Bismarck → Lima
Relocation analysis based on 7 federal data sources
Pros of Moving
- + $67/mo cheaper rent (2BR)
Cons of Moving
- - $10K lower median salary
- - Higher student-teacher ratios
- - More environmental violations
Moving from Bismarck to Lima shifts your BEA Regional Price Parity from 91.0 to 89.7 (100 = US average), so a Bismarck salary needs to be multiplied by 0.99 to hold the same purchasing power in Lima. On rent, HUD Fair Market Rent for a 2-bedroom goes from $1,175/month in Bismarck to $1,108/month in Lima - a lower monthly bill of $67, or $804/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 $70,851 in Bismarck versus $61,326 in Lima - a raw gap of $9,525 lower. The Lima labor market has 43,810 tracked jobs against 64,970 in Bismarck, 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 Bismarck and Lima are 257 and 293 per 100,000 (state-level). NCES student-teacher ratios run 11.8:1 at origin versus 18.2:1 at destination. DOL center-based infant care costs $10,925/year in Bismarck versus $11,791/year in Lima. Our composite verdict - Less Favorable - weighs all seven federal sources; the dimension table below lets you override that with your personal priorities.
Salary Adjustment Calculator
Enter your current salary in Bismarck to see what you'd need to earn in Lima to maintain the same purchasing power.
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Frequently Asked Questions
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Source: BEA Regional Price Parities, HUD Fair Market Rents, BLS OES, FBI UCR, NCES, DOL, EPA June 2026
Data Sources
- Cost of Living: Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) Regional Price Parities
- Rent: HUD Fair Market Rents (FMR)
- Wages: Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OES)
- Crime: FBI Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) - state level
- Schools: National Center for Education Statistics (NCES)
- Childcare: Department of Labor (DOL) - state level
- Environment: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.