Fort Smith → McAllen-Edinburg-Mission

Moving from Fort Smith to McAllen-Edinburg-Mission shifts your BEA Regional Price Parity from 85.9 to 85.9 (100 = US average), so a Fort Smith salary needs to be multiplied by 1.00 to hold the same purchasing power in McAllen-Edinburg-Mission. On rent, HUD Fair Market Rent for a 2-bedroom goes from $937/month in Fort Smith to $1,060/month in McAllen-Edinburg-Mission - a higher monthly bill of $123, or $1,476/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 $53,744 in Fort Smith versus $55,404 in McAllen-Edinburg-Mission - a raw gap of $1,660 higher. The McAllen-Edinburg-Mission labor market has 289,460 tracked jobs against 89,060 in Fort Smith, 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 Fort Smith and McAllen-Edinburg-Mission are 580 and 395 per 100,000 (state-level). NCES student-teacher ratios run 13.6:1 at origin versus 14.7:1 at destination. Our composite verdict - Less Favorable - weighs all seven federal sources; the dimension table below lets you override that with your personal priorities.