Lafayette, IN vs Fort Wayne, IN
Side-by-side fiscal comparison · U.S. Census Bureau data (2023)
Summary
Lafayette spends 47.7% more per capita than Fort Wayne ($5,046/person difference). Fort Wayne, IN has the stronger Fiscal Health Score (A, 90/100).
Fiscal Health Score
Key Metrics
Per Capita Spending by Department
Revenue Breakdown (Per Capita)
| Property Tax | $0 | $28 |
| Sales Tax | $323 | $441 |
| Income Tax | $0 | $584 |
| Intergovernmental | $36,145 | $5,531 |
| Charges & Fees | $2,183 | $2,515 |
| Other | $5,635 | $189 |
Spending Breakdown (Per Capita)
| Fire Protection | $30 | $423 |
| Highways & Roads | $0 | $77 |
| Public Welfare | $472 | $1,325 |
| Hospitals | $83 | $944 |
| Parks & Recreation | $930 | $856 |
| Housing | $2,665 | $2,758 |
| Utilities | $3,776 | $638 |
| Interest on Debt | $2,122 | $546 |
| Other | $5,559 | $3,025 |
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.