort WayneGary
Property Tax
$28
$0
Sales Tax
$441
$46
Income Tax
$584
$64
Intergovernmental
$5,531
$30,129
Charges & Fees
$2,515
$0
Other
$189
$10,510

Spending Breakdown (Per Capita)

Fort WayneGary
Fire Protection
$423
$231
Highways & Roads
$77
$210
Public Welfare
$1,325
$886
Hospitals
$944
$721
Parks & Recreation
$856
$358
Housing
$2,758
$2,936
Utilities
$638
$113
Interest on Debt
$546
$846
Other
$3,025
$15,525
A
Fort Wayne, IN
Fiscal Health Score: 90/100
Excellent fiscal health
B
Gary, IN
Fiscal Health Score: 71/100
Good fiscal health

Compare More Cities

The side-by-side above pulls the the Census Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances data for both entity A and entity B. What follows is the interpretation — which specific axes carry the most weight for entity A versus entity B, and which differences are large enough to influence a real decision.

Practical use of the comparison: read the data above, then drill into the individual entity A and entity B detail pages for the underlying breakdown. A pairwise comparison answers the relative question; the per-entity pages answer the absolute question.

Source: Census Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances, 2026.