Bangor → Wilmington
Relocation analysis based on 7 federal data sources
Should you move?
Moving from Bangor to Wilmington is less favorable: BEA regional price parity goes from 96.5 to 96.4 (US = 100), and HUD 2-bedroom rent rises by $34/mo.
- -$1,281
- BLS median salary lower in Wilmington
- 102 to 365
- violent crimes per 100K (FBI UCR, state-level)
- 11.1:1 to 15.8:1
- NCES student-teacher ratio
- $1,838
- DOL infant care lower / yr in Wilmington
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.
Pros of Moving
- + More affordable childcare
Cons of Moving
- - Higher violent crime rate
- - Higher student-teacher ratios
- - More environmental violations
Purchasing power stays near-even: BEA RPP moves only from 96.5 to 96.4 (ratio 1.00), inside a ±5% band. HUD 2BR Fair Market Rent barely moves ($1,392 → $1,426); the housing line is not the swing factor on this corridor.
Bangor still leads on 5 of 7 federal dimensions, the origin keeps the edge. Wilmington sits #201 of 387 metros on PlainRelocate livability (middle third). Bangor is #23/387 on the same ranking. Composite verdict: Less Favorable. Override it with the dimension table below.
BLS OEWS median salary moves $1,281 lower ($65,577 → $64,296). Labor-market size: 66,130 tracked jobs at origin vs 183,460 at destination.
State retirement friendliness is near-even: Maine 61 (C, #27/51) vs North Carolina 68 (C, #13/51). Full state tax and healthcare sub-scores sit in the retirement desk below.
State retirement friendliness
Primary-state scores from PlainRelocate's retirement registry (tax + healthcare + climate composite). Metro pairs use each metro's primary state abbreviation.
- Income tax
- 68
- Property tax
- 60
- Estate tax
- 50
- Healthcare
- 100
- Income tax
- 68
- Property tax
- 66
- Estate tax
- 100
- Healthcare
- 30
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 Bangor to see what you'd need to earn in Wilmington to maintain the same purchasing power.
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