Fargo → Pocatello
Relocation analysis based on 7 federal data sources
Should you move?
Moving from Fargo to Pocatello is unfavorable: BEA regional price parity goes from 90.9 to 88.9 (US = 100), and HUD 2-bedroom rent rises by $61/mo.
- -$10,249
- BLS median salary lower in Pocatello
- 257 to 235
- violent crimes per 100K (FBI UCR, state-level)
- 11.8:1 to 17.1:1
- NCES student-teacher ratio
- $3,610
- DOL infant care lower / yr in Pocatello
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
- + More affordable childcare
Cons of Moving
- - $61/mo more expensive rent (2BR)
- - $10K lower median salary
- - Higher student-teacher ratios
- - More environmental violations
Purchasing power stays near-even: BEA RPP moves only from 90.9 to 88.9 (ratio 0.98), inside a ±5% band. HUD 2BR Fair Market Rent rises $61/mo ($732/yr) from $1,112 in Fargo to $1,173 in Pocatello.
The seven-dimension ledger splits (3 destination wins · 4 origin wins); priorities decide this move. Pocatello sits #92 of 387 metros on PlainRelocate livability (top third of the corpus). Fargo is #4/387 on the same ranking. Composite verdict: Unfavorable. Override it with the dimension table below.
BLS OEWS median salary moves $10,249 lower ($69,516 → $59,267). Labor-market size: 142,800 tracked jobs at origin vs 29,080 at destination.
State retirement friendliness favors staying put: North Dakota scores 69 (C, #9/51) vs Idaho at 58 (D, #30/51). 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
- 75
- Property tax
- 59
- Estate tax
- 100
- Healthcare
- 94
- Income tax
- 70
- Property tax
- 76
- Estate tax
- 100
- Healthcare
- 24
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 Fargo to see what you'd need to earn in Pocatello 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