Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia → Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater

Relocation analysis based on 7 federal data sources

Should you move?

Moving from Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia to Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater is unfavorable: BEA regional price parity goes from 97.3 to 100.9 (US = 100), and HUD 2-bedroom rent rises by $839/mo.

-$2,527
BLS median salary lower in Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater
365 to 210
violent crimes per 100K (FBI UCR, state-level)
16.1:1 to 17.8:1
NCES student-teacher ratio
$1,018
DOL infant care higher / yr in Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater

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.

Verdict
Unfavorable
Cost Index: 97.3 → 100.9
Rent Delta: +$839/mo

Pros of Moving

  • + Lower violent crime rate

Cons of Moving

  • - 4% higher cost of living
  • - $839/mo more expensive rent (2BR)
  • - $3K lower median salary
  • - Higher student-teacher ratios

Purchasing power stays near-even: BEA RPP moves only from 97.3 to 100.9 (ratio 1.04), inside a ±5% band. HUD 2BR Fair Market Rent rises $839/mo ($10,068/yr) from $1,138 in Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia to $1,977 in Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater.

Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia still leads on 5 of 7 federal dimensions, the origin keeps the edge. Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater sits #338 of 387 metros on PlainRelocate livability (bottom third of the corpus). Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia is #131/387 on the same ranking. Composite verdict: Unfavorable. Override it with the dimension table below.

BLS OEWS median salary moves $2,527 lower ($70,931 → $68,404). Labor-market size: 1,341,320 tracked jobs at origin vs 1,402,180 at destination.

State retirement friendliness is near-even: North Carolina 68 (C, #13/51) vs Florida 62 (C, #23/51). Full state tax and healthcare sub-scores sit in the retirement desk below.

Dimension
Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia
Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater
Winner
Cost of Living
RPP 97.3
RPP 100.9
Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia
Rent (2BR)
$1,138/mo
$1,977/mo
Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia
Wages
$70,931
$68,404
Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia
Crime
365 per 100K
210 per 100K
Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater
Schools
16.1:1
17.8:1
Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia
Childcare
$9,487/yr
$10,505/yr
Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia
Environment
3120 violations
2736 violations
Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater

State retirement friendliness

Primary-state scores from PlainRelocate's retirement registry (tax + healthcare + climate composite). Metro pairs use each metro's primary state abbreviation.

Origin state · North Carolina
68 C #13/51
Income tax
68
Property tax
66
Estate tax
100
Healthcare
30
Destination state · Florida
62 C #23/51
Income tax
100
Property tax
67
Estate tax
100
Healthcare
12

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 Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia to see what you'd need to earn in Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater to maintain the same purchasing power.

Equivalent salary in Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater
-

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