Cost of hiring in Fort Wayne, IN

BLS counts about 18,060 people in these 17 roles in Fort Wayne¹. Project Coordinator has the highest median ($92,590 a year), Virtual Receptionist the lowest ($35,220), and Customer Support Specialist is the largest job, with about 3,020 people.

17roles with BLS pay data

18,060people in these roles

+2.3%furthest above the US median: office manager

-21.6%furthest below the US median: marketing specialist

Data from the May 2025 release, checked 2026-10-15.

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Median pay by role in Fort Wayne

From the largest premium over the US median to the largest discount. Linked roles have a detailed page.
Role	Median per year	vs US median	Jobs
Office Manager	$71,100	+2.3%	1,510
Customer Support Specialist	$45,200	+1.0%	3,020
Medical Administrative Assistant	$45,030	-2.0%	1,760
Data Entry Specialist	$39,480	-4.5%	120
E-commerce Order Specialist	$43,950	-4.8%	120
Administrative Assistant	$44,820	-5.7%	1,340
Bookkeeper	$47,770	-5.7%	1,970
Paralegal	$58,870	-6.4%	490
Virtual Receptionist	$35,220	-7.3%	1,310
HR Assistant	$46,790	-7.5%	70
Project Coordinator	$92,590	-9.5%	650
Accountant	$75,250	-10.1%	1,640
Sales Development Representative	$60,750	-13.2%	1,370
Recruiter	$65,510	-13.7%	1,150
Payroll Specialist	$50,030	-14.1%	280
Executive Assistant	$62,640	-18.2%	220
Marketing Specialist	$61,730	-21.6%	1,040

The employer pays more than the wage: benefits and payroll taxes other than paid leave are 22.5% of total compensation in US private industry², so a $45,200 median for customer support specialists, the largest of these jobs here, comes to about $58,323 a year. That is an estimate: benefit levels vary by employer.

Fort Wayne against the US

Fort Wayne pays above the US median for only one of the 17 roles, office managers (+2.3%), and below it for 15, furthest for marketing specialists (-21.6%). For customer support specialists it is within 1% of the US figure. The middle gap across all 17 is -7.3%: for most of these roles, hiring costs less here than at the US median. Its best national standing is for office managers, #92 of 519 areas by median pay; its lowest is for payroll specialists, #350 of 486.

Compared with the US mix of these jobs, Fort Wayne has more medical administrative assistants (9.7% of these jobs here, against 6.1% nationally) and payroll specialists (1.6% against 1.0%), and fewer executive assistants (1.2% against 2.9%) and project coordinators (3.6% against 6.7%). Metro areas in other states with the closest overall pay level, measured the same way, are listed below; Champaign-Urbana, IL is nearest, at -7.3%.

Area	Middle gap to the US	Roles with data	Jobs in these roles
Davenport-Moline, IA-IL	-7.3%	17	16,150
Champaign-Urbana, IL	-7.3%	16	8,380
Fort Wayne, IN	-7.3% (this area)	17	18,060
Palm Bay-Melbourne, FL	-7.4%	17	25,310
Watertown-Fort Drum, NY	-7.4%	15	3,190
Sioux Falls, SD-MN	-7.5%	16	17,770

How far pay spreads inside each role

From the 10th to the 90th percentile, sales development representatives in Fort Wayne span $37,010–$108,680, the widest band (2.9×); e-commerce order specialists the narrowest, $34,820–$51,170. Offers cluster nearer the median than nationally for 13 of 17 roles, marketing specialists most ($43,390–$155,480 across the US). Budget from the median for sales development representatives, marketing specialists and recruiters: a few well-paid jobs lift the average ($69,900 against a $60,750 median for sales development representatives).

Fort Wayne against Indiana

Against Indiana as a whole, Fort Wayne pays more for 6 of 17 roles, led by executive assistants (+6.0%) and customer support specialists (+4.8%), and less for 8, most of all payroll specialists (-7.0%). Its best rank within Indiana is #2 of 15 areas, for customer support specialists.

Other areas in Indiana

By jobs in these roles, Fort Wayne is #2 of 15 areas in Indiana. The table shows the areas closest to it in size, from Indianapolis-Carmel to Terre Haute.

Area	Jobs in these roles	Roles with data
Indianapolis-Carmel, IN	105,820	17
Northern Indiana (Nonmetro)	13,230	17
Southern Indiana (Nonmetro)	11,680	17
Evansville, IN	11,260	17
South Bend-Mishawaka, IN-MI	11,080	17
Central Indiana (Nonmetro)	10,260	17
Elkhart-Goshen, IN	8,730	17
Lafayette-West Lafayette, IN	7,470	16
Bloomington, IN	5,840	16
Terre Haute, IN	4,500	16

Questions

Which role costs the most to hire in Fort Wayne?

Of the 17 roles we track, Project Coordinator: a median of $92,590 a year, about $119,471 with benefits; the lowest is Virtual Receptionist, $35,220.

Is hiring in Fort Wayne cheaper than the US median?

For 15 of the 17 roles, yes, most of all marketing specialists (-21.6%). One pays more than the US median: office managers (+2.3%).

Sources

2 sources, with links

BLS OEWS May 2025: bls.gov
BLS Employer Costs for Employee Compensation, private industry, June 2026: bls.gov

How these pages are built: methodology and data sources. Last updated 2026-11-12.