Champaign-Urbana → Memphis
Relocation analysis based on 7 federal data sources
Should you move?
Moving from Champaign-Urbana to Memphis is less favorable: BEA regional price parity goes from 92.7 to 92.2 (US = 100), and HUD 2-bedroom rent rises by $152/mo.
- -$1,834
- BLS median salary lower in Memphis
- 277 to 602
- violent crimes per 100K (FBI UCR, state-level)
- 14:1 to 15.3:1
- NCES student-teacher ratio
- $4,397
- DOL infant care lower / yr in Memphis
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
- + More affordable childcare
- + Fewer environmental violations
Cons of Moving
- - $152/mo more expensive rent (2BR)
- - Higher violent crime rate
- - Higher student-teacher ratios
Purchasing power stays near-even: BEA RPP moves only from 92.7 to 92.2 (ratio 0.99), inside a ±5% band. HUD 2BR Fair Market Rent rises $152/mo ($1,824/yr) from $1,122 in Champaign-Urbana to $1,274 in Memphis.
The seven-dimension ledger splits (3 destination wins · 4 origin wins); priorities decide this move. Memphis sits #300 of 387 metros on PlainRelocate livability (bottom third of the corpus). Champaign-Urbana is #65/387 on the same ranking. Composite verdict: Less Favorable. Override it with the dimension table below.
BLS OEWS median salary moves $1,834 lower ($66,936 → $65,102). Labor-market size: 94,460 tracked jobs at origin vs 597,090 at destination.
State retirement friendliness favors the destination: Tennessee scores 66 (C, #17/51) vs Illinois at 58 (D, #31/51). 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
- 95
- Property tax
- 46
- Estate tax
- 50
- Healthcare
- 46
- Income tax
- 100
- Property tax
- 80
- Estate tax
- 100
- Healthcare
- 36
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 Champaign-Urbana to see what you'd need to earn in Memphis 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