Bellingham → Burlington-South Burlington
Relocation analysis based on 7 federal data sources
Should you move?
Moving from Bellingham to Burlington-South Burlington is strongly favorable: BEA regional price parity goes from 103.3 to 100.9 (US = 100), and HUD 2-bedroom rent rises by $346/mo.
- +$3,662
- BLS median salary higher in Burlington-South Burlington
- 329 to 225
- violent crimes per 100K (FBI UCR, state-level)
- 17.6:1 to 11.9:1
- NCES student-teacher ratio
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
- + $4K higher median salary
- + Lower violent crime rate
- + Better student-teacher ratios
- + Fewer environmental violations
Cons of Moving
- - $346/mo more expensive rent (2BR)
Purchasing power stays near-even: BEA RPP moves only from 103.3 to 100.9 (ratio 0.98), inside a ±5% band. HUD 2BR Fair Market Rent rises $346/mo ($4,152/yr) from $1,794 in Bellingham to $2,140 in Burlington-South Burlington.
Burlington-South Burlington leads on 5 of 7 federal dimensions, a destination-heavy ledger. Burlington-South Burlington sits #114 of 387 metros on PlainRelocate livability (top third of the corpus). Bellingham is #235/387 on the same ranking. Composite verdict: Strongly Favorable. Override it with the dimension table below.
BLS OEWS median salary moves $3,662 higher ($74,723 → $78,385). Labor-market size: 82,720 tracked jobs at origin vs 108,730 at destination.
State retirement friendliness favors the destination: Vermont scores 54 (D, #36/51) vs Washington at 38 (F, #51/51). 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
- 63
- Property tax
- 63
- Estate tax
- 50
- Healthcare
- 18
- Income tax
- 65
- Property tax
- 52
- Estate tax
- 50
- Healthcare
- 78
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 Bellingham to see what you'd need to earn in Burlington-South Burlington to maintain the same purchasing power.
Burlington-South Burlington metro profile · Livability rankings · Methodology
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