Duluth → Midland

Moving from Duluth to Midland shifts your BEA Regional Price Parity from 88.8 to 91.9 (100 = US average), so a Duluth salary needs to be multiplied by 1.04 to hold the same purchasing power in Midland. On rent, HUD Fair Market Rent for a 2-bedroom goes from $1,232/month in Duluth to $1,193/month in Midland - a lower monthly bill of $39, or $468/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 $70,452 in Duluth versus $67,285 in Midland - a raw gap of $3,167 lower. The Midland labor market has 29,130 tracked jobs against 117,960 in Duluth, 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 Duluth and Midland are 259 and 431 per 100,000 (state-level). NCES student-teacher ratios run 15.8:1 at origin versus 17.5:1 at destination. DOL center-based infant care costs $11,722/year in Duluth versus $7,444/year in Midland. Our composite verdict - Unfavorable - weighs all seven federal sources; the dimension table below lets you override that with your personal priorities.