Bloomington College Station-Bryan

Relocation analysis based on 7 federal data sources

Should you move?

Moving from Bloomington to College Station-Bryan is less favorable: BEA regional price parity goes from 93.5 to 91.0 (US = 100), and HUD 2-bedroom rent falls by $116/mo.

-$3,946
BLS median salary lower in College Station-Bryan
277 to 395
violent crimes per 100K (FBI UCR, state-level)
14:1 to 14.7:1
NCES student-teacher ratio
$4,691
DOL infant care lower / yr in College Station-Bryan

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.

Verdict
Less Favorable
Cost Index: 93.5 → 91.0
Rent Delta: -$116/mo

Pros of Moving

  • + $116/mo cheaper rent (2BR)
  • + More affordable childcare

Cons of Moving

  • - $4K lower median salary
  • - Higher violent crime rate
  • - More environmental violations

Purchasing power stays near-even: BEA RPP moves only from 93.5 to 91.0 (ratio 0.97), inside a ±5% band. HUD 2BR Fair Market Rent drops $116/mo ($1,392/yr) from $1,302 in Bloomington to $1,186 in College Station-Bryan.

The seven-dimension ledger splits (3 destination wins · 4 origin wins); priorities decide this move. College Station-Bryan sits #95 of 387 metros on PlainRelocate livability (top third of the corpus). Bloomington is #143/387 on the same ranking. Composite verdict: Less Favorable. Override it with the dimension table below.

BLS OEWS median salary moves $3,946 lower ($66,137 → $62,191). Labor-market size: 70,320 tracked jobs at origin vs 118,500 at destination.

State retirement friendliness is near-even: Illinois 58 (D, #31/51) vs Texas 65 (C, #19/51). Full state tax and healthcare sub-scores sit in the retirement desk below.

Dimension
Bloomington
College Station-Bryan
Winner
Cost of Living
RPP 93.5
RPP 91.0
College Station-Bryan
Rent (2BR)
$1,302/mo
$1,186/mo
College Station-Bryan
Wages
$66,137
$62,191
Bloomington
Crime
277 per 100K
395 per 100K
Bloomington
Schools
14:1
14.7:1
Bloomington
Childcare
$12,257/yr
$7,566/yr
College Station-Bryan
Environment
3029 violations
35693 violations
Bloomington

State retirement friendliness

Primary-state scores from PlainRelocate's retirement registry (tax + healthcare + climate composite). Metro pairs use each metro's primary state abbreviation.

Origin state · Illinois
58 D #31/51
Income tax
95
Property tax
46
Estate tax
50
Healthcare
46
Destination state · Texas
65 C #19/51
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 Bloomington to see what you'd need to earn in College Station-Bryan to maintain the same purchasing power.

Equivalent salary in College Station-Bryan
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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