Buffalo-Cheektowaga → Davenport-Moline-Rock Island
Relocation analysis based on 7 federal data sources
Should you move?
Moving from Buffalo-Cheektowaga to Davenport-Moline-Rock Island is strongly favorable: BEA regional price parity goes from 95.8 to 89.1 (US = 100), and HUD 2-bedroom rent falls by $200/mo.
- -$11,309
- BLS median salary lower in Davenport-Moline-Rock Island
- 380 to 238
- violent crimes per 100K (FBI UCR, state-level)
- 11.8:1 to 14.8:1
- NCES student-teacher ratio
- $5,563
- DOL infant care lower / yr in Davenport-Moline-Rock Island
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
- + 7% lower cost of living
- + $200/mo cheaper rent (2BR)
- + Lower violent crime rate
- + More affordable childcare
- + Fewer environmental violations
Cons of Moving
- - $11K lower median salary
- - Higher student-teacher ratios
Purchasing power opens up: BEA RPP falls from 95.8 to 89.1, so each dollar covers more in Davenport-Moline-Rock Island (ratio 0.93). HUD 2BR Fair Market Rent drops $200/mo ($2,400/yr) from $1,343 in Buffalo-Cheektowaga to $1,143 in Davenport-Moline-Rock Island.
Davenport-Moline-Rock Island leads on 5 of 7 federal dimensions, a destination-heavy ledger. Davenport-Moline-Rock Island sits #78 of 387 metros on PlainRelocate livability (top third of the corpus). Buffalo-Cheektowaga is #189/387 on the same ranking. Composite verdict: Strongly Favorable. Override it with the dimension table below.
BLS OEWS median salary moves $11,309 lower ($74,613 → $63,304). Labor-market size: 524,180 tracked jobs at origin vs 172,000 at destination.
State retirement friendliness favors the destination: Iowa scores 70 (B, #8/51) vs New York at 46 (F, #46/51). 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
- 80
- Property tax
- 48
- Estate tax
- 50
- Healthcare
- 96
- Income tax
- 85
- Property tax
- 58
- Estate tax
- 50
- Healthcare
- 42
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 Buffalo-Cheektowaga to see what you'd need to earn in Davenport-Moline-Rock Island to maintain the same purchasing power.
Davenport-Moline-Rock Island 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