Casper → Pocatello
Relocation analysis based on 7 federal data sources
Should you move?
Moving from Casper to Pocatello is unfavorable: BEA regional price parity goes from 93.8 to 88.9 (US = 100), and HUD 2-bedroom rent rises by $91/mo.
- -$2,380
- BLS median salary lower in Pocatello
- 191 to 235
- violent crimes per 100K (FBI UCR, state-level)
- 11.4:1 to 17.1:1
- NCES student-teacher ratio
- $1,187
- DOL infant care lower / yr in Pocatello
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
- + 5% lower cost of living
Cons of Moving
- - $91/mo more expensive rent (2BR)
- - $2K lower median salary
- - Higher violent crime rate
- - Higher student-teacher ratios
- - More environmental violations
Purchasing power opens up: BEA RPP falls from 93.8 to 88.9, so each dollar covers more in Pocatello (ratio 0.95). HUD 2BR Fair Market Rent rises $91/mo ($1,092/yr) from $1,082 in Casper to $1,173 in Pocatello.
Casper still leads on 5 of 7 federal dimensions, the origin keeps the edge. Pocatello sits #92 of 387 metros on PlainRelocate livability (top third of the corpus). Casper is #21/387 on the same ranking. Composite verdict: Unfavorable. Override it with the dimension table below.
BLS OEWS median salary moves $2,380 lower ($61,647 → $59,267). Labor-market size: 33,190 tracked jobs at origin vs 29,080 at destination.
State retirement friendliness favors staying put: Wyoming scores 77 (B, #4/51) vs Idaho at 58 (D, #30/51). 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
- 100
- Property tax
- 85
- Estate tax
- 100
- Healthcare
- 92
- Income tax
- 70
- Property tax
- 76
- Estate tax
- 100
- Healthcare
- 24
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 Casper to see what you'd need to earn in Pocatello to maintain the same purchasing power.
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