Burlington → Grand Forks
Relocation analysis based on 7 federal data sources
Should you move?
Moving from Burlington to Grand Forks is strongly favorable: BEA regional price parity goes from 93.2 to 86.7 (US = 100), and HUD 2-bedroom rent falls by $259/mo.
- +$6,503
- BLS median salary higher in Grand Forks
- 365 to 257
- violent crimes per 100K (FBI UCR, state-level)
- 15.8:1 to 11.8:1
- NCES student-teacher ratio
- $1,438
- DOL infant care higher / yr in Grand Forks
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
- + $259/mo cheaper rent (2BR)
- + $7K higher median salary
- + Lower violent crime rate
- + Better student-teacher ratios
- + Fewer environmental violations
Cons of Moving
- - More expensive childcare
Purchasing power opens up: BEA RPP falls from 93.2 to 86.7, so each dollar covers more in Grand Forks (ratio 0.93). HUD 2BR Fair Market Rent drops $259/mo ($3,108/yr) from $1,348 in Burlington to $1,089 in Grand Forks.
Grand Forks leads on 6 of 7 federal dimensions, a destination-heavy ledger. Grand Forks sits #1 of 387 metros on PlainRelocate livability (top third of the corpus). Burlington is #193/387 on the same ranking. Composite verdict: Strongly Favorable. Override it with the dimension table below.
BLS OEWS median salary moves $6,503 higher ($59,725 → $66,228). Labor-market size: 61,270 tracked jobs at origin vs 46,030 at destination.
State retirement friendliness is near-even: North Carolina 68 (C, #13/51) vs North Dakota 69 (C, #9/51). 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
- 68
- Property tax
- 66
- Estate tax
- 100
- Healthcare
- 30
- Income tax
- 75
- Property tax
- 59
- Estate tax
- 100
- Healthcare
- 94
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 Burlington to see what you'd need to earn in Grand Forks to maintain the same purchasing power.
Grand Forks 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