Des Moines-West Des Moines → Odessa
Relocation analysis based on 7 federal data sources
Should you move?
Moving from Des Moines-West Des Moines to Odessa is unfavorable: BEA regional price parity goes from 91.7 to 93.9 (US = 100), and HUD 2-bedroom rent rises by $277/mo.
- -$6,984
- BLS median salary lower in Odessa
- 238 to 395
- violent crimes per 100K (FBI UCR, state-level)
- 14.8:1 to 14.7:1
- NCES student-teacher ratio
- $740
- DOL infant care lower / yr in Odessa
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.
Cons of Moving
- - $277/mo more expensive rent (2BR)
- - $7K lower median salary
- - Higher violent crime rate
- - More environmental violations
Purchasing power stays near-even: BEA RPP moves only from 91.7 to 93.9 (ratio 1.02), inside a ±5% band. HUD 2BR Fair Market Rent rises $277/mo ($3,324/yr) from $1,318 in Des Moines-West Des Moines to $1,595 in Odessa.
Des Moines-West Des Moines still leads on 5 of 7 federal dimensions, the origin keeps the edge. Odessa sits #289 of 387 metros on PlainRelocate livability (bottom third of the corpus). Des Moines-West Des Moines is #145/387 on the same ranking. Composite verdict: Unfavorable. Override it with the dimension table below.
BLS OEWS median salary moves $6,984 lower ($69,930 → $62,946). Labor-market size: 394,120 tracked jobs at origin vs 73,580 at destination.
State retirement friendliness is near-even: Iowa 70 (B, #8/51) vs Texas 65 (C, #19/51). 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
- 85
- Property tax
- 58
- Estate tax
- 50
- Healthcare
- 42
- Income tax
- 100
- Property tax
- 55
- Estate tax
- 100
- Healthcare
- 44
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 Des Moines-West Des Moines to see what you'd need to earn in Odessa to maintain the same purchasing power.
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