Detroit-Warren-Dearborn → Great Falls
Relocation analysis based on 7 federal data sources
Should you move?
Moving from Detroit-Warren-Dearborn to Great Falls is neutral, depends on priorities: BEA regional price parity goes from 100.3 to 96.8 (US = 100), and HUD 2-bedroom rent falls by $127/mo.
- -$10,737
- BLS median salary lower in Great Falls
- 431 to 426
- violent crimes per 100K (FBI UCR, state-level)
- 17.5:1 to 11.8:1
- NCES student-teacher ratio
- $4,022
- DOL infant care higher / yr in Great Falls
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
- + 3% lower cost of living
- + $127/mo cheaper rent (2BR)
- + Better student-teacher ratios
Cons of Moving
- - $11K lower median salary
- - More expensive childcare
- - More environmental violations
Purchasing power stays near-even: BEA RPP moves only from 100.3 to 96.8 (ratio 0.97), inside a ±5% band. HUD 2BR Fair Market Rent drops $127/mo ($1,524/yr) from $1,411 in Detroit-Warren-Dearborn to $1,284 in Great Falls.
The seven-dimension ledger splits (4 destination wins · 3 origin wins); priorities decide this move. Great Falls sits #315 of 387 metros on PlainRelocate livability (bottom third of the corpus). Detroit-Warren-Dearborn is #346/387 on the same ranking. Composite verdict: Neutral, depends on priorities. Override it with the dimension table below.
BLS OEWS median salary moves $10,737 lower ($71,303 → $60,566). Labor-market size: 1,883,860 tracked jobs at origin vs 31,100 at destination.
State retirement friendliness is near-even: Michigan 49 (F, #42/51) vs Montana 53 (D, #38/51). 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
- 72
- Property tax
- 59
- Estate tax
- 100
- Healthcare
- 16
- Income tax
- 62
- Property tax
- 68
- Estate tax
- 100
- Healthcare
- 82
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 Detroit-Warren-Dearborn to see what you'd need to earn in Great Falls to maintain the same purchasing power.
Great Falls 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