Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton → Oklahoma City
Relocation analysis based on 7 federal data sources
Should you move?
Moving from Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton to Oklahoma City is less favorable: BEA regional price parity goes from 88.5 to 90.4 (US = 100), and HUD 2-bedroom rent rises by $149/mo.
- +$4,274
- BLS median salary higher in Oklahoma City
- 365 to 428
- violent crimes per 100K (FBI UCR, state-level)
- 15.8:1 to 16.1:1
- NCES student-teacher ratio
- $1,179
- DOL infant care higher / yr in Oklahoma City
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
- + $4K higher median salary
Cons of Moving
- - $149/mo more expensive rent (2BR)
- - More environmental violations
Purchasing power stays near-even: BEA RPP moves only from 88.5 to 90.4 (ratio 1.02), inside a ±5% band. HUD 2BR Fair Market Rent rises $149/mo ($1,788/yr) from $1,095 in Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton to $1,244 in Oklahoma City.
Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton still leads on 6 of 7 federal dimensions, the origin keeps the edge. Oklahoma City sits #283 of 387 metros on PlainRelocate livability (bottom third of the corpus). Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton is #56/387 on the same ranking. Composite verdict: Less Favorable. Override it with the dimension table below.
BLS OEWS median salary moves $4,274 higher ($59,550 → $63,824). Labor-market size: 148,530 tracked jobs at origin vs 665,370 at destination.
State retirement friendliness is near-even: North Carolina 68 (C, #13/51) vs Oklahoma 68 (C, #14/51). 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
- 75
- Property tax
- 70
- Estate tax
- 100
- Healthcare
- 28
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 Oklahoma City to maintain the same purchasing power.
Oklahoma City metro profile · Livability rankings · Methodology
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