Bellingham → Lewiston-Auburn

Moving from Bellingham to Lewiston-Auburn shifts your BEA Regional Price Parity from 103.3 to 94.7 (100 = US average), so a Bellingham salary needs to be multiplied by 0.92 to hold the same purchasing power in Lewiston-Auburn. On rent, HUD Fair Market Rent for a 2-bedroom goes from $1,794/month in Bellingham to $1,586/month in Lewiston-Auburn - a lower monthly bill of $208, or $2,496/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 $74,723 in Bellingham versus $62,617 in Lewiston-Auburn - a raw gap of $12,106 lower. The Lewiston-Auburn labor market has 41,990 tracked jobs against 82,720 in Bellingham, 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 Bellingham and Lewiston-Auburn are 329 and 102 per 100,000 (state-level). NCES student-teacher ratios run 17.6:1 at origin versus 11.1:1 at destination. DOL center-based infant care costs $15,987/year in Bellingham versus $11,325/year in Lewiston-Auburn. Our composite verdict - Strongly Favorable - weighs all seven federal sources; the dimension table below lets you override that with your personal priorities.