Chico → Anniston-Oxford
Relocation analysis based on 7 federal data sources
Pros of Moving
- + 15% lower cost of living
- + $663/mo cheaper rent (2BR)
- + Lower violent crime rate
- + Better student-teacher ratios
- + More affordable childcare
- + Fewer environmental violations
Cons of Moving
- - $16K lower median salary
Moving from Chico to Anniston-Oxford shifts your BEA Regional Price Parity from 101.2 to 85.9 (100 = US average), so a Chico salary needs to be multiplied by 0.85 to hold the same purchasing power in Anniston-Oxford. On rent, HUD Fair Market Rent for a 2-bedroom goes from $1,625/month in Chico to $962/month in Anniston-Oxford - a lower monthly bill of $663, or $7,956/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 $69,223 in Chico versus $53,291 in Anniston-Oxford - a raw gap of $15,932 lower. The Anniston-Oxford labor market has 37,350 tracked jobs against 70,590 in Chico, 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 Chico and Anniston-Oxford are 477 and 376 per 100,000 (state-level). NCES student-teacher ratios run 21.5:1 at origin versus 17.7:1 at destination. DOL center-based infant care costs $17,920/year in Chico versus $6,896/year in Anniston-Oxford. Our composite verdict - Strongly Favorable - weighs all seven federal sources; the dimension table below lets you override that with your personal priorities.
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Frequently Asked Questions
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Source: BEA Regional Price Parities, HUD Fair Market Rents, BLS OES, FBI UCR, NCES, DOL, EPA June 2026
Data Sources
- Cost of Living: Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) Regional Price Parities
- Rent: HUD Fair Market Rents (FMR)
- Wages: Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OES)
- Crime: FBI Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) - state level
- Schools: National Center for Education Statistics (NCES)
- Childcare: Department of Labor (DOL) - state level
- Environment: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.