Dubuque → Manhattan

Moving from Dubuque to Manhattan shifts your BEA Regional Price Parity from 87.3 to 90.2 (100 = US average), so a Dubuque salary needs to be multiplied by 1.03 to hold the same purchasing power in Manhattan. On rent, HUD Fair Market Rent for a 2-bedroom goes from $1,077/month in Dubuque to $1,048/month in Manhattan - a lower monthly bill of $29, or $348/year. That rent delta alone is often the single biggest line item when relocating.

Wages tell the other half. BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics report a median salary of $61,930 in Dubuque versus $60,825 in Manhattan - a raw gap of $1,105 lower. The Manhattan labor market has 45,880 tracked jobs against 51,410 in Dubuque, shaping how easy it is to find a comparable role. Combine that with the cost-of-living shift above and you get the real purchasing-power delta, sometimes a "higher salary" is actually a pay cut once rent and RPP are applied.

Safety, schools, and childcare round out the move. FBI UCR violent crime rates near Dubuque and Manhattan are 238 and 456 per 100,000 (state-level). NCES student-teacher ratios run 14.8:1 at origin versus 13.8:1 at destination. DOL center-based infant care costs $8,306/year in Dubuque versus $5,783/year in Manhattan. Our composite verdict - Less Favorable - weighs all seven federal sources; the dimension table below lets you override that with your personal priorities.