El Centro → Salem
Relocation analysis based on 7 federal data sources
Should you move?
Moving from El Centro to Salem is favorable: BEA regional price parity goes from 95.2 to 103.6 (US = 100), and HUD 2-bedroom rent rises by $198/mo.
- +$1,984
- BLS median salary higher in Salem
- 477 to 335
- violent crimes per 100K (FBI UCR, state-level)
- 21.5:1 to 17.6:1
- NCES student-teacher ratio
- $5,281
- DOL infant care lower / yr in Salem
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
- + Lower violent crime rate
- + Better student-teacher ratios
- + More affordable childcare
- + Fewer environmental violations
Cons of Moving
- - 8% higher cost of living
- - $198/mo more expensive rent (2BR)
Purchasing power tightens: BEA RPP rises from 95.2 to 103.6, so the same paycheck buys less in Salem (ratio 1.09). HUD 2BR Fair Market Rent rises $198/mo ($2,376/yr) from $1,362 in El Centro to $1,560 in Salem.
Salem leads on 5 of 7 federal dimensions, a destination-heavy ledger. Salem sits #278 of 387 metros on PlainRelocate livability (bottom third of the corpus). El Centro is #350/387 on the same ranking. Composite verdict: Favorable. Override it with the dimension table below.
BLS OEWS median salary moves $1,984 higher ($71,194 → $73,178). Labor-market size: 57,840 tracked jobs at origin vs 179,820 at destination.
State retirement friendliness is near-even: California 40 (F, #50/51) vs Oregon 41 (F, #49/51). 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
- 70
- Property tax
- 72
- Estate tax
- 100
- Healthcare
- 4
- Income tax
- 62
- Property tax
- 64
- Estate tax
- 50
- Healthcare
- 14
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 El Centro to see what you'd need to earn in Salem 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