Colorado Springs → Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford
Relocation analysis based on 7 federal data sources
Should you move?
Moving from Colorado Springs to Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford is strongly favorable: BEA regional price parity goes from 100.7 to 92.7 (US = 100), and HUD 2-bedroom rent falls by $641/mo.
- -$10,406
- BLS median salary lower in Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford
- 481 to 223
- violent crimes per 100K (FBI UCR, state-level)
- 16.6:1 to 13.9:1
- NCES student-teacher ratio
- $2,414
- DOL infant care lower / yr in Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford
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
- + 8% lower cost of living
- + $641/mo cheaper rent (2BR)
- + Lower violent crime rate
- + Better student-teacher ratios
- + More affordable childcare
- + Fewer environmental violations
Cons of Moving
- - $10K lower median salary
Purchasing power opens up: BEA RPP falls from 100.7 to 92.7, so each dollar covers more in Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford (ratio 0.92). HUD 2BR Fair Market Rent drops $641/mo ($7,692/yr) from $1,735 in Colorado Springs to $1,094 in Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford.
Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford leads on 6 of 7 federal dimensions, a destination-heavy ledger. Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford sits #18 of 387 metros on PlainRelocate livability (top third of the corpus). Colorado Springs is #364/387 on the same ranking. Composite verdict: Strongly Favorable. Override it with the dimension table below.
BLS OEWS median salary moves $10,406 lower ($72,907 → $62,501). Labor-market size: 304,920 tracked jobs at origin vs 59,150 at destination.
State retirement friendliness favors the destination: Virginia scores 64 (C, #20/51) vs Colorado at 46 (F, #44/51). 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
- 80
- Property tax
- 90
- Estate tax
- 100
- Healthcare
- 26
- Income tax
- 78
- Property tax
- 71
- Estate tax
- 100
- Healthcare
- 62
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 Colorado Springs to see what you'd need to earn in Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford to maintain the same purchasing power.
Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford metro profile · Livability rankings · Methodology
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