Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington Portland-South Portland

Relocation analysis based on 7 federal data sources

Should you move?

Moving from Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington to Portland-South Portland is strongly favorable: BEA regional price parity goes from 103.1 to 101.9 (US = 100), and HUD 2-bedroom rent falls by $98/mo.

+$1,645
BLS median salary higher in Portland-South Portland
395 to 102
violent crimes per 100K (FBI UCR, state-level)
14.7:1 to 11.1:1
NCES student-teacher ratio
$3,759
DOL infant care higher / yr in Portland-South Portland

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 → 101.9
Rent Delta: -$98/mo

Pros of Moving

  • + $98/mo cheaper rent (2BR)
  • + Lower violent crime rate
  • + Better student-teacher ratios
  • + Fewer environmental violations

Cons of Moving

  • - More expensive childcare

Purchasing power stays near-even: BEA RPP moves only from 103.1 to 101.9 (ratio 0.99), inside a ±5% band. HUD 2BR Fair Market Rent drops $98/mo ($1,176/yr) from $1,931 in Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington to $1,833 in Portland-South Portland.

Portland-South Portland leads on 6 of 7 federal dimensions, a destination-heavy ledger. Portland-South Portland sits #94 of 387 metros on PlainRelocate livability (top 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 $1,645 higher ($73,476 → $75,121). Labor-market size: 4,019,090 tracked jobs at origin vs 273,870 at destination.

State retirement friendliness is near-even: Texas 65 (C, #19/51) vs Maine 61 (C, #27/51). Full state tax and healthcare sub-scores sit in the retirement desk below.

Dimension
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington
Portland-South Portland
Winner
Cost of Living
RPP 103.1
RPP 101.9
Portland-South Portland
Rent (2BR)
$1,931/mo
$1,833/mo
Portland-South Portland
Wages
$73,476
$75,121
Portland-South Portland
Crime
395 per 100K
102 per 100K
Portland-South Portland
Schools
14.7:1
11.1:1
Portland-South Portland
Childcare
$7,566/yr
$11,325/yr
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington
Environment
35693 violations
832 violations
Portland-South Portland

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 · Maine
61 C #27/51
Income tax
68
Property tax
60
Estate tax
50
Healthcare
100

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 Portland-South Portland to maintain the same purchasing power.

Equivalent salary in Portland-South Portland
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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