Helena → Lebanon

Moving from Helena to Lebanon shifts your BEA Regional Price Parity from 95.7 to 93.2 (100 = US average), so a Helena salary needs to be multiplied by 0.97 to hold the same purchasing power in Lebanon. On rent, HUD Fair Market Rent for a 2-bedroom goes from $1,748/month in Helena to $1,411/month in Lebanon - a lower monthly bill of $337, or $4,044/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 $66,812 in Helena versus $60,558 in Lebanon - a raw gap of $6,254 lower. The Lebanon labor market has 46,280 tracked jobs against 38,620 in Helena, 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 Helena and Lebanon are 426 and 250 per 100,000 (state-level). NCES student-teacher ratios run 11.8:1 at origin versus 13.6:1 at destination. Our composite verdict - Less Favorable - weighs all seven federal sources; the dimension table below lets you override that with your personal priorities.