Dothan → St. Joseph
Relocation analysis based on 7 federal data sources
Should you move?
Moving from Dothan to St. Joseph is less favorable: BEA regional price parity goes from 83.8 to 86.4 (US = 100), and HUD 2-bedroom rent rises by $127/mo.
- +$8,584
- BLS median salary higher in St. Joseph
- 376 to 463
- violent crimes per 100K (FBI UCR, state-level)
- 17.7:1 to 12.8:1
- 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.
Pros of Moving
- + $9K higher median salary
- + Better student-teacher ratios
Cons of Moving
- - $127/mo more expensive rent (2BR)
- - Higher violent crime rate
- - More environmental violations
Purchasing power stays near-even: BEA RPP moves only from 83.8 to 86.4 (ratio 1.03), inside a ±5% band. HUD 2BR Fair Market Rent rises $127/mo ($1,524/yr) from $950 in Dothan to $1,077 in St. Joseph.
The seven-dimension ledger splits (2 destination wins · 4 origin wins); priorities decide this move. St. Joseph sits #120 of 387 metros on PlainRelocate livability (top third of the corpus). Dothan is #67/387 on the same ranking. Composite verdict: Less Favorable. Override it with the dimension table below.
BLS OEWS median salary moves $8,584 higher ($52,967 → $61,551). Labor-market size: 54,630 tracked jobs at origin vs 49,300 at destination.
State retirement friendliness is near-even: Alabama 75 (B, #5/51) vs Missouri 68 (C, #12/51). 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
- 90
- Property tax
- 92
- Estate tax
- 100
- Healthcare
- 20
- Income tax
- 82
- Property tax
- 68
- Estate tax
- 100
- Healthcare
- 80
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 Dothan to see what you'd need to earn in St. Joseph 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