Ames → Stockton-Lodi

Moving from Ames to Stockton-Lodi shifts your BEA Regional Price Parity from 88.8 to 105.1 (100 = US average), so a Ames salary needs to be multiplied by 1.18 to hold the same purchasing power in Stockton-Lodi. On rent, HUD Fair Market Rent for a 2-bedroom goes from $1,026/month in Ames to $1,742/month in Stockton-Lodi - a higher monthly bill of $716, or $8,592/year. That rent delta alone is often the single biggest line item when relocating.

Wages tell the other half. BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics report a median salary of $64,722 in Ames versus $71,848 in Stockton-Lodi - a raw gap of $7,126 higher. The Stockton-Lodi labor market has 263,900 tracked jobs against 48,070 in Ames, shaping how easy it is to find a comparable role. Combine that with the cost-of-living shift above and you get the real purchasing-power delta, sometimes a "higher salary" is actually a pay cut once rent and RPP are applied.

Safety, schools, and childcare round out the move. FBI UCR violent crime rates near Ames and Stockton-Lodi are 238 and 477 per 100,000 (state-level). NCES student-teacher ratios run 14.8:1 at origin versus 21.5:1 at destination. DOL center-based infant care costs $8,306/year in Ames versus $17,920/year in Stockton-Lodi. Our composite verdict - Unfavorable - weighs all seven federal sources; the dimension table below lets you override that with your personal priorities.