A Midwestern second-tier city of approximately 250,000 citizens, located in
Allen County, in Northeastern Indiana. Fort Wayne is located in the approximate geographic center of Chicago, Detroit, Cleveland, Columbus, Indianapolis, and Cincinnati. This proximity makes Fort Wayne within a 4 hour drive to over 23 million people.
Fort Wayne has a large number of cultural and religious headquarters. It also has an increasingly diverse population of first, second, and third generation immigrants, notably containing the largest
Burmese population outside of
Burma, and significant Mexican,
Macedonian, Bulgarian,
Salvadorian, and Vietnamese populations. 6% of
Fort Wayne's population was born outside of the US.
While it has had a period of economic trouble during the first decade of the Millennium, Fort Wayne has a rich economic history, in which it has surpassed national per capita income rates on multiple occasions.
Currently, Fort Wayne is going through the difficult and exciting period of
recreating itself into a globally competitive city. While many organizations and individuals are attempting to reinvigorate the community, the general populace is still suffering from a "them vs. us" mentality of comparison with other cities instead of taking individual responsibility for creating and supporting the truly unique aspects Fort Wayne.