Cedar Rapids → Parkersburg-Vienna

Moving from Cedar Rapids to Parkersburg-Vienna shifts your BEA Regional Price Parity from 89.0 to 87.1 (100 = US average), so a Cedar Rapids salary needs to be multiplied by 0.98 to hold the same purchasing power in Parkersburg-Vienna. On rent, HUD Fair Market Rent for a 2-bedroom goes from $956/month in Cedar Rapids to $928/month in Parkersburg-Vienna - a lower monthly bill of $28, or $336/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 $63,268 in Cedar Rapids versus $56,041 in Parkersburg-Vienna - a raw gap of $7,227 lower. The Parkersburg-Vienna labor market has 30,150 tracked jobs against 133,750 in Cedar Rapids, 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 Cedar Rapids and Parkersburg-Vienna are 238 and 242 per 100,000 (state-level). NCES student-teacher ratios run 14.8:1 at origin versus 13.1:1 at destination. DOL center-based infant care costs $8,306/year in Cedar Rapids versus $8,974/year in Parkersburg-Vienna. Our composite verdict - Less Favorable - weighs all seven federal sources; the dimension table below lets you override that with your personal priorities.