Billings → Memphis
Relocation analysis based on 7 federal data sources
Should you move?
Moving from Billings to Memphis is neutral, depends on priorities: BEA regional price parity goes from 93.5 to 92.2 (US = 100), and HUD 2-bedroom rent falls by $143/mo.
- +$880
- BLS median salary higher in Memphis
- 426 to 602
- violent crimes per 100K (FBI UCR, state-level)
- 11.8:1 to 15.3:1
- NCES student-teacher ratio
- $3,606
- DOL infant care lower / yr in Memphis
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
- + $143/mo cheaper rent (2BR)
- + More affordable childcare
Cons of Moving
- - Higher violent crime rate
- - Higher student-teacher ratios
Purchasing power stays near-even: BEA RPP moves only from 93.5 to 92.2 (ratio 0.99), inside a ±5% band. HUD 2BR Fair Market Rent drops $143/mo ($1,716/yr) from $1,417 in Billings to $1,274 in Memphis.
Memphis leads on 5 of 7 federal dimensions, a destination-heavy ledger. Memphis sits #300 of 387 metros on PlainRelocate livability (bottom third of the corpus). Billings is #188/387 on the same ranking. Composite verdict: Neutral, depends on priorities. Override it with the dimension table below.
BLS OEWS median salary moves $880 higher ($64,222 → $65,102). Labor-market size: 86,460 tracked jobs at origin vs 597,090 at destination.
State retirement friendliness favors the destination: Tennessee scores 66 (C, #17/51) vs Montana at 53 (D, #38/51). 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
- 62
- Property tax
- 68
- Estate tax
- 100
- Healthcare
- 82
- Income tax
- 100
- Property tax
- 80
- Estate tax
- 100
- Healthcare
- 36
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 Billings to see what you'd need to earn in Memphis 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