Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington → Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington

Relocation analysis based on 7 federal data sources

Should you move?

Moving from Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington to Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington is strongly favorable: BEA regional price parity goes from 103.1 to 102.6 (US = 100), and HUD 2-bedroom rent falls by $121/mo.

+$784
BLS median salary higher in Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington
395 to 250
violent crimes per 100K (FBI UCR, state-level)
14.4:1 to 13:1
NCES student-teacher ratio

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
Strongly Favorable
Cost Index: 103.1 → 102.6
Rent Delta: -$121/mo

Pros of Moving

  • + $121/mo cheaper rent (2BR)
  • + Lower violent crime rate
  • + Better student-teacher ratios
  • + Fewer environmental violations

Purchasing power stays near-even: BEA RPP moves only from 103.1 to 102.6 (ratio 0.99), inside a ±5% band. HUD 2BR Fair Market Rent drops $121/mo ($1,452/yr) from $1,931 in Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington to $1,810 in Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington.

Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington leads on 6 of 7 federal dimensions, a destination-heavy ledger. Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington sits #279 of 387 metros on PlainRelocate livability (bottom third of the corpus). Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington is #351/387 on the same ranking. Composite verdict: Strongly Favorable. Override it with the dimension table below.

BLS OEWS median salary moves $784 higher ($73,476 → $74,260). Labor-market size: 4,019,090 tracked jobs at origin vs 2,874,190 at destination.

State retirement friendliness is near-even: Texas 65 (C, #19/51) vs Pennsylvania 65 (C, #18/51). Full state tax and healthcare sub-scores sit in the retirement desk below.

Dimension
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington
Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington
Winner
Cost of Living
RPP 103.1
RPP 102.6
Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington
Rent (2BR)
$1,931/mo
$1,810/mo
Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington
Wages
$73,476
$74,260
Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington
Crime
395 per 100K
250 per 100K
Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington
Schools
14.4:1
13:1
Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington
Childcare
$7,566/yr
N/A
Tie
Environment
35693 violations
5292 violations
Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington

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 · Texas
65 C #19/51
Income tax
100
Property tax
55
Estate tax
100
Healthcare
44
Destination state · Pennsylvania
65 C #18/51
Income tax
95
Property tax
58
Estate tax
100
Healthcare
72

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 Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington to see what you'd need to earn in Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington to maintain the same purchasing power.

Equivalent salary in Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington
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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