Billings → Midland
Relocation analysis based on 7 federal data sources
Should you move?
Moving from Billings to Midland is less favorable: BEA regional price parity goes from 93.5 to 95.8 (US = 100), and HUD 2-bedroom rent rises by $355/mo.
- +$5,790
- BLS median salary higher in Midland
- 426 to 395
- violent crimes per 100K (FBI UCR, state-level)
- 11.8:1 to 14.7:1
- NCES student-teacher ratio
- $3,900
- DOL infant care lower / yr in Midland
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
- + $6K higher median salary
- + More affordable childcare
Cons of Moving
- - $355/mo more expensive rent (2BR)
- - Higher student-teacher ratios
- - More environmental violations
Purchasing power stays near-even: BEA RPP moves only from 93.5 to 95.8 (ratio 1.02), inside a ±5% band. HUD 2BR Fair Market Rent rises $355/mo ($4,260/yr) from $1,417 in Billings to $1,772 in Midland.
The seven-dimension ledger splits (3 destination wins · 4 origin wins); priorities decide this move. Midland sits #290 of 387 metros on PlainRelocate livability (bottom third of the corpus). Billings is #188/387 on the same ranking. Composite verdict: Less Favorable. Override it with the dimension table below.
BLS OEWS median salary moves $5,790 higher ($64,222 → $70,012). Labor-market size: 86,460 tracked jobs at origin vs 113,700 at destination.
State retirement friendliness favors the destination: Texas scores 65 (C, #19/51) 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
- 55
- Estate tax
- 100
- Healthcare
- 44
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 Midland 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