Bellingham → Modesto
Relocation analysis based on 7 federal data sources
Should you move?
Moving from Bellingham to Modesto is unfavorable: BEA regional price parity goes from 103.3 to 104.1 (US = 100), and HUD 2-bedroom rent falls by $36/mo.
- -$2,021
- BLS median salary lower in Modesto
- 329 to 477
- violent crimes per 100K (FBI UCR, state-level)
- 17.6:1 to 21.5:1
- NCES student-teacher ratio
- $1,933
- DOL infant care higher / yr in Modesto
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.
Cons of Moving
- - $2K lower median salary
- - Higher violent crime rate
- - Higher student-teacher ratios
- - More environmental violations
Purchasing power stays near-even: BEA RPP moves only from 103.3 to 104.1 (ratio 1.01), inside a ±5% band. HUD 2BR Fair Market Rent barely moves ($1,794 → $1,758); the housing line is not the swing factor on this corridor.
Bellingham still leads on 6 of 7 federal dimensions, the origin keeps the edge. Modesto sits #375 of 387 metros on PlainRelocate livability (bottom third of the corpus). Bellingham is #235/387 on the same ranking. Composite verdict: Unfavorable. Override it with the dimension table below.
BLS OEWS median salary moves $2,021 lower ($74,723 → $72,702). Labor-market size: 82,720 tracked jobs at origin vs 187,990 at destination.
State retirement friendliness is near-even: Washington 38 (F, #51/51) vs California 40 (F, #50/51). 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
- 70
- Property tax
- 72
- Estate tax
- 100
- Healthcare
- 4
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 Modesto 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