Fairbanks-College → Montgomery
Relocation analysis based on 7 federal data sources
Pros of Moving
- + 14% lower cost of living
- + $660/mo cheaper rent (2BR)
- + Lower violent crime rate
- + More affordable childcare
- + Fewer environmental violations
Cons of Moving
- - $15K lower median salary
- - Higher student-teacher ratios
Moving from Fairbanks-College to Montgomery shifts your BEA Regional Price Parity from 103.2 to 89.7 (100 = US average), so a Fairbanks-College salary needs to be multiplied by 0.87 to hold the same purchasing power in Montgomery. On rent, HUD Fair Market Rent for a 2-bedroom goes from $1,676/month in Fairbanks-College to $1,016/month in Montgomery - a lower monthly bill of $660, or $7,920/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 $73,725 in Fairbanks-College versus $58,388 in Montgomery - a raw gap of $15,337 lower. The Montgomery labor market has 157,200 tracked jobs against 28,710 in Fairbanks-College, 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 Fairbanks-College and Montgomery are 728 and 376 per 100,000 (state-level). NCES student-teacher ratios run 15.2:1 at origin versus 17.7:1 at destination. DOL center-based infant care costs $15,925/year in Fairbanks-College versus $6,896/year in Montgomery. Our composite verdict - Strongly Favorable - weighs all seven federal sources; the dimension table below lets you override that with your personal priorities.
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Frequently Asked Questions
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Source: BEA Regional Price Parities, HUD Fair Market Rents, BLS OES, FBI UCR, NCES, DOL, EPA June 2026
Data Sources
- Cost of Living: Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) Regional Price Parities
- Rent: HUD Fair Market Rents (FMR)
- Wages: Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OES)
- Crime: FBI Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) - state level
- Schools: National Center for Education Statistics (NCES)
- Childcare: Department of Labor (DOL) - state level
- Environment: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.