Frequently Asked Questions
How does PlainRelocate calculate its composite life score?
The life score combines percentile rankings across seven dimensions, cost of living, wages, rent, crime, schools, childcare, and environment, using adjustable weights (default: cost 20%, wages 20%, rent 15%, crime 15%, schools 10%, childcare 10%, environment 10%). A score of 75 means the metro outperforms 75% of other metros in the dataset on the weighted composite.
What does the salary purchasing power adjustment mean?
A $100,000 salary in San Francisco (high cost of living) buys far fewer goods and services than $100,000 in Memphis. PlainRelocate adjusts salaries using BEA Regional Price Parities to show what your salary is worth in real purchasing power at the destination city. This makes relocation financial comparisons meaningful.
Why does PlainRelocate use federal data instead of market data?
Federal data (BEA, BLS, HUD, FBI, NCES) is authoritative, consistently collected, and free of commercial bias. Unlike real estate sites, relocation services, or employer salary databases, we don't have an affiliate relationship that creates incentives to show certain cities favorably. The data reflects government-measured reality, not marketing.
How current is the data?
Data vintages vary by source. BEA Regional Price Parities have an 18-24 month publication lag. BLS OES data is updated annually. HUD Fair Market Rents are updated annually in October. FBI UCR crime data typically lags 12-18 months. We use the most recent available data from each source and update when new releases become available.
Why does my city score lower on crime than I expected?
Crime dimension scores are based on FBI Uniform Crime Reporting data, which covers violent and property crime rates. Some cities have high raw crime counts but rate well because of population size (crime per capita). Others with seemingly low overall crime may rank poorly on specific crime types. Crime data quality also varies, cities that don't report to the FBI UCR may have estimated data.
Can PlainRelocate tell me which city is objectively best to live in?
No. What makes a great city is deeply personal, some people value walkability, others prioritize outdoor recreation or proximity to family. PlainRelocate measures what federal data can measure: cost, wages, rent, crime, schools, childcare, environment. Many important quality-of-life factors (culture, community, climate preferences, social networks) cannot be quantified in this way.
Is PlainRelocate affiliated with any moving company or real estate service?
No. PlainRelocate is an independent data portal with no affiliate relationships, no referral fees, and no commercial ties to moving companies, real estate services, or employers. We do not sell leads or earn commissions.