Bellingham → Duluth
Relocation analysis based on 7 federal data sources
Should you move?
Moving from Bellingham to Duluth is strongly favorable: BEA regional price parity goes from 103.3 to 88.8 (US = 100), and HUD 2-bedroom rent falls by $562/mo.
- -$4,271
- BLS median salary lower in Duluth
- 329 to 259
- violent crimes per 100K (FBI UCR, state-level)
- 17.6:1 to 15.8:1
- NCES student-teacher ratio
- $4,265
- DOL infant care lower / yr in Duluth
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
- + 15% lower cost of living
- + $562/mo cheaper rent (2BR)
- + Lower violent crime rate
- + Better student-teacher ratios
- + More affordable childcare
- + Fewer environmental violations
Cons of Moving
- - $4K lower median salary
Purchasing power opens up: BEA RPP falls from 103.3 to 88.8, so each dollar covers more in Duluth (ratio 0.86). HUD 2BR Fair Market Rent drops $562/mo ($6,744/yr) from $1,794 in Bellingham to $1,232 in Duluth.
Duluth leads on 6 of 7 federal dimensions, a destination-heavy ledger. Duluth sits #79 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 $4,271 lower ($74,723 → $70,452). Labor-market size: 82,720 tracked jobs at origin vs 117,960 at destination.
State retirement friendliness favors the destination: Minnesota scores 49 (F, #43/51) 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
- 60
- Property tax
- 62
- Estate tax
- 50
- Healthcare
- 34
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 Duluth 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