Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton → Decatur
Relocation analysis based on 7 federal data sources
Should you move?
Moving from Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton to Decatur is strongly favorable: BEA regional price parity goes from 88.5 to 87.2 (US = 100), and HUD 2-bedroom rent falls by $134/mo.
- +$2,164
- BLS median salary higher in Decatur
- 365 to 376
- violent crimes per 100K (FBI UCR, state-level)
- 15.8:1 to 17.7:1
- NCES student-teacher ratio
- $2,591
- DOL infant care lower / yr in Decatur
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
- + $134/mo cheaper rent (2BR)
- + $2K higher median salary
- + More affordable childcare
- + Fewer environmental violations
Cons of Moving
- - Higher student-teacher ratios
Purchasing power stays near-even: BEA RPP moves only from 88.5 to 87.2 (ratio 0.99), inside a ±5% band. HUD 2BR Fair Market Rent drops $134/mo ($1,608/yr) from $1,095 in Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton to $961 in Decatur.
Decatur leads on 5 of 7 federal dimensions, a destination-heavy ledger. Decatur sits #55 of 387 metros on PlainRelocate livability (top third of the corpus). Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton is #56/387 on the same ranking. Composite verdict: Strongly Favorable. Override it with the dimension table below.
BLS OEWS median salary moves $2,164 higher ($59,550 → $61,714). Labor-market size: 148,530 tracked jobs at origin vs 54,590 at destination.
State retirement friendliness is near-even: North Carolina 68 (C, #13/51) vs Alabama 75 (B, #5/51). 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
- 68
- Property tax
- 66
- Estate tax
- 100
- Healthcare
- 30
- Income tax
- 90
- Property tax
- 92
- Estate tax
- 100
- Healthcare
- 20
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 Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton to see what you'd need to earn in Decatur 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