Bismarck → Jefferson City
Relocation analysis based on 7 federal data sources
Should you move?
Moving from Bismarck to Jefferson City is less favorable: BEA regional price parity goes from 91.0 to 88.0 (US = 100), and HUD 2-bedroom rent falls by $133/mo.
- -$11,596
- BLS median salary lower in Jefferson City
- 257 to 463
- violent crimes per 100K (FBI UCR, state-level)
- 11.8:1 to 12.8:1
- NCES student-teacher ratio
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
- + 3% lower cost of living
- + $133/mo cheaper rent (2BR)
Cons of Moving
- - $12K lower median salary
- - Higher violent crime rate
- - More environmental violations
Purchasing power stays near-even: BEA RPP moves only from 91.0 to 88.0 (ratio 0.97), inside a ±5% band. HUD 2BR Fair Market Rent drops $133/mo ($1,596/yr) from $1,175 in Bismarck to $1,042 in Jefferson City.
The seven-dimension ledger splits (2 destination wins · 4 origin wins); priorities decide this move. Jefferson City sits #90 of 387 metros on PlainRelocate livability (top third of the corpus). Bismarck is #9/387 on the same ranking. Composite verdict: Less Favorable. Override it with the dimension table below.
BLS OEWS median salary moves $11,596 lower ($70,851 → $59,255). Labor-market size: 64,970 tracked jobs at origin vs 71,510 at destination.
State retirement friendliness is near-even: North Dakota 69 (C, #9/51) vs Missouri 68 (C, #12/51). 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
- 75
- Property tax
- 59
- Estate tax
- 100
- Healthcare
- 94
- Income tax
- 82
- Property tax
- 68
- Estate tax
- 100
- Healthcare
- 80
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 Bismarck to see what you'd need to earn in Jefferson City to maintain the same purchasing power.
Jefferson City metro profile · Livability rankings · Methodology
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