Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos Waterbury-Shelton

Relocation analysis based on 7 federal data sources

Should you move?

Moving from Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos to Waterbury-Shelton is strongly favorable: BEA regional price parity goes from 98.1 to 99.8 (US = 100), and HUD 2-bedroom rent falls by $64/mo.

+$682
BLS median salary higher in Waterbury-Shelton
395 to 139
violent crimes per 100K (FBI UCR, state-level)
14.7:1 to 12.1:1
NCES student-teacher ratio
$9,561
DOL infant care higher / yr in Waterbury-Shelton

BEA Regional Price Parity, HUD Fair Market Rent, BLS OEWS, FBI UCR, NCES, and DOL. The table below lets you override the composite with your own priorities.

Verdict
Strongly Favorable
Cost Index: 98.1 → 99.8
Rent Delta: -$64/mo

Pros of Moving

  • + $64/mo cheaper rent (2BR)
  • + Lower violent crime rate
  • + Better student-teacher ratios
  • + Fewer environmental violations

Cons of Moving

  • - More expensive childcare

Purchasing power stays near-even: BEA RPP moves only from 98.1 to 99.8 (ratio 1.02), inside a ±5% band. HUD 2BR Fair Market Rent drops $64/mo ($768/yr) from $1,852 in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos to $1,788 in Waterbury-Shelton.

Waterbury-Shelton leads on 5 of 7 federal dimensions, a destination-heavy ledger. Waterbury-Shelton sits #87 of 387 metros on PlainRelocate livability (top third of the corpus). Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos is #321/387 on the same ranking. Composite verdict: Strongly Favorable. Override it with the dimension table below.

BLS OEWS median salary moves $682 higher ($71,789 → $72,471). Labor-market size: 1,265,270 tracked jobs at origin vs 153,560 at destination.

State retirement friendliness favors staying put: Texas scores 65 (C, #19/51) vs Connecticut at 52 (D, #41/51). Full state tax and healthcare sub-scores sit in the retirement desk below.

Dimension
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos
Waterbury-Shelton
Winner
Cost of Living
RPP 98.1
RPP 99.8
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos
Rent (2BR)
$1,852/mo
$1,788/mo
Waterbury-Shelton
Wages
$71,789
$72,471
Waterbury-Shelton
Crime
395 per 100K
139 per 100K
Waterbury-Shelton
Schools
14.7:1
12.1:1
Waterbury-Shelton
Childcare
$7,566/yr
$17,127/yr
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos
Environment
35693 violations
801 violations
Waterbury-Shelton

State retirement friendliness

Primary-state scores from PlainRelocate's retirement registry (tax + healthcare + climate composite). Metro pairs use each metro's primary state abbreviation.

Origin state · Texas
65 C #19/51
Income tax
100
Property tax
55
Estate tax
100
Healthcare
44
Destination state · Connecticut
52 D #41/51
Income tax
62
Property tax
50
Estate tax
50
Healthcare
86

Full retirement ranking · Source composite documented on methodology (Tax Foundation + AARP tax guides + federal healthcare/climate inputs).

Salary Adjustment Calculator

Enter your current salary in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos to see what you'd need to earn in Waterbury-Shelton to maintain the same purchasing power.

Equivalent salary in Waterbury-Shelton
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Source: BEA Regional Price Parities, HUD Fair Market Rents, BLS OES, FBI UCR, NCES, DOL, EPA; retirement desk: Tax Foundation + AARP tax guides June 2026