Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands → St. Cloud
Relocation analysis based on 7 federal data sources
Should you move?
Moving from Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands to St. Cloud is favorable: BEA regional price parity goes from 98.6 to 87.6 (US = 100), and HUD 2-bedroom rent rises by $111/mo.
- +$3,341
- BLS median salary higher in St. Cloud
- 395 to 259
- violent crimes per 100K (FBI UCR, state-level)
- 14.7:1 to 15.8:1
- NCES student-teacher ratio
- $4,156
- DOL infant care higher / yr in St. Cloud
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
- + 11% lower cost of living
- + $3K higher median salary
- + Lower violent crime rate
- + Fewer environmental violations
Cons of Moving
- - $111/mo more expensive rent (2BR)
- - Higher student-teacher ratios
- - More expensive childcare
Purchasing power opens up: BEA RPP falls from 98.6 to 87.6, so each dollar covers more in St. Cloud (ratio 0.89). HUD 2BR Fair Market Rent rises $111/mo ($1,332/yr) from $1,095 in Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands to $1,206 in St. Cloud.
The seven-dimension ledger splits (4 destination wins · 3 origin wins); priorities decide this move. St. Cloud sits #40 of 387 metros on PlainRelocate livability (top third of the corpus). Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands is #248/387 on the same ranking. Composite verdict: Favorable. Override it with the dimension table below.
BLS OEWS median salary moves $3,341 higher ($69,330 → $72,671). Labor-market size: 3,246,270 tracked jobs at origin vs 96,960 at destination.
State retirement friendliness favors staying put: Texas scores 65 (C, #19/51) vs Minnesota at 49 (F, #43/51). 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
- 100
- Property tax
- 55
- Estate tax
- 100
- Healthcare
- 44
- Income tax
- 60
- Property tax
- 62
- Estate tax
- 50
- Healthcare
- 34
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 Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands to see what you'd need to earn in St. Cloud 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